Memory allocation for 7206

[bockri]

Hi

Is there any way to allocate memory to io for 7200, like with the memory-size iomem command for 3600? My memory is running low, and router boots.Thanks a lot. Kristine

[marikakis]

Yes, you can do it with: memory-size iomem .

Note that is the size of the I/O memory in MB

(in contrast to the percentage used in 3600 series).

But before changing this (can cause other problems, e.g. see Field notice:

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/hw/routers/ps341/products_field_notice09186a0080207623.shtml)

maybe you could examine why the memory problem exists.

Is this problem frequent or started suddenly ?

If it is frequent you might start considering a memory upgrade.

If it is sudden, maybe you could check if you are under attack or something.

M.

[bockri]

Thanks. The memory-size command doesnæt work on the router. Are you sure, it's supposed to? Maybe my ios doesn't support it(12.3.7.7)? TAC suggest to hange the npe, and we will, but can't do before tomorrow, and in the meantime the router will boot 5-10 times, sp i'm just looking for a way to reduce the number og boots, it helped a little when I sat the scheduler allocate command. I think there might be a bug problem too, and will upgrade ios, as soon as i find one. The booting started when the traffic load increased. I've check attacks, because traffic suddenly raise before boot, but havent been able to catch from what to whom. Kristine

[marikakis]

Hello Kristine,

I never had a good reason to use this command on a 7200.

Just saw it in the field notice, which not only claims that it can be configured,

but also that 12.3 is affected.

Maybe the usage depends on the type of NPE installed,

if you have a VXR or not, or some other factor I cannot think of.

Could you provide some more information about your 7200

(how many slots, VXR or not, NPE type, memory installed) ?

Will you replace the NPE with a higher one ?

Since TAC suggested changing the NPE,

I guess they have some good reason to believe that the NPE is the problem.

(By the way, what does the TAC say about the command ?)

Perhaps this is a combination of problems.

For example, it could be an attack causing an existent bug

or hardware issue to come into surface.

Generally speaking, if a hard attack is not detected early,

it is very difficult to troubleshoot afterwards.

The "hysterical monitoring method" can be quite effective when attacks are in fashion.

Monitoring CPU usage of key routers and CPU usage of key linecards (if any)

can help you detect early that something is wrong,

and all those data combined can even give you insight on where the attack is coming from.

Another equally useful parameter is packets/second on key interfaces.

If you manage to detect the moment the problem starts,

you might have a couple of minutes to examine if a pattern in the attack exists,

and block it right away (either yourself, or in cooperation with any upstreams).

Netflow is quite useful in such situations,

and is preferably used before the router goes crazy.

Excluding web (show ip cache flow | e 0050 ) in many cases

leads to fast detection of the attack's pattern.

Good Luck!

Maria

[bockri]

Thanks. Well, I'v thought about maybe NPE300 is too weak and sdram on 128M (12M prosessor/4M io) is to little. After all it's 800 dsl customers terminated on the router on a atm-oc3 card. When I check the sh memory I get Free(b) 49095388, which maybe isn't too much, but Tac doesn't seem to worry about that,so I'm not sure.I've also thougt of memory leak as a possible cause, but don't get to the bottom of that either. Now the router hasn't booted in 9 hours, it's a new record :-) I don't know why, but can't help to think of "lack of attack" as a possible reason.I'll put up monitoring on the cpu first thing in the morning.Tried to analyze the traffic several hours today, but missed both boots, unfortunatly. Maybe I should activate filter and let it cathch traffic over the night, but a bit afraid to disturd the router now that everuthing is going so nice :-) Thanks a lot for answering, it's really nice to have someone to discuss problems with (my collegue's on vacation) :-) Kristine

[marikakis]

I just saw the number of slots on the conversation's subject ;-)

M.