Descriptors

D

DevynCJohnson

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Series Index - http://www.linux.org/threads/linux-kernel-reading-guide.5384/

If you have read the part of the Linux kernel series that discusses system calls, then you are probably wondering a lot about file descriptors. In short terms, a file descriptor is some special indicator (in the form of an integer) used to access files. The descriptors are stored on an array that contains the file descriptor and various information about the file. The file descriptor may not point to a file, but it may point to a socket, pipe, directory, device, etc. Remember, in Linux, everything is a file. We will take a moment to try to thoroughly understand file descriptors.

Only the kernel can access the file descriptor table or index (which ever you prefer to call it). The file descriptor index keeps track of a file's location (i.e. /some/path), the process/user accessing the file, the processes PID, the file's type (i.e. pipe, directory, regular file, etc.), and some other information.

Many kernel calls usually access files using a file descriptor, just like processes are referred to by their PIDs and other IDs. Closed files do not have file descriptors just like how processes are only given a PID when they are open/executing. Files cannot get a file descriptor until they are opened/accessed.

The "lsof" command LiSts Open Files by checking the list of file descriptors. Users can use lsof to view the file descriptor index. Users can also see what files particular processes have open. Users can also see the file descriptors processes have open via /proc/. In a process's proc folder (like /proc/2010/), users can see the file descriptors that the process is using by looking in the "fd" folder. For instance, to see the file descriptors that are being used by process 2010, type "ls /proc/2010/fd/".

fd_lsof.png


If you run "ls /proc/PID/fd/" for multiple "PIDs", you may notice that file descriptors "0", "1", and "2" are under most or all PID folders. "0" is standard in (stdin), "1" is standard out (stout), and "2" is standard error (stderr).

fd_term2.png


Processes can share file descriptors. For instance, a process may need to share a file descriptor with another process. Also, when a process is forked, the child process has the same file descriptors as the parent process.

fd_share.png


There is a limit to the number of system-wide file descriptors that can be active at any given moment. This limit can be seen by running this command - "cat /proc/sys/fs/file-max". Every system and distro is different. To see the hard limit that is allowed for the average single user/process, execute this command - "ulimit -Hn". The soft limit can be viewed with a similar command - "ulimit -Sn". The soft limit is a limit they may be exceeded for a limited amount of time when needed. The hard limit is a limit that may not be exceeded or bent in any way. In other words, the hard limit must be obeyed with no exceptions. The system-wide file descriptor limit can be changed via this command - "sysctl -w fs.file-max=#", where "#" is the desired number. Then, using the same number, add this line to /etc/sysctl.conf - "fs.file-max = #". Reboot the system to apply the changes or run "sysctl -p" if you prefer not to reboot. Obviously, making such changes must be performed as Root. To change the hard and soft limits of a particular user, add or edit these lines in the /etc/security/limits.conf file -

USER soft nofile ##
USER hard nofile ##

Where "USER" is the name of a user or process and "##" is a number. Again, perform this action as Root.

fd_limit.png


NOTE: Running "sysctl fs.file-max" will produce the same output as "cat /proc/sys/fs/file-max".

The soft limit can be temporarily increased in the shell that executes this command - "ulimit -n ###".

To see how many file descriptors are open on your system, type "lsof | wc -l". To see how many file descriptors are currently being actively used, look at the first number of this output - "cat /proc/sys/fs/file-nr".

If you are a programmer, then you may be familiar with the open(), close(), read(), and write() commands which are commonly used in C/C++, Python, and other languages. These commands interact with the file descriptors. open() and close() open and close a file descriptor, respectively. Without running these two commands the file descriptor is never made or left open, again respectively.

Hopefully, this article has helped readers to understand that file descriptors are basically PIDs for files. This knowledge should help make system calls easier to understand.


NOTE TO READERS: If any of you have or think you have missed an article of the Linux kernel series or Linux+ series, then I recommend you see the article index (with links) here - http://www.linux.org/threads/reading-guides-indexes.6034/
 

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