[UniMacTech] Server disks filling up

[Tony Gray]

Hi,

This has consistently been a problem with 10.5 server from the day it  
was released (for us at least, on 3 different servers, in 3 different  
locations).  The software update process that is continually running,  
and in some instances filling up the Caches directory, does not appear  
to be related to either the local machine's "Software Update"  
settings, nor the Server's software update server mechanism.  As well  
as sometimes filling the Caches volume, it also chews up a large  
percentage of one CPU/core.

I've been unable find the mechanism that re-launches the process  
sometime after it is killed.

The only solution I've been able to come up with is to rename /usr/ 
sbin/softwareupdate to /usr/sbin/softwareupdate.disabled and then kill  
the process again.

Note that some subsequent software updates (particularly if you use  
Combo updaters) will install a new version of /usr/sbin/ 
softwareupdate, and you're back to the same problem again, so you need  
to keep an eye on this after applying updates.

Cheers,

	Tony


On 22/06/2009, at 10:07 AM, David Wikeley wrote:

> Hi all After updating our servers to 10.5.7 we have noticed that  
> software
> update seems to be a runaway process creating a file called Cache.db  
> in
> /private/var/root/Library/Caches/com.apple.SoftwareUpdate
>
> This continues until the disk is full. The only way to stop the  
> process is
> to manually kill it. This then returns the next day creating the same
> affect.
>
> Others are having the same issue see this thread:
>
> http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2047169
>
> Any help would be useful.
>
>
> -- 
> David Wikeley
> IT Manager
> Faculty of Health Science
> University of Tasmania
> 43 Collins Street
> Hobart, Tasmania.
> T: 03 62264751
> W: www.healthsci.utas.edu.au/
>
> _______________________________________________
> unimactech mailing list
> unimactech at auc.edu.au
> http://www.auc.edu.au/mailman/listinfo/unimactech
>

-- 
Tony Gray, Technical Services Manager,
School of Computing & Information Systems
Private Bag 100
University of Tasmania
-- 
"Microsoft software is carefully designed to keep your company's  
valuable information in, and unauthorised people and viruses out.  
Which means that your data couldn't really be safer, even if you kept  
it in a safe."
- Microsoft advertisement in the November South African issues of  
ITWeb Brainstorm and Time Magazine (which they were forced to remove)