Question regarding memory utilisation.

[garypower]

This seems to have been the same for all versions of your code and may well be normal behavior but I was just wondering!

I am running your latest 220 code and router has been up since 29/9 with no issues. memory on that reboot was showing as ~ 180MB free.

Since then there is a pretty predictable slide in free memory (see snmp graph for last 2 days as an example) - and is now down to ~ 86MB free.

Is this just normal utilisation with the system "using what it has got" and it will free up what it needs when it needs it? or is there likely to be an issue if the device is up long enough to reach 0?

Thanks for all the great work!

Gary

 

[RMerlin]

Depends what you are running. Without the output from "ps w" and "free", it's impossible to tell where the memory is gone. My guess is you have Download Master installed, which will use a fair amount of memory itself for itself, buffers, etc...

 

[garypower]

Yes, download master is (was) installed a long time ago - although after some testing I have not used it and assumed that if it was sitting there doing nothing it would not use any resources!

Only other additions to your stock firmware is the installation of the snmp ipkg package for monitoring & the nano editor.

I also use your start up scripts to add some basic NAT & forwarding entries to cope with a range of fixed Ip addresses.

Is it worth me turning the download manager off before it all dies then!
Output from the commands you listed below, not sure what I am looking at though!

PID USER VSZ STAT COMMAND
1 admin 2052 S /sbin/init noinitrd
2 admin 0 SW< [kthreadd]
3 admin 0 RWN [ksoftirqd/0]
4 admin 0 SW< [events/0]
5 admin 0 SW< [khelper]
18 admin 0 SW< [kblockd/0]
49 admin 0 SW [pdflush]
50 admin 0 SW [pdflush]
51 admin 0 SW< [kswapd0]
52 admin 0 SW< [aio/0]
96 admin 0 SW< [mtdblockd]
113 admin 0 SW< [kmmcd]
304 admin 624 S hotplug2 --persistent --no-coldplug
342 admin 2040 S console
343 admin 1616 S /bin/sh
350 admin 0 SWN [jffs2_gcd_mtd4]
352 admin 1604 S syslogd -m 0 -S -O /tmp/syslog.log -s 256 -l 7
354 admin 1604 S /sbin/klogd
359 admin 0 SW< [khubd]
429 admin 2048 S usbled
436 admin 616 S /usr/sbin/sd-idle-2.6 -i 900
459 admin 0 SW< [scsi_eh_0]
460 admin 0 SW< [usb-storage]
472 admin 0 SW< [scsi_eh_1]
473 admin 0 SW< [usb-storage]
481 admin 0 SW< [scsi_eh_2]
482 admin 0 SW< [usb-storage]
511 admin 2048 S /sbin/wanduck
611 admin 1612 S udhcpc -i eth0 -p /var/run/udhcpc0.pid -s /tmp/udhcpc -b -O33 -O249
613 admin 1484 S /usr/sbin/pppd file /tmp/ppp/options.wan0
617 admin 1076 S dropbear -p 22
620 admin 1024 S /bin/eapd
623 admin 1460 S nas
624 admin 2628 S /bin/wps_monitor
633 nobody 1492 S dnsmasq --log-async
634 admin 3672 S httpd
636 admin 1616 S crond
637 admin 992 S /usr/sbin/infosvr br0
638 admin 1000 S networkmap
640 admin 1200 S rstats
642 admin 2616 S watchdog
643 admin 2048 S ots
644 admin 2048 S phy_tempsense
651 admin 1028 S lld2d br0
657 admin 628 S pptpd -c /tmp/pptpd/pptpd.conf -o /tmp/pptpd/options.pptpd
684 admin 5076 S minidlna -f /etc/minidlna.conf
690 admin 5076 S minidlna -f /etc/minidlna.conf
691 admin 5076 R N minidlna -f /etc/minidlna.conf
767 admin 2040 S u2ec
769 admin 1084 S lpd
770 admin 2040 S u2ec
773 admin 2040 S u2ec
843 admin 15344 S lighttpd -f /tmp/lighttpd.conf -D
845 admin 9480 S lighttpd-monitor
846 admin 2360 S nmbd -D -s /etc/smb.conf
860 admin 3224 S N smbd -D -s /etc/smb.conf
1334 admin 10868 R ./dm2_amuled -c /opt/etc/dm2_amule/
1335 admin 416 S ./dm2_snarfmaster
1336 admin 4660 S ./dm2_transmission-daemon -w /tmp/mnt/ext2usb/Download2/Complete -g /tmp/mnt/ext2usb/Download2/config -G
1345 admin 4136 S ./dm2_lighttpd -Df /opt/etc/dm2_lighttpd.conf
1426 admin 4660 S ./dm2_transmission-daemon -w /tmp/mnt/ext2usb/Download2/Complete -g /tmp/mnt/ext2usb/Download2/config -G
1427 admin 4660 R ./dm2_transmission-daemon -w /tmp/mnt/ext2usb/Download2/Complete -g /tmp/mnt/ext2usb/Download2/config -G
1428 admin 7724 R ./dm2_nzbget -D
1429 admin 4660 S ./dm2_transmission-daemon -w /tmp/mnt/ext2usb/Download2/Complete -g /tmp/mnt/ext2usb/Download2/config -G
1438 admin 7724 S ./dm2_nzbget -D
1447 admin 7724 S ./dm2_nzbget -D
1477 admin 7724 R ./dm2_nzbget -D
1478 admin 7724 S ./dm2_nzbget -D
1507 admin 10868 S ./dm2_amuled -c /opt/etc/dm2_amule/
1509 admin 10868 S ./dm2_amuled -c /opt/etc/dm2_amule/
1514 admin 10868 S ./dm2_amuled -c /opt/etc/dm2_amule/
1601 admin 2048 S ntp
1619 admin 800 S miniupnpd -f /etc/upnp/config
1698 admin 6140 S /opt/sbin/snmpd -c /opt/etc/snmpd.conf
11358 admin 100m S lighttpd-arpping -f br0
22374 admin 1144 S dropbear -p 22
22426 admin 1620 S -sh
23212 admin 1608 R ps w


total used free shared buffers
Mem: 255520 169644 85876 0 5944
Swap: 0 0 0
Total: 255520 169644 85876

 

[garypower]

I have uninstalled the download master and the free memory has jumped up (but nowhere near to the starting levels) and the slow drop continues.

I will take a look on Monday and see if I can play spot the difference with those commands you listed!

 

[RMerlin]

Also look for anything logging to /tmp. Since that's located in RAM, things that do heavy logging can fill up /tmp, gradually eating through your free RAM. You can see disk usage with "df -h".

 

[garypower]

Thanks, /tmp is only 2.7M / 2% used so I guess it is not that!

Although further checking and it jumped back up to over 200mb free just after 6am so i guess nothing to worry about!
I am guessing turning off the download tools did do something.

Thanks again!

 

[piotrpiano]

I also noticed this behavior. After 5 days of running v 220 my RT-N66u went down to 88 MB free memory but then jumped up to 172. So it seems it uses some heavy caching but releases it every now and then.
FWIW I don't use download manager (haven't installed) but run vpn pptp, ftp and media server. Otherwise, pretty out of the box config.