[hpietri]

When a user got disconnected from my AIX 5.3 box, the ps -ef | grep user show this user connected and 10 minutes later I run the same command and the user is no longer there. Where I can modify this 10 minutes wait time?

Thanks!

[seth]

OK following "no" options affect the timeout of tcpip connections. But the default connection timout is arround 2 hours.
Maybe you got a much shorter value there already.

tcp_keepidle
tcp_keepinit
tcp_keepintvl


AIX TCP_KEEPIDLE
Description: This determines the length of inactivity before keepalive messages are sent
and ensuring how long a connection stays in an active/ESTABLISHED state.
Default value: 14400 (in half seconds, which is 2 hours)

TCP_KEEPINTVL
Description: Specifies how often these keepalive probe messages are sent.
The connection is considered broken after 8 unresponded probes.
Default value: 150 (in half seconds which is 75 seconds)

TCP_KEEPINIT
Description: Specifies the initial timeout value for TCP connections.
Default value: 150 (in half seconds which is 75 seconds)

To check the current setting, type "no -a", to change the settings.

The way of connection timeouts is this:
Client suddenly disconnects (clicking the "x" on the window and not tiping "exit", or client crashes)
from this time the TCP_KEEPIDLE timer is counted, when this expires the TCP_KEEPINTVL send 8 pakets in the specified interval,
the timout of this packages is set by the TCP_KEEPINIT value.
Do all 8 packages timeout connection is cleand up and the socket is freed.
What I'm nt sure is what you see as process you see in ps output. I dont know exactly the cleanup behaviour from crashed sessions.
Normally their ppid is assigned to init when the original parent process died, depends on the application I think and what kind of connections they use.

Hope that helps you, when not please tell more details.
Cheers seth

[ross.mather]

Timeouts can be caused by any number of reasons, not all of which are under an AIX admins control.

The usual culprits that you can control is the TMOUT environment variable. If you set the value to 0 in /etc/profile then the connections will never end. HOWEVER you shuld be careful with this one as it can cause you to run out of telent connections.

It is often a firewall rule that kills idle connections after 10 minutes inactivity, so check that as well.

[seth]

Originally Posted by ross.mather

The usual culprits that you can control is the TMOUT environment variable. If you set the value to 0 in /etc/profile then the connections will never end. HOWEVER you shuld be careful with this one as it can cause you to run out of telent connections.

I think he more likely has the problem to clean up suddently disconnected sessions. TMOUT just works for idle-connected session, as long the shell did not start a sub-shell/process.
Anyway , hpietri could probably explain more his environment and tell us more background on the whole "problem".

Cheers seth