Thanks for your reply Eduardo,

The connections are definetly not being touched. This problem only occurs on large DB size.

Now, recommend that you do a Sweep, then a full validate (need to have exclusive access to the database) as well as Mend if it is called for (also with exclusive access). Note all the errors for future reference.

Then do a back up and restore setting the page size to no less than 4 and more than likely 8 kb, allocate around 8,000 page buffers,
restart your FB Service and you should be as good and clean as the database is going to get in a short time.

Hope this helps.

Please pardon my ignorance Eduardo, I never do any maintenance on the DB.

Could you knidly advise me how to do a sweep/validate/mend

I think I can do the backup/restore and know how to configure pagesize through firebird.conf

If you see anything else odd in firebird.conf please advise me so I can adjust the parameters.

BTW system was reboot this morning and DB access OK ... for time being ...

Some more information

Version is 2.1.2.18118

The Windows is 32Bit and only 1 user on the system.

gstat -h statistics are

Database "CALLTRAK.FDB"
Database header page information:
Flags 0
Checksum 12345
Generation 267071614
Page size 4096
ODS version 10.1
Oldest transaction 266962053
Oldest active 266962054
Oldest snapshot 266962054
Next transaction 267071583
Bumped transaction 1
Sequence number 0
Next attachment ID 60032
Implementation ID 16
Shadow count 0
Page buffers 0
Next header page 0
Database dialect 3
Creation date Feb 6, 2008 16:54:32
Attributes force write

Variable header data:
Sweep interval: 20000
*END*

here is what is in the firebird.conf file

#######################################
#
# Firebird configuration file
#
# Comments
# --------
# The # character is used for comments and can be placed anywhere on a
# line. Anything following the # character on a line is considered a
# comment.
#
# Examples:
#
# # This is a comment
# DefaultDbCachePages = 2048 # This is an end-of-line comment
#
# Entries
# -------
# The default value for each entry is listed to the right of the "=".
# To activate an entry, remove the leading "#"s and supply the desired
# value.
#
# Please note, a number of the values are specified in **Bytes** (Not KB).
# Accordingly, we have provided some simple conversion tables at the bottom
# of this file.
#
# There are three types of configuration values: integer, boolean and string.
#
# Integer
# --------
# Integers is what they sound like, an integral value. Examples:
# 1
# 42
# 4711
#
# Boolean
# -------
# Boolean is expressed as integer values with 0 (zero) being "false" and
# non-zero is taken to mean "true". For consistency we recommend you
# only use 0/1.
#
# String
# ------
# Strings are also what they sound like, strings. Examples:
# RootDirectory = /opt/firebird
# RemotePipeName = pipe47
#
#
# Portions of this file have been reproduced/made available with the
# permission of Ann Harrison @ IBPhoenix.
#
#######################################

# ==================================
# Settings for all platforms/engines
# ==================================
#
# ----------------------------
# Specify the root directory under which Firebird is installed.
# Can be used to override the OS-specifically determined one.
#
# Type: string
#
#RootDirectory =


# ----------------------------
# Database Paths/Directories
#
# DatabaseAccess may be None, Full or Restrict. If you choose Restrict,
# provide ';'-separated trees list, where database files are stored.
# Relative paths are treated relative to RootDirectory entry
# (see above). Default value 'Full' gives full access to all files
# on your site. To specify access to specific trees, enum all required
# paths (for Win32 this may be something like 'C:\DataBase;D:\Mirror',
# for unix - '/db;/mnt/mirrordb'). If you choose 'None', then only
# databases listed in aliases.conf can be attached.
#
# Note: simple quotation marks shown above should *NOT* be used when
# specifying values and directory path names. Examples:
#
# DatabaseAccess = None
# DatabaseAccess = Restrict C:\DataBase
# DatabaseAccess = Restrict C:\DataBase;D:\Mirror
# DatabaseAccess = Restrict /db
# DatabaseAccess = Restrict /db;/mnt/mirrordb
# DatabaseAccess = Full
#
# UNCONTROLLED DATABASE ACCESS MAY COMPROMISE YOUR SYSTEM!
# IT IS STRONGLY RECOMMENDED THAT THIS SETTING BE USED TO LIMIT
# DATABASE LOCATIONS!
#
# Type: string (special format)
#
#DatabaseAccess = Full


