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Date:  Wed, 21 May 2008 13:58:41 -0800
From:  Jim Dory <jdory (at mark) nomealaska.org>
Subject:  [coba-e:13029] OT: how to keep process running that seizes shell
To:  coba-e (at mark) bluequartz.org
Message-Id:  <48349B11.5080500 (at mark) nomealaska.org>
X-Mail-Count: 13029

I've got a strange problem on a Centos BQ server. It runs our library 
database from Follett software called circulation plus, a proprietary 
database. The little program is located in /usr/local/faircom/ctsrvr and 
in the faircom directory is a data directory where the files reside. As 
per their instructions I placed this line in the rc.local file:
 /usr/local/faircom/ctsrvr start

It had been working fine but a couple weeks ago quit. Now it won't run 
by a reboot anymore. Here's some of the weirdness: I can start it after 
a fresh reboot only by cd'ing into the directory /usr/local/faircom/ and 
doing a "./ctsrvr" (from shh shell and without quotes). I cannot start 
it by this command from whatever other directory such as root home: 
"/usr/local/faircom/ctsrvr" or "/usr/local/faircom/ctsrvr start". It 
sort of starts - I see the process when I do "ps aux" but it doesn't 
initalize the database. Plus, I can't kill it until I do a reboot. 
"killall ctsrvr" doesn't do it nor "kill <pid #>", both commands acting 
like they kill it but it still shows in ps and when I do the "./ctsrvr" 
it says it is still running on the echo response.

So the next problem is I reboot, cd into the directory and ./ctsrvr to 
start it, I see an echo response showing the server is running and ready 
for connections or whatever it says, but it doesn't return the cursor -  
so if I kill the shh shell it kills the process. I don't think a 
<Ctrl>-c even kills it but a <Ctrl>-z does, killing the server process. 
So right now on one of the library counter computers I have a putty ssh 
shell window I've had to leave open so their program will run. I've 
thought about maybe using the "screen" program to detach the session, 
but before I try to learn that I thought I would ask here to see if 
there is an easier way. It doesn't seem right to have to use that screen 
program and maybe there is something obvious I have overlooked.

Unfortunately their tech department only has one guy that knows 
something about linux and he hasn't gotten back to me yet. I know that 
there may be some issue that they need to help me resolve - but thought 
I would throw this out to you gurus to see what might help me better 
trouble shoot either on my own or with their tech support team.

cheers, Jim

-- 
Jim Dory
Engineering
City of Nome
PO Box 281
102 Division St.
Nome, AK 99762
907.443.6604

http://www.nomealaska.org


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