Solaris 11.2 - Dump device estimates

One reoccuring question from customers is “How large should I size the dump device? “.

 

Since Solaris 11.2 there is a really comfortable way to get a number.

You can use dumpadm to get an estimate of dump device size:

 

root@solaris:~# dumpadm -e

Estimated space required for dump: 407,81 M

Important to know, the estimate is based on the current dump configuration and the current state of the system. So you should run this comment at a moment that is representative for your usual load.

This dependency is obvious when you switch off the dumping of zfs metadata:

 

root@solaris:~# dumpadm -c kernel-zfs

Dump content      : kernel without ZFS metadata

Dump device       : /dev/zvol/dsk/rpool/dump (dedicated)

Savecore directory: /var/crash

Savecore enabled  : yes

Save compressed   : on

 

root@solaris:~# dumpadm -e

Estimated space required for dump: 337,02 M

 

root@solaris:~# dumpadm -c kernel+zfs

Dump content      : kernel with ZFS metadata

Dump device       : /dev/zvol/dsk/rpool/dump (dedicated)

Savecore directory: /var/crash

Savecore enabled  : yes

Save compressed   : on

 

root@solaris:~# dumpadm -e

Estimated space required for dump: 407,88 M