Das_Watchdog software is a watchdog program inspired by the rt_watchdog program.
Das_Watchdog is an impressive software that has been designed to make the system more reliable for running real-time tasks. The program has been heavily inspired by Florian Schmidt's renowned rt_watchdog program, and it has a few improvements to offer.
One of the significant benefits of Das_Watchdog is its compatibility with a range of kernels, including 2.4 and 2.6. Unlike rt_watchdog, which sets all real-time processes to run non-realtime permanently, das_watchdog only sets them temporarily.
Moreover, when the watchdog kicks in, an X window pops up to notify you of the event and what is happening. The user can read the message and closes the window. For installation, the process is straightforward; all you need to do is make cp das_watchdog/usr/local/sbin/ and echo '/usr/local/sbin/das_watchdog >/dev/null &' >>/etc/rc.sysinit. Reboot the system once, and the software is ready to use.
Using the software is equally easy. Whenever a program locks up the machine, the watchdog temporarily sets all real-time processes to non-realtime for 8 seconds. An xmessage window will pop up on the screen to intimate the users about the situation. The software's attached test_rt program can be used to test its functionality, which immediately freezes the system, and a window will pop up after about 5-6 seconds informing users that watchdog set the process to non-realtime.
The advanced feature of the software also includes using the "--force" option to set the priority of all timer processes to SCHED_FIFO/99, significantly improving the software's overall functionality. However, the xmessage window may not pop up, preventing root from reading the users .Xauthority file when the user logs in to the machine and has their home area placed on a non-root mounted disk. Unfortunately, there is no good solution for such a situation. But, users can report the problem to the software's administrator.
To use Das_Watchdog, the user needs to have xmessage, which should be a part of the X11 software, and libgtop2. In its latest release, the software has improved its source code by cleaning it up, properly finding a number of timer processes and adding shortcuts for optargs, making code more accessible and user-friendly.
One of the significant benefits of Das_Watchdog is its compatibility with a range of kernels, including 2.4 and 2.6. Unlike rt_watchdog, which sets all real-time processes to run non-realtime permanently, das_watchdog only sets them temporarily.
Moreover, when the watchdog kicks in, an X window pops up to notify you of the event and what is happening. The user can read the message and closes the window. For installation, the process is straightforward; all you need to do is make cp das_watchdog/usr/local/sbin/ and echo '/usr/local/sbin/das_watchdog >/dev/null &' >>/etc/rc.sysinit. Reboot the system once, and the software is ready to use.
Using the software is equally easy. Whenever a program locks up the machine, the watchdog temporarily sets all real-time processes to non-realtime for 8 seconds. An xmessage window will pop up on the screen to intimate the users about the situation. The software's attached test_rt program can be used to test its functionality, which immediately freezes the system, and a window will pop up after about 5-6 seconds informing users that watchdog set the process to non-realtime.
The advanced feature of the software also includes using the "--force" option to set the priority of all timer processes to SCHED_FIFO/99, significantly improving the software's overall functionality. However, the xmessage window may not pop up, preventing root from reading the users .Xauthority file when the user logs in to the machine and has their home area placed on a non-root mounted disk. Unfortunately, there is no good solution for such a situation. But, users can report the problem to the software's administrator.
To use Das_Watchdog, the user needs to have xmessage, which should be a part of the X11 software, and libgtop2. In its latest release, the software has improved its source code by cleaning it up, properly finding a number of timer processes and adding shortcuts for optargs, making code more accessible and user-friendly.
What's New
Version 0.2.1: N/A