Understanding Memory Protection

ExtremeXOS provides memory management capabilities. Each process in ExtremeXOS runs in a protected memory space. This infrastructure prevents one process from overwriting or corrupting the memory space of another process. For example, if one process experiences a loop condition, is under some type of attack, or is experiencing some type of problem, that process cannot take over or overwrite another processes' memory space.

Memory protection increases the robustness of the system. By isolating and having separate memory space for each individual process, you can more easily identify the process or processes that experience a problem.

To display the current system memory and that of the specified process, use the following command: show memory process name {slot slotid}

Where the following is true:
  • name: Specifies the name of the process.
  • slot: On a SummitStack, specifies the slot number of the target node. The number is a value from 1 to 8.

Reading the Output

The show memory process command displays the following information in a tabular format:
  • System memory information (both total and free).
  • Current memory used by the individual processes.
The current memory statistics for the individual process also includes the following:
  • For SummitStacks, the slot number.
  • The name of the process.

Viewing System Memory

You can also use the show memory {slot slotid} command to view the system memory and the memory used by the individual processes, even for all processes on all MSMs/MMs installed in modular switches. The slot parameter is available only on modular switches and SummitStack.

In general, the free memory count for a switch decreases when one or more running processes experiences an increase in memory usage. If you have not made any system configuration changes, and you observe a continued decrease in free memory, this might indicate a memory leak.

The information from these commands may be useful for your technical support representative if you experience a problem.

The following is sample truncated output from a Summit family switch:

CPU Utilization Statistics - Monitored every 25 seconds
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Process        5   10   30    1     5    30   1     Max       Total
              secs secs secs min  mins  mins hour          User/System
              util util util util util util util    util    CPU Usage
              (%)  (%)  (%)  (%)   (%)  (%)  (%)    (%)       (secs)
System        n/a  n/a  0.0  0.9   0.1  0.2  0.5               34.6
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
  
aaa            n/a  n/a  0.0  0.0  0.0  0.0  0.0  1.8  1.72      0.78
 
acl            n/a  n/a  0.0  0.0  0.0  0.0  0.0  0.0  0.40      0.24

bgp            n/a  n/a  0.0  0.0  0.0  0.0  0.0  12.6 11.18     2.21
 
cfgmgr         n/a  n/a  0.0  0.0  0.0  0.0  0.8  39.8 4743.92   3575.79
 
cli            n/a  n/a  0.0  0.0  0.0  0.0  0.0  0.0  0.59      0.42
 
devmgr         n/a  n/a  0.0  0.0  0.0  0.0  0.0  19.5 74.44     24.52
 
dirser         n/a  n/a  0.0  0.0  0.0  0.0  0.0  0.0  0.0       0.0
 
dosprotect     n/a  n/a  0.0  0.0  0.0  0.0  0.0  0.0  0.8       0.12
 
eaps           n/a  n/a  0.0  0.0  0.0  0.0  0.1  5.5  36.40     15.41
 
edp            n/a  n/a  0.0  0.0  0.0  0.0  0.0  11.1 10.92     3.97
 
elrp           n/a  n/a  0.0  0.0  0.0  0.0  0.0  0.0  0.49      0.44
 
ems            n/a  n/a  0.0  0.0  0.0  0.0  0.0  0.0  1.19      1.29
 
epm            n/a  n/a  0.0  0.0  0.0  0.0  0.0  30.7 48.74     32.93
 
esrp           n/a  n/a  0.0  0.0  0.0  0.0  0.0  2.7  0.82      0.45
 
etmon          n/a  n/a  0.0  0.0  0.0  0.0  0.5  30.5 4865.78   873.87
 
...