Parameters That Are Obsolete or Have Been Removed

The following section describes parameters that are obsolete or have been removed from more recent Solaris releases.

Paging-Related Tunables

`cachefree` (Solaris 8 Releases)

Obsolete in Solaris 9 and later releases.

Description

The Solaris 8 release changes the way file system pages are cached. These changes subsume the priority paging capability.

Note - Remove both cachefree and priority_paging settings in the /etc/system file.

The caching changes remove most of the pressure on the virtual memory system resulting from file system activity. Several statistics exhibit new behavior:

Page reclaims are higher because pages are now explicitly added to the free list after I/O completes.
Free memory is now higher because the free memory count now includes a large component of the file cache.
Scan rates are drastically reduced.

Commitment Level

Obsolete

`priority_paging` (Solaris 8 Releases)

Obsolete in Solaris 9 and later releases.

Description

This variable sets cachefree to 2 times lotsfree.

The Solaris 8 release changes the way file system pages are cached. These changes subsume the priority paging capability.

Note - Remove both cachefree and priority_paging settings in the /etc/system file.

Commitment Level

Obsolete

`tune_t_gpgslo` (Solaris 7 Releases)

Description: Obsolete in the Solaris 8 release. Variable left in place for compatibility reasons.

`tune_t_minasmem` (Solaris 7 Releases)

Description: Obsolete in the Solaris 8 release. Variable left in place for compatibility reasons.

System V Message Queue Parameters

`msgsys:msginfo_msgmni` (Solaris 9 Releases)

Obsolete in the Solaris 10 release.

Description: Maximum number of message queues that can be created.
Data Type: Signed integer
Default: 50
Range: 0 to MAXINT
Dynamic?: No. Loaded into msgmni field of msginfo structure.
Validation: None
When to Change: When msgget(2) calls return with an error of ENOSPC or at the recommendation of a software vendor.
Commitment Level: Unstable

`msgsys:msginfo_msgtql` (Solaris 9 Releases)

Obsolete in the Solaris 10 release.

Description: Maximum number of messages that can be created. If a msgsnd call attempts to exceed this limit, the request is deferred until a message header is available. Or, if the request has set the IPC_NOWAIT flag, the request fails with the error EAGAIN.
Data Type: Signed integer
Default: 40
Range: 0 to MAXINT
Dynamic?: No. Loaded into msgtql field of msginfo structure.
Validation: None
When to Change: When msgsnd() calls block or return with error of EGAIN, or at the recommendation of a software vendor.
Commitment Level: Unstable

`msgsys:msginfo_msgmnb` (Solaris 9 Releases)

Obsolete in the Solaris 10 release.

Description: Maximum number of bytes that can be on any one message queue.
Data Type: Unsigned long
Default: 4096
Range: 0 to amount of physical memory
Units: Bytes
Dynamic?: No. Loaded into msgmnb field of msginfo structure.
Validation: None
When to Change: When msgsnd() calls block or return with an error of EGAIN, or at the recommendation of a software vendor.
Commitment Level: Unstable

`msgsys:msginfo_msgssz` (Solaris 9 Releases)

Removed in the Solaris 10 release.

Description: Specifies size of chunks system uses to manage space for message buffers.
Data Type: Signed integer
Default: 40
Range: 0 to MAXINT
Dynamic?: No. Loaded into msgtql field of msginfostructure.
Validation: The space consumed by the maximum number of data structures that would be created to support the messages and queues is compared to 25% of the available kernel memory at the time the module is loaded. If the number is too big, the message queue module refuses to load and the facility is unavailable. This computation does include the space that might be consumed by the messages. This situation occurs only when the module is first loaded.
When to Change: When the default value is not enough. Generally changed at the recommendation of software vendors.
Commitment Level: Obsolete

`msgsys:msginfo_msgmap` (Solaris 9 Releases)

Removed in the Solaris 10 release.

Description: Number of messages the system supports.
Data Type: Signed integer
Default: 100
Range: 0 to MAXINT
Dynamic?: No
Validation: The space consumed by the maximum number of data structures that would be created to support the messages and queues is compared to 25% of the available kernel memory at the time the module is loaded. If the number is too big, the message queue module refuses to load and the facility is unavailable. This computation does include the space that might be consumed by the messages. This situation occurs only when the module is first loaded.
When to Change: When the default value is not enough. Generally changed at the recommendation of software vendors.
Commitment Level: Obsolete

`msgsys:msginfo_msgseg` (Solaris 9 Releases)

Removed in the Solaris 10 release.