# ----------------------------
# External File Paths/Directories
#
# ExternalFileAccess may be None, Full or Restrict. If you choose
# Restrict, provide ';'-separated trees list, where external files
# are stored. Relative paths are treated relative to RootDirectory entry
# (see above). Default value 'None' disables any use of external files
# on your site. To specify access to specific trees, enum all required
# paths (for Win32 this may be something like 'C:\ExternalTables',
# for unix - '/db/extern;/mnt/extern').
#
# NOTE: THE EXTERNAL TABLE ENGINE FEATURE COULD BE USED TO COMPROMISE
# THE SERVER/HOST AS WELL AS DATABASE SECURITY!!
#
# IT IS STRONGLY RECOMMENDED THAT THIS SETTING BE USED TO LIMIT
# EXTERNAL TABLE LOCATIONS!
#
# Type: string (special format)
#
#ExternalFileAccess = None


# ----------------------------
# External Function (UDF) Paths/Directories
#
# UdfAccess may be None, Full or Restrict. If you choose
# Restrict, provide ';'-separated trees list, where UDF libraries
# are stored. Relative paths are treated relative to RootDirectory entry
# (see above). Default value 'Restrict UDF' provides the same restrictions
# as in FB 1.0. To specify access to specific trees, enum all required
# paths (for Win32 this may be something like 'C:\ExternalFunctions',
# for unix - '/db/extern;/mnt/extern').
#
# NOTE: THE EXTERNAL FUNCTION ENGINE FEATURE COULD BE USED TO COMPROMISE
# THE SERVER/HOST AS WELL AS DATABASE SECURITY!!
#
# IT IS STRONGLY RECOMMENDED THAT THIS SETTING BE USED TO LIMIT
# EXTERNAL FUNCTION LOCATIONS!
#
# Type: string (special format)
#
#UdfAccess = Restrict UDF


# ----------------------------
# Temporary directories
#
# Provide ';'-separated trees list, where temporary files are stored.
# Relative paths are treated relative to RootDirectory entry
# (see above). Default value is determined using FIREBIRD_TMP,
# TEMP or TMP environment options. Once the first specified
# directory has no available space, the engine will switch to the
# next one, and so on.
#
# E.g.:
# TempDirectories = c:\temp
# or
# TempDirectories = c:\temp;d:\temp
#
# Type: string (special format)
#
#TempDirectories =

# ----------------------------
# Legacy hash makes possible use of old security.fdb
# after running misc/upgrade/security_database.sql.
# If you want to disable logons with old passwords
# after users' migration, set it to 0 (false).
# Makes no difference when used with original
# security2.fdb - it can't contain DES hash.
#
# Type: boolean
#
#LegacyHash = 1

# ----------------------------
# Which authentication method(s) should be used.
# "native" means use of only traditional interbase/firebird
# authentication with security database.
# "trusted" (Windows Only) makes use of window trusted authentication,
# and in some aspects this is the most secure way to authenticate.
# "mixed" means both methods may be used.
#
# Type: string
#
#Authentication = mixed

# ----------------------------
# Number of cached database pages
#
# This sets the number of pages from any one database that can be held
# in cache at once. If you increase this value, the engine will
# allocate more pages to the cache for every database. By default, the
# SuperServer allocates 2048 pages for each database and the classic
# allocates 75 pages per client connection per database.
#
# Type: integer
#
#DefaultDbCachePages = 2048

# ----------------------------
# Disk space preallocation
#
# Sets the amount of preallocated disk space in bytes. Disk space
# preallocation allows to reduce physical file fragmentation and to make
# database work in out of disk space condition. With preallocation enabled,
# engine allocates 1/16nth of already allocated disk space at a time but
# not less than 128KB and no more than DatabaseGrowthIncrement (128MB by
# default). To disable preallocation set DatabaseGrowthIncrement to zero.
# Shadow database files are not preallocated.
#
# Type: integer
#
#DatabaseGrowthIncrement = 134217728

# ----------------------------
# File system cache usage
#
# Sets the threshold whether Firebird will use file system cache or not.
# File system caching is used if database cache pages (sets explicitly in
# database header or implicitly via DefaultDbCachePages setting) is less
# than MaxFileSystemCache value.
# To always use file system cache set MaxFileSystemCache to some big value.
# To never use file system cache set MaxFileSystemCache to zero.
#
# Type: integer, measured in database pages
#
#MaxFileSystemCache = 65536


# ----------------------------
# Temporary space management
#
# Temporary storage is used by the sorting module, it's also
# intended to store temporary datasets etc.
#
# The parameters below handle the allocation and caching policy
# for the temporary space manager. In previous Firebird versions,
# they were prefixed with "SortMem" instead of current "Temp".
#
# The smallest block size being allocated in the temporary storage.
# This value reflects the allocation granularity.
#
# Type: integer
#
#TempBlockSize = 1048576

#
# The maximum amount of the temporary space that can be cached
# in memory.
#
# For Classic servers, this setting is defaulted to 8 MB.
# Although it can be increased, the value applies to each client
# connection/server instance and thus consumes a lot of memory.
#
# Type: integer
#
#TempCacheLimit = 67108864


# ----------------------------
# Backward-compatible parameter ordering as it was in FB v1/IB
#
# Type: boolean
#
#OldParameterOrdering = 0


# ----------------------------
# Boolean evaluation method (complete or shortcut)
#
# If your SQL code depends on side-effects of full evaluation of OR
# and AND statements (right-hand-side terms), even if the expressions
# final result could be determined by just examining the value of the
# first term, you might need to turn this on.
#
# Type: boolean
#
#CompleteBooleanEvaluation = 0


# ----------------------------
#
# Determines the number of seconds that the lock manager will wait after a
# conflict has been encountered before purging locks from dead processes
# and doing extra deadlock scan cycle. Engine detects deadlocks instantly
# in all normal cases, so this value affects things only if something goes
# wrong. Setting it too low may degrade system performance.
#
# Type: integer
#
#DeadlockTimeout = 10


# ----------------------------
#
# How often the pages are flushed on disk
# (for databases with ForcedWrites=Off only)
#
# Number of unflushed writes which will accumulate before they are
# flushed, at the next transaction commit. For non-Win32 ports,
# the default value is -1 (Disabled)
#
# Type: integer
#
#MaxUnflushedWrites = 100

#
# Number of seconds during which unflushed writes will accumulate
# before they are flushed, at the next transaction commit. For non-Win32
# ports, the default value is -1 (Disabled)
#
# Type: integer
#
#MaxUnflushedWriteTime = 5


# ----------------------------
#
# This option controls whether to call abort() when internal error or BUGCHECK
# is encountered thus invoke post-mortem debugger which can dump core suitable
# for off-line analysis. When disabled engine tries to minimize damage and
# continue execution.
#
# Note that setting this option to 1 makes engine produce traceable coredumps
# when something nasty like SIGSEGV happens inside UDF. On Windows enabling
# this option makes engine invoke JIT debugger facilities when errors happen.
#
# For debugging builds (DEV_BUILD), default value is 1 (Enabled)
#
# Type: boolean
#
#BugcheckAbort = 0


# Prior to Firebird 1.5 various SELECT expressions generated unnamed
# columns. This did not conform to the SQL standard. Fb 1.5 saw the
# introduction of default aliases for these unnamed columns. In some
# cases, particularly if string concatenation is used (via the ||
# operator) this breaks existing scripts.
#
# This setting will affect aliases generated via CONCATENATION,
# CURRENT_DATE, CURRENT_TIME, CURRENT_TIMESTAMP and EXTRACT. Setting
# the value to true will disable the alias generation. It is only
# recommended to be used where legacy scripts need to be supported.
# It will be marked deprecated in Firebird 2.0 and removed in
# Firebird 3.0.
#
# Type: boolean
#
#OldColumnNaming = 0

# ----------------------------
# Relaxing relation alias checking rules in SQL
#
# Since Firebird 2.0, strict alias checking rules were implemented in the SQL
# parser to accord with the SQL standard requirements. This setting allows
# these rules to be relaxed in order to allow legacy applications to run on
# Firebird 2.0.
# A setting of 1 (true) allows the parser to resolve a qualified column reference
# using the relation name, where an alias has been specified for that relation.
#
# For example, it allows a query such as:
# SELECT TABLE.X FROM TABLE A
#
# It is not recommended to enable this setting. It should be regarded as an
# interim workaround for porting untidy legacy code, until it is practicable to
# revise such code.
#
# CAUTION!
# There is no guarantee that this setting will be available in future Firebird
# versions.
#
# Type: boolean
#
#RelaxedAliasChecking = 0

