Workaround when a component server startup on Linux hangs

When starting a platform component server (CDP, AP, LAP, or HA-CDP) on Linux, the process may take too long to start and appears to be stalled. This is caused by a known Java issue. Use the following workaround.

At the command line, run the following command:

rngd -r /dev/urandom

Restart the Tomcat server.

Ensure that this command is running at server startup or before starting the  BMC Atrium Orchestrator service. 

rngd will not be restarted automatically after a server reboot of the server unless you modify the startup files.

The following steps provide an example of how to modify the startup file on Red Hat Linux to automatically start rngd after a server reboot and to specify that rngd use the software source instead of the hardware random number sources that it usually uses. Consult with your system administrator for details on how to do this for your operating system.

  1. Edit /etc/sysconfig/rngd to have the following setting:

    EXTRAOPTIONS="-i -r /dev/urandom"

  2. Make sure that rngd is set to autostart after reboot:
    chkconfig --level 2345 rngd on

  3. Start the rngd service:
    service rngd start

To check your entropy levels, use the following command:

watch -n 1 cat /proc/sys/kernel/random/entropy_avail

If the values shown are below 200, you have too little entropy.

Note that for fully secure environments, hardware random number sources are recommended and the rngd must be configured appropriately to use these.


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Comments

  1. Paul Seager-Smith

    Please note that the rngd will not be restarted automatically after a reboot of the server unless you modify the startup files.

    rngd normally expects hardware random number sources and if you want to use the software source, you need to do the following (on RedHat based distributions):

    1. Edit /etc/sysconfig/rngd to have the following:
      EXTRAOPTIONS="-i -r /dev/urandom"
    2. Make sure that rngd is set to autostart after reboot:
      chkconfig --level 2345 rngd on
    3. Start the rngd service:
      service rngd start

    After this the rngd should be started even after reboot.

    If you wish to check your entropy levels, use the following:

    watch -n 1 cat /proc/sys/kernel/random/entropy_avail
    If the values shown are below 200, then you have too little entropy.

    Note that for fully secure environments, hardware random number sources are recommended and the rngd must be configured appropriately to use these.

    Jul 18, 2016 11:30
  2. James Annis

    Please clarify, "platform component server". Is this an AP or LAP?

    Aug 22, 2016 08:32
    1. Dorothy Poole

       Hi Jim. My understanding is that this could be a CDP, AP, LAP... I will confirm with the team.

      Aug 22, 2016 08:36
    1. Dorothy Poole

      The team has confirmed that this can be a CDP, AP, LAP, HA-CDP. I added this to the page. Thank you.

      Aug 22, 2016 10:13