[CentOS] Server hangs on CentOS 5.5

Wed Mar 9 15:55:12 UTC 2011
Brunner, Brian T. <BBrunner at gai-tronics.com>

centos-bounces at centos.org wrote:
> On Wednesday, March 09, 2011 10:16:34 am Brunner, Brian T. wrote:
>> This would be far cheaper than the time spent troubleshooting the
>> running (sometimes hanging) system.
> 
> Let me interject here, that from a budgeting standpoint
> 'cheaper' has to be interpreted in the context of which
> budget the costs are coming out of.  

This degenerates into "Your dollars are cheaper than my dollars".

> New hardware is capex,
> and thus would come out of the capital budget, and admin time
> is opex, and thus would come out of the operating budget.

This is where mental ossification amongst bean-counters can kill a
company.
"Economic Opportunity Cost" should raise its head here: What would we do
with the $capex if we paid $opex vs what would we do with the $opex if
we paid $capex.  "The Time Value of Money vs The Money Value of Time" is
another phrasing of this point-of-view.  Unfortunately this is no longer
a CentOS topic.

>> Starting with RAM and Power Supply is not random ... They're "The
>> Usual Suspects".
> 
> This is a very true statement.
> 
> Heat and airflow are two others.

RAM and PowerSupply are easy starting points: swap RAM between two
systems and see (in the next 3 months) if the problem moved,  swapping
power supplies is a bit trickier but doable if the systems are similar
enough.  Again, several months watching to see where the problem
manifests is a test of patience and diligence.  It's possible that doing
this will make the problem stop arising (RAM and PS are both good
enough, they just don't play well together).

Heat & airflow are harder to swap (says the guy who opened an office
desktop, and vacuumed out enough hair, lint, dust, dander, and ashes to
knit a grey angora hamster (with lung cancer)).


Insert spiffy .sig here:
Life is complex: it has both real and imaginary parts.

//me
*******************************************************************
This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and
intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom
they are addressed. If you have received this email in error please
notify the system manager. This footnote also confirms that this
email message has been swept for the presence of computer viruses.
www.Hubbell.com - Hubbell Incorporated**