Description: Number of msginfo_msgssz segments the system uses as a pool for available message memory. Total memory available for messages is msginfo_msgseg * msginfo_msgssz.
Data Type: Signed short
Default: 1024
Range: 0 to 32,767
Dynamic?: No
Validation: The space consumed by the maximum number of data structures that would be created to support the messages and queues is compared to 25% of the available kernel memory at the time the module is loaded. If the number is too big, the message queue module refuses to load and the facility is unavailable. This computation does not include the space that might be consumed by the messages. This situation occurs only when the module is first loaded.
When to Change: When the default value is not enough. Generally changed at the recommendation of software vendors.
Commitment Level: Obsolete

`msgsys:msginfo_msgmax` (Solaris 9 Releases)

Removed in the Solaris 10 release.

Description: Maximum size of System V message.
Data Type: Unsigned long
Default: 2048
Range: 0 to amount of physical memory
Units: Bytes
Dynamic?: No. Loaded into msgmax field of msginfo structure.
Validation: None
When to Change: When msgsnd(2) calls return with error of EINVAL or at the recommendation of a software vendor.
Commitment Level: Unstable

System V Semaphore Parameters

`semsys:seminfo_semmni` (Solaris 9 Releases)

Obsolete in the Solaris 10 release.

Description

Specifies the maximum number of semaphore identifiers.

Data Type

Signed integer

Default

Range

1 to 65,535

Dynamic?

Validation

Compared to SEMA_INDEX_MAX (currently 65,535) and reset to that value if larger. A warning message is written to the console, messages file, or both.

When to Change

When the default number of sets is not enough. Generally changed at the recommendation of software vendors. No error messages are displayed when an attempt is made to create more sets than are currently configured. Instead, the application receives a return code of ENOSPC from a semget call.

For more information, see semget(2).

Commitment Level

Unstable

`semsys:seminfo_semmsl` (Solaris 9 Releases)

Obsolete in the Solaris 10 release.

Description: Specifies the maximum number of System V semaphores per semaphore identifier.
Data Type: Signed integer
Default: 25
Range: 1 to MAXINT
Dynamic?: No
Validation: The amount of space that could possibly be consumed by the semaphores and their supporting data structures is compared to 25 percent of the kernel memory available at the time the module is first loaded. If the memory threshold is exceeded, the module refuses to load and the semaphore facility is not available.
When to Change: When the default value is not enough. Generally changed at the recommendation of software vendors. No error messages are displayed when an attempt is made to create more semaphores in a set than are currently configured. The application sees a return code of EINVAL from a semget(2) call.
Commitment Level: Unstable

`semsys:seminfo_semopm` (Solaris 9 Releases)

Obsolete in the Solaris 10 release.

Description: Specifies the maximum number of System V semaphore operations per semop call. This parameter refers to the number of sembufs in the sops array that is provided to the semop() system call. For more information, see semop(2).
Data Type: Signed integer
Default: 10
Range: 1 to MAXINT
Dynamic?: No
Validation: The amount of space that could possibly be consumed by the semaphores and their supporting data structures is compared to 25 percent of the kernel memory available at the time the module is first loaded. If the memory threshold is exceeded, the module refuses to load and the semaphore facility is not available.
When to Change: When the default value is not enough. Generally changed at the recommendation of software vendors. No error messages are displayed when an attempt is made to perform more semaphore operations in a single semop call than are currently allowed. Instead, the application receives a return code of E2BIG from a semop() call.
Commitment Level: Unstable

`semsys:seminfo_semmns` (Solaris 9 Releases)

Removed in the Solaris 10 release.

Description: Maximum number of System V semaphores on the system.
Data Type: Signed integer
Default: 60
Range: 1 to MAXINT
Dynamic?: No
Validation: The amount of space that could possibly be consumed by the semaphores and their supporting data structures is compared to 25% of the kernel memory available at the time the module is first loaded. If the memory threshold is exceeded, the module refuses to load and the semaphore facility is not available.
When to Change: When the default number of semaphores is not enough. Generally changed at the recommendation of software vendors. No error messages are displayed when an attempt is made to create more semaphores than are currently configured. The application sees a return code of ENOSPC from a semget(2) call.
Commitment Level: Unstable

`semsys:seminfo_semmnu` (Solaris 9 Releases)

Removed in the Solaris 10 release.

Description: Total number of undo structures supported by the System V semaphore system.
Data Type: Signed integer
Default: 30
Range: 1 to MAXINT
Dynamic?: No
Validation: The amount of space that could possibly be consumed by the semaphores and their supporting data structures is compared to 25% of the kernel memory available at the time the module is first loaded. If the memory threshold is exceeded, the module refuses to load and the semaphore facility is not available.
When to Change: When the default value is not enough. Generally changed at the recommendation of software vendors. No error message is displayed when an attempt is made to perform more undo operations than are currently configured. The application sees a return value of ENOSPC from a semop(2) call when the system runs out of undo structures.
Commitment Level: Unstable

`semsys:seminfo_semume` (Solaris 9 Releases)

Description

Removed in the Solaris 10 release.

Maximum number of System V semaphore undo structures that can be used by any one process.

Data Type

Signed integer

Default

Range

1 to MAXINT

Dynamic?

Validation

The amount of space that could possibly be consumed by the semaphores and their supporting data structures is compared to 25% of the kernel memory available at the time the module is first loaded. If the memory threshold is exceeded, the module refuses to load and the semaphore facility is not available.

When to Change

When the default value is not enough. Generally changed at the recommendation of software vendors. No error messages are displayed when an attempt is made to perform more undo operations than are currently configured. The application sees a return code of EINVAL from a semop(2) call.

Commitment Level

Unstable

`semsys:seminfo_semvmx` (Solaris 9 Releases)

Removed in the Solaris 10 release.

Description: Maximum value a semaphore can be set to.
Data Type: Unsigned short
Default: 32,767
Range: 1 to 65,535
Dynamic?: No
Validation: None
When to Change: When the default value is not enough. Generally changed at the recommendation of software vendors. No error messages are displayed when the maximum value is exceeded. The application sees a return code of ERANGE from a semop(2) call.
Commitment Level: Unstable

`semsys:seminfo_semaem` (Solaris 9 Releases)

Removed in the Solaris 10 release.

Description: Maximum value that a semaphore's value in an undo structure can be set to.
Data Type: Unsigned short
Default: 16,384
Range: 1 to 65,535
Dynamic?: No
Validation: None
When to Change: When the default value is not enough. Generally changed at the recommendation of software vendors. No error messages are displayed when an attempt is made to perform more undo operations than are currently configured. The application sees a return code of EINVAL from a semop(2) call.
Commitment Level: Unstable

`semsys:seminfo_semmap` (Solaris 7 Releases)

Obsolete in the Solaris 8 release. Variable is present in kernel for compatibility reasons but is no longer used.

`semsys:seminfo_semusz` (Solaris 7 Releases)

Obsolete in the Solaris 8 release. Any values entered are ignored.

System V Shared Memory Parameters

`shmsys:shminfo_shmmni` (Solaris 9 Releases)

Obsolete in the Solaris 10 release.

Description: System wide limit on number of shared memory segments that can be created.
Data Type: Signed integer
Default: 100
Range: 0 to MAXINT
Dynamic?: No. Loaded into shmmni field of shminfo structure.
Validation: The amount of space consumed by the maximum possible number of data structures to support System V shared memory is checked against 25% of the currently available kernel memory at the time the module is loaded. If the memory consumed is too large, the attempt to load the module fails.
When to Change: When the system limits are too low. Generally changed on the recommendation of software vendors.
Commitment Level: Unstable

`shmsys:shminfo_shmmax` (Solaris 9 Releases)

Obsolete in the Solaris 10 release.

Description

Maximum size of system V shared memory segment that can be created. This parameter is an upper limit that is checked before the application sees if it actually has the physical resources to create the requested memory segment.

Attempts to create a shared memory section whose size is zero or whose size is larger than the specified value will fail with an EINVAL error.

This parameter specifies only the largest value the operating system can accept for the size of a shared memory segment. Whether the segment can be created depends entirely on the amount of swap space available on the system and, for a 32-bit process, whether there is enough space available in the process's address space for the segment to be attached.

Data Type

Unsigned long

Default

8,388,608

Range

0 - MAXUINT32 on 32-bit systems, 0 – MAXUINT64 on 64-bit systems

Units

Bytes

Dynamic?

No. Loaded into shmmax field of shminfo structure.

Validation

None

When to Change

When the default value is too low. Generally changed at the recommendation of software vendors, but unless the size of a shared memory segment needs to be constrained, setting this parameter to the maximum possible value has no side effects.

Commitment Level

Unstable

`shmsys:shminfo_shmmin` (Solaris 8 Release)

Obsolete in the Solaris 9 release. Variable is present in kernel for compatibility reasons but is no longer used.

`shmsys:shminfo_shmseg` (Solaris 8 Release)

Obsolete in the Solaris 9 release. Variable is present in kernel for compatibility reasons but is no longer used.

NFS Module Parameters

`nfs:nfs_32_time_ok` (Solaris 7)

Obsolete in the Solaris 8 release.