[c-nsp] Disappearing Interfaces in config

[Justin M. Streiner]

On Mon, 18 Oct 2004, Church, Chuck wrote:

> But it also fails on 'sh run', which in that case it's not trying to
> compress the config.  There was a thread on storing the config on other
> devices just a couple days ago.  See if that helps.  Otherwise, try
> freeing up some memory, and then wri mem.  Maybe try temporarily
> disabling your routing protocol, and then clearing all IP routes.  Might
> free up enough ram to build it correctly, without resorting to old info.

If the router is taking anything full BGP routes, try that first, as it 
will normally have the largest memory footprint.

In a real pinch, you can temporarily disable CEF, but that can have other 
negative impacts.  If you're running CEF-reliant things like uRPF or flow 
caching, the CPU can really take a pounding.

I'd recommend searching in the bug navigator if you haven't already, to 
see if a bug similar to the one you're seeing has been reported and fixed.

Memory fragmentation often takes awhile to show up since the allocation 
and cleanup can happen a few chunks at a time.  If you watch your memory 
utilization over time with something like MRTG, chances are you'd see a 
bit of a decline in available memory, but it will be more jagged and 
"stair-stepped" than a memory leak.

A memory leak, especially in a regularly-used process like CEF, or a key 
routing protocol, would look much more linear/smoother in its decline, and 
possibly be followed by a sharp rise, either from a reload, or from the 
router cannibalizing existing processes to try to conserve memory.

jms