# ----------------------------
# Client Connection Settings (Basic)
#
# Seconds to wait before concluding an attempt to connect has failed.
#
# Type: integer
#
#ConnectionTimeout = 180

#
# Seconds to wait on a silent client connection before the server sends
# dummy packets to request acknowledgment.
#
# DO NOT USE THIS OPTION. It may hang or crash Windows on the client side as
# explained here: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?kbid=296265
# or may not prevent eventual inactive client disconnection for other OS.
#
# Normally, Firebird uses SO_KEEPALIVE socket option to keep track of
# active connections. If you do not like default 2-hour keepalive timeout
# then adjust your server OS settings appropriately. On UNIX-like OS's,
# modify contents of /proc/sys/net/ipv4/tcp_keepalive_*. On Windows,
# follow instrutions of this article:
# http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?kbid=140325
#
# Type: integer
#
#DummyPacketInterval = 0


# ----------------------------
# TCP Protocol Settings
#
# The TCP Service name/Port number to be used for client database
# connections.
#
# It is only necessary to change one of the entries, not both. The
# order of precendence is the 'RemoteServiceName' (if an entry is
# found in the 'services.' file) then the 'RemoteServicePort'.
#
# Type: string, integer
#
#RemoteServiceName = gds_db
#RemoteServicePort = 3050

#
# The TCP Port Number to be used for server Event Notification
# messages. The value of 0 (Zero) means that the server will choose
# a port number randomly.
#
# Type: integer
#
#RemoteAuxPort = 0

#
# TCP/IP buffer size for send and receive buffers of both the client
# and server. The engine reads ahead of the client and can send
# several rows of data in a single packet. The larger the packet size,
# the more data is sent per transfer. Range is 1448 to 32767 (MAX_SSHORT).
#
# Type: integer
#
#TcpRemoteBufferSize = 8192

#
# Either enables or disables Nagle algorithm (TCP_NODELAY option of
# socket) of the socket connection.
#
# Note: Currently is a default for classic and super servers.
#
# Type: boolean
#
#TcpNoNagle = 1

#
# Allows incoming connections to be bound to the IP address of a
# specific network card. It enables rejection of incoming connections
# through any other network interface except this one. By default,
# connections from any available network interface are allowed.
# If you are using Classic Server, this setting is for Windows only.
# Under Linux, BSD or Mac OS X, with Classic server use xinetd or launchd
# configuration file (bind parameter)
#
# Type: string
#
#RemoteBindAddress =


# ----------------------------
# Locking and shared memory parameters
#
# Bytes of shared memory allocated for lock manager.
# In Classic mode, the size given is used for the initial allocation. The
# table expands dynamically up to the limit of memory. In SuperServer, the
# initial size is also the final size.
#
# Type: integer
#
#LockMemSize = 1048576

#
# Number of semaphores for interprocess communication.
# In non-threading environments, this sets the number of semaphores
# available
#
# Type: integer
#
#LockSemCount = 32

#
# When a connection wants to lock an object, it gets a lock request
# block which specifies the object and the lock level requested. Each
# locked object has a lock block. Request blocks are connected to those
# lock blocks either as requests that have been granted, or as pending
# requests.
#
# The settings:
# 1 means locks are granted first come, first served.
# 0 means emulate InterBase v3.3 behavior, where locks are granted
# as soon as they are available; can result in lock request
# starvation.
#
# Type: integer/boolean
#
#LockGrantOrder = 1

#
# In Classic, only one client process may access the lock table at any
# time. Access to the lock table is governed by a mutex. The mutex can
# be requested conditionally - a wait is a failure and the request must
# be retried - or unconditionally - the request will wait until it is
# satisfied. This parameter establishes the number of attempts that
# will be made conditionally. Zero value means unconditional mode.
# Relevant only on SMP machines.
#
# Type: integer
#
#LockAcquireSpins = 0

#
# Tune lock hash list; more hash slots mean shorter hash chains. Only
# necessary under very high load. Prime number values are recommended.
#
# Type: integer
#
#LockHashSlots = 1009

# ----------------------------
#
# Bytes of shared memory allocated for event manager.
#
# Type: integer
#
#EventMemSize = 65536


# ===========================
# SuperServer Engine Settings
# ===========================
#
# ----------------------------
# Which CPUs should be used (Windows Only)
#
# In an SMP system, sets which processors can be used by the server.
# The value is taken from a bit map in which each bit represents a CPU.
# Thus, to use only the first processor, the value is 1. To use both
# CPU 1 and CPU 2, the value is 3. To use CPU 2 and CPU 3, the value
# is 6. The default value is 1.
#
# Type: integer
#
#CpuAffinityMask = 3


# ----------------------------
# Settings for the thread scheduler (Windows Only)
#
# If you have problems with computer response time, running firebird
# on workstation, turn off thread scheduler.
#
# Type: boolean
#
#UsePriorityScheduler = 1

#
# The wait time, in milli-seconds (ms), before the priority of:
# - an active thread is reduced to 'Low', or
# - an inactive thread is increased to 'High'
#
# Note: The default value was chosen based on experiments on Intel
# PIII/P4 processors. It should be increased for using in the computer
# with lower speed processors.
#
# Type: integer
#
#PrioritySwitchDelay = 100

#
# Number of additional 'intervals' given to a 'High' priority thread.
#
# Type: integer
#
#PriorityBoost = 5

# ----------------------------
# Garbage collection policy
#
# Defines how engine does garbage collection. Valid values are :
# cooperative
# background
# combined
#
# Superserver has by default "combined" policy
# Classic has by default "cooperative" policy.
# Other values are ignored by classic server build
#
# Type: string (special format)
#
#GCPolicy = combined


# ==============================
# Classic Server Engine Settings
# ==============================
#


# ==============================
# Settings for Windows platforms
# ==============================
#
# ----------------------------
# Does the guardian restart the server every time it crashes?
# 0 - only start the engine/service once
# 1 - always restart the engine/service if it terminates
#
# Type: integer/boolean
#
#GuardianOption = 1


#
# ----------------------------
# Priority level/class for the server process.
#
# The values are:
# 0 (Zero) - normal priority,
# positive value - high priority (same as -B command line option)
# negative value - low priority.
#
# Note: All changes to this value should be carefully tested to ensure
# that engine is more responsive to requests.
#
# Type: integer
#
#ProcessPriorityLevel = 0


# ----------------------------
# Local Connection Settings
#
# The name of the shared memory area used as a transport channel in local protocol.
# Note that the local protocol in v2.0 is not compatible with any previous version
# if Firebird or InterBase.
#
# Please note that the server can register objects in Global\ kernel namespace
# only if it runs under the account with SE_CREATE_GLOBAL_NAME privilege.
# This means that if you run the server under a restricted account under
# Windows Vista/XP SP2/2000 SP4 it will not be accessible using the
# local protocol from other sessions.
#
# Type: string
#
#IpcName = FIREBIRD

#
# The name of the pipe used as a transport channel in NetBEUI protocol.
# Has the same meaning as a port number for TCP/IP. The default value is
# compatible with IB/FB1.
#
# Type: string
#
#RemotePipeName = interbas

#
# Does the server need to create a (hidden) window used for IPC communication.
# Turn this off to run the server without a window and hence without local protocol.
# Can be used for running a few instances of the server simultaneously on win32.
#
# Type: boolean
#
#CreateInternalWindow = 1


# ============================
# Settings for Unix/Linux platforms
# ============================
#
#
# UNIX signal to use for interprocess communication
#
# Type: integer
#
#LockSignal = 16


# ----------------------------
# Remove protection against opening databases on NFS mounted volumes
#
# ***WARNING*** ***WARNING*** ***WARNING*** ***WARNING***
#
# This option removes an important safety feature of Firebird and can
# cause irrecoverable database corruption. Do not use this option unless
# you understand the risks and are prepared to accept the loss of the
# contents of your database.
# Unless this configuration option is changed from 0 to 1, Firebird can
# open a database only if the database is stored on a drive physically
# attached to the local computer - the computer running that copy of
# Firebird. Requests for connections to databases stored on NFS mounted
# drives are redirected to a Firebird server running on the computer that
# "owns" the disk.
# This restriction prevents two different copies of Firebird from opening
# the same database without coordinating their activities. Uncoordinated
# access by multiple copies of Firebird will corrupt a database. On a local
# system, the system-level file locking prevents uncoordinated access to
# the database file.
# NFS does not provide a reliable way to detect multiple users of a file on
# an NFS mounted disk. If a second copy of Firebird connects to a database on
# an NFS mounted disk, it will corrupt the database.
# Under some circumstances, running a Firebird server on the computer that
# owns NFS mounted volumes is inconvenient or impossible. Applications that
# use the "embedded" variant of Firebird and never share access to a database
# can use this option to permit direct access to databases on NFS mounted
# volumes.
# DO NOT ENABLE THIS OPTION UNLESS YOU REALLY KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING.
#
# Type: boolean
#
#RemoteFileOpenAbility = 0

# ----------------------------
# Remove protection against redirecting requests to other servers
#
# ***WARNING*** ***WARNING*** ***WARNING*** ***WARNING***
#
# Ability to redirect requests to other servers was initially present
# in Interbase, but was broken by Borland in Interbase 6.0, when
# they added SQL dialects. Request redirection was fixed in firebird 2.0,
# but today such behaviour (proxy) seems to be dangerous from security
# point of view. Imagine, you have one carefully protected firebird server,
# access to which is possible from global net. But in case when this server
# has access to your internal LAN (may and should be restricted,
# but often possible), it will work as a gateway for incoming requests like:
# firebird.your.domain.com:internal_server:/private/database.fdb
# It's enough to know name/IP of some internal server on your LAN, and for
# this connection one even need not know login/password on external server.
# Such gateway easily overrides firewall, installed to protect your LAN
# from outside attack.
#
# DO NOT ENABLE THIS OPTION UNLESS YOU REALLY KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING.
#
# Type: boolean
#
#Redirection = 0

#######################################
#
# KB to Bytes Conversion table
#
#######################################
#
# KB Bytes KB Bytes
# ---- --------- ---- ---------
# 1 1024 32 32768
# 2 2048 64 65536
# 4 4096 128 131072
# 8 8192 256 262144
# 16 16384 512 524288
#
#######################################
#
# MB to Bytes Conversion table
#
#######################################
#
# MB Bytes MB Bytes MB Bytes
# --- --------- --- ----------- --- -----------
# 1 1048576 64 67108864 448 469762048
# 2 2097152 128 134217728 512 536870912
# 4 4194304 192 201326592 640 671088640
# 8 8388608 256 268435456 768 805306368
# 16 16777216 320 335544320 896 939524096
# 32 33554432 384 402653184 1024 1073741824
#

Thank You very much for your help. I do appreciate it .................


Best Regards,

Theodore

----- Original Message -----
From: Eduardo A
To: firebird-support@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Thursday, November 19, 2009 9:47 AM
Subject: [firebird-support] Re: My Firebird fails on Large database size, only way to fix is by reboot



--- In firebird-support@yahoogroups.com, "theodorezafiropoulos" <theodorez@...> wrote:
>
> Hello,
>
> I have Firebird 2.1 running as super server on Win XP Pro, with the platform being Xeon 5410 chip and 4GB memory.
>
> The application collects phone data and needs to store A LOT of call records. ie up to 300K per day.
>
> The Firebird.log file in the Firebird directory was full of
>
> inet_error: connect errno = 10061
> inet_error: read errno = 10054

Theodore

The error 10054 is the equivalent of someone plugging and unplugging their network connection to the server while the server is working. You must get IT to fix that (switches, cables, NIC cards, etc.). AS resilient as Firebird is, this I/O error can mess it up.

Now, recommend that you do a Sweep, then a full validate (need to have exclusive access to the database) as well as Mend if it is called for (also with exclusive access). Note all the errors for future reference.

Then do a back up and restore setting the page size to no less than 4 and more than likely 8 kb, allocate around 8,000 page buffers,
restart your FB Service and you should be as good and clean as the database is going to get in a short time.

Hope this helps.

-Eduardo






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