Increasing the number of file handles for Linux

Before you begin

Important: For best results, before you use your Rational product, increase the number of file handles available for Rational Build Forge. A system administrator might need to make this change.

Exercise caution when you follow these steps to increase the file descriptors on Linux. Failure to follow the instructions might result in a computer that does not start correctly. For the best results, have your system administrator perform this procedure.

To increase the file descriptors:

Procedure

  1. Log in as root. If you do not have root access, you must obtain it before you continue.
  2. Change to the etc directory.
  3. Locate the initscript shell script. Open the file or create it with a Linux text editor.

    Important: Do not leave an empty initscript file on your computer. If you do so, your computer will not start the next time that you turn it on or restart it.

  4. On the first line, set ulimit to a number significantly larger than 1024, the default on most Linux computers.

    ulimit -n 4096

    Caution: Setting ulimit too high can impact system-wide performance.

  5. On the second line, type eval exec "$4".
  6. Save and close the shell script.

Results

For more information on the ulimit command, refer to the man page for ulimit.

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