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How to configure KDUMP in Ubuntu 24.04 / 22.x / 20.x

Configuring kdump (Kernel Dump Mechanism) in Ubuntu 24.04 (or other similar versions) involves a few key steps. 

Kdump is essential for diagnosing kernel crashes by capturing crash dumps for later analysis. Here's how to set it up:



Step 1: Install Necessary Packages

Ensure the kdump tools and other required packages are installed:

sudo apt update

sudo apt install kexec-tools kdump-tools linux-crashdump


Step 2: Enable kdump

Edit the configuration file to enable kdump:

sudo vi /etc/default/kdump-tools

Look for the line USE_KDUMP=0 and change it to: USE_KDUMP=1

Save and exit the file.


Step 3: Configure Memory for kdump

Kdump uses a reserved portion of memory to capture crash dumps. Configure the amount of memory reserved for kdump by adding a kernel boot parameter.

Edit the GRUB configuration:

sudo vi /etc/default/grub

Find the line starting with GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT and append crashkernel=256M (or another appropriate value depending on your system's RAM):

GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash crashkernel=256M"

If your system has more memory, you might use crashkernel=512M or more.Adjust the value based on your server’s usage and resources.

Update GRUB to apply changes:

sudo update-grub


Step 4: Start and Enable kdump Service

Restart the kdump service to apply changes:

sudo systemctl enable kdump-tools

sudo systemctl start kdump-tools

Check its status to confirm it's running:

sudo systemctl status kdump-tools


Step 5: Verify KDUMP Configuration

Check the KDUMP status:

sudo kdump-config show

You should see output indicating that KDUMP is enabled and ready to capture crash dumps.



Step 6: Reboot the System

Reboot your system to apply the changes if above config-show output is not showing dump status


Step 7: Verify KDUMP Configuration after reboot

Check the KDUMP status:

sudo kdump-config show

You should see output indicating that KDUMP is enabled and ready to capture crash dumps.


Step 8: Test the kdump Configuration

To ensure that kdump works properly, trigger a manual kernel crash. (Be cautious with this on a production system.)

Enable sysrq if not already enabled:

echo 1 | sudo tee /proc/sys/kernel/sysrq

Trigger a crash:

echo c | sudo tee /proc/sysrq-trigger

The system should reboot, and the crash dump will be stored.


Step 9: Verify Crash Dumps

By default, crash dumps are stored in /var/crash. Check the directory for crash dump files:

ls -l /var/crash



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