WD_KEEPALIVE(8) 					      System Manager's Manual						   WD_KEEPALIVE(8)

NAME

       wd_keepalive - a simplified software watchdog daemon

SYNOPSIS

       wd_keepalive [-c filename|--config-file filename]

DESCRIPTION

       This is a simplified version of the watchdog daemon. If configured so it only opens
	.IR  /dev/watchdog  ,  and keeps writing to it often enough to keep the kernel from resetting, at least once per minute. Each write delays
       the reboot time another minute. After a minute of inactivity the watchdog hardware will cause a reset. In the case of the software watchdog
       the ability to reboot will depend on the state of the machines and interrupts.

       The wd_keepalive daemon can be stopped without causing a reboot if the device /dev/watchdog is closed correctly, unless your kernel is com-
       piled with the CONFIG_WATCHDOG_NOWAYOUT option enabled.

       Under high system load wd_keepalive might be swapped out of memory and may fail to make it back in in time. Under these	circumstances  the
       Linux  kernel will reset the machine. To make sure you won't get unnecessary reboots make sure you have the variable realtime set to yes in
       the configuration file watchdog.conf.  This adds real time support to wd_keepalive: it will lock itself into memory and there should  be no
       problem even under the highest of loads.

       On  system  running  out of memory the kernel will try to free enough memory by killing process. The wd_keepalive daemon itself is exempted
       from this so-called out-of-memory killer.

OPTIONS

       Available command line options are the following:

       -c config-file, --config-file config-file
	      Use config-file as the configuration file instead of the default /etc/watchdog.conf.

FILES

       /dev/watchdog
	      The watchdog device.

       /var/run/wd_keepalive.pid
	      The pid file of the running wd_keepalive.

SEE ALSO

       watchdog.conf(5)

       watchdog(8)

4th Berkeley Distribution					   January 2005 						   WD_KEEPALIVE(8)