If you are receiving the following error in your AIX errpt, you need to increase the size of your dump device:
IDENTIFIER TIMESTAMP T C RESOURCE_NAME DESCRIPTION E87EF1BE 0925150011 P O dumpcheck The largest dump device is too small.
First, identify the largest dump device using the “/usr/lib/ras/dumpcheck -p” command, as in the following example:
eclipse:root:/# /usr/lib/ras/dumpcheck -p The largest dump device is too small. Largest dump device lg_dumplv Largest dump device size in kb 1048576 Current estimated dump size in kb 1501593
In this example, the “dump device” that needs to be increased is “lg_dumplv”. If a file system needs to be increased, the output will give a “file system name”.
If a logical volume needs to be increased, review the current size of this logical volume using the lslv command, similar to the following example:
eclipse:root:/# lslv lg_dumplv LOGICAL VOLUME: lg_dumplv VOLUME GROUP: rootvg LV IDENTIFIER: 0001c02b0000d60000000114a8a42e67.11 PERMISSION: read/write VG STATE: active/complete LV STATE: opened/syncd TYPE: sysdump WRITE VERIFY: off MAX LPs: 512 PP SIZE: 128 megabyte(s) COPIES: 1 SCHED POLICY: parallