[mrtg] RateUP WARNING : Can`t rename error

[Steve Shipway]

> 16-02-2011 03:20:01, Rateup WARNING: /usr/bin/rateup Can't rename
> 127.0.0.1_2.tmp to 127.0.0.1_2.log updating log file
> 
> A lot of the posts I have read on this suggest that this behaviour is
> normal and that it should only occur the first time mrtg is run.

Yes; the first time you run MRTG (Native mode) the .log file doesn’t exist and so cannot be renamed.  Really, MRTG shouldn't give an error in this case, but it's never been considered worth patching I guess.

After the first *successful* run on the target, the .log file will have been created, so the error will not happen.

If you are getting these messages often - and for the same file! - then there is a real problem on your system that needs to be addressed.

* If you have a successful run (no error) and then later an unsuccessful one, something is breaking.

* One possibility is that you have some periodic 'clean-up; job running on your system that is deleting .log files.  In this case, stop it!  You can tell if this is the case because you will lose your history from the file each time it is deleted -- do your weekly graphs never seem to grow longer?

* Maybe your filesystem is getting very full, and occasionally fills up, so you are unable to make these changes.  This would not be so likely to prevent a rename, though it might cause the log file to fail to be recreated which would give the error on the next pass.  Check you have sufficient free space!

* Check filesystem, directory and file ownerships and permissions.  This shouldn’t be a problem, but if you are running multiple daemons or jobs you may have something confused.  Lack of write permission to the directory will give a rename error.

Steve

Steve Shipway
ITS Unix Services Design Lead
University of Auckland, New Zealand
Floor 1, 58 Symonds Street, Auckland
Phone: +64 (0)9 3737599 ext 86487
DDI: +64 (0)9 924 6487
Mobile: +64 (0)21 753 189
Email: s.shipway at auckland.ac.nz
 Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail