IOS Bootflash full tracelog

[JohnJudi]

Dear Forum Members,

I hope this message finds you in good spirits. I am currently facing a challenging situation with my ISR 4331 router that I hope you might have some insights into. After taking steps to manage the bootflash storage by formatting and manually deleting files, I've observed a perplexing behavior: certain files reappear automatically, and new ones are generated over time.

Initial Post-Format Observations: Following a format of the bootflash, I expected to see system and firmware files relevant to the router's operation, which indeed appeared. These include various firmware packages for DSPs, NIMs, SMs, and the comprehensive isr4300-mono-universalk9.17.06.06a.SPA.pkg file. While these files' presence post-format was anticipated, the persistence and generation of additional files, particularly trace logs, were not.

After Manual File Deletion: Removing all files from the bootflash results in the short-term appearance of directories and a series of tracelog files, such as dmesg, timestamp, and several droputil_R0-*.bin.gz files. These seem to be automatically generated, with timestamps indicating creation shortly after deletion.

Post-Router Reload: Reloading the router introduces more tracelog files, hinting at active processes or routines that produce these files without explicit user direction.

This ongoing generation of files, especially the tracelogs, raises concerns about the efficient management of bootflash space and understanding the underlying mechanisms at play.

Would you be willing to share any advice, insights, or similar experiences regarding:

• The potential reasons behind the automatic regeneration of these files?
• Strategies or configurations that might prevent this automatic behavior or help manage the files more effectively?

I am eager to learn from your experiences and would greatly appreciate any guidance you can provide on this matter. Thank you very much for considering my query and for any assistance you might offer.

Warmest regards,

John Judi

[liviu.gheorghe]

Hello @JohnJudi ,

the files you observed in the bootflash of the router are normal and are part of the underlying Linux operating system of the router.

In normal circumstances, you don't have to do anything to these files as the operating system has methods for managing these files by rotating/archiving them.

There could be situations in which these files are piling up and taking more space of the flash - for example when the router is crashing and a crash file is generated. In this case you could manually delete the crash files after investigating them with Cisco TAC support.

Running out of space on your router flash is unlikely due to router operation. I found that the main cause of running out of flash space is due to user intervention when someone copies 2 or more IOS versions on the flash - in this case a little cleaning by deleting old IOS files helps.

Another thing that helps is that flash memory sizes are greater than it used to be 20 years ago. It's also true that the IOS file sizes are bigger these days.

Hope this helps.