site_archiver@lists.apple.com Delivered-To: darwin-kernel@lists.apple.com On Aug 2, 2006, at 5:14 AM, Ochal Christophe wrote: = Mike _______________________________________________ Do not post admin requests to the list. They will be ignored. Darwin-kernel mailing list (Darwin-kernel@lists.apple.com) Help/Unsubscribe/Update your Subscription: http://lists.apple.com/mailman/options/darwin-kernel/site_archiver%40lists.a... I'm currently taking a closer look at an OSX 10.4.6 server of a client that recently had several kernel panics, and i'm at a loss as to what the specific functions mentioned in the panic.log do. The error is this: panic(cpu 1 caller 0x0003FEA8): zalloc: "kalloc.64" (3846336 elements) retry fail 3 And seems to be related to kalloc.64 (or zalloc), my question is, what exactly does kalloc do? A quick google search revealed nothing usefull, but i'm suspecting it's a function relating to memory allocation such as malloc? Some more info about these 2 functions would be appreciated. Your client's machine has a memory leak. Look for puddles of bits dripping out of the case, and perhaps grab some paper towels. Seriously though, 3.8 million 64-byte allocations in the kernel is grossly abnormal. While the system is up and running, take a look at the output of 'zprint' and in particular the 'kalloc.64' zone. Without knowing what your clients' machine is doing, you might want to try to start with it idle, and then simulate its various workloads to see what provokes the leak. In particular, check whether they are running any third-party kernel extensions; anti-virus scanners, device drivers, etc. To answer your question about the kalloc zones; they are the backing zones for the malloc analog in the kernel. Allocations smaller than 8k are filled from the corresponding kalloc.* zone, while larger allocations come directly from the kernel map. This email sent to site_archiver@lists.apple.com