nmi_watchdog

file: /proc/sys/kernel/nmi_watchdog
variable: kernel.nmi_watchdog
Official reference

This parameter can be used to control the NMI watchdog (i.e. the hard lockup detector) on x86 systems.

  • 0 - disable the hard lockup detector
  • 1 - enable the hard lockup detector

The hard lockup detector monitors each CPU for its ability to respond to timer interrupts. The mechanism utilizes CPU performance counter registers that are programmed to generate Non-Maskable Interrupts (NMIs) periodically while a CPU is busy. Hence, the alternative name ‘NMI watchdog’.

The NMI watchdog is disabled by default if the kernel is running as a guest in a KVM virtual machine. This default can be overridden by adding

nmi_watchdog=1

to the guest kernel command line (see Documentation/admin-guide/kernel-parameters.rst).

source

Last update: 2018-12-09 18:93:01 UTC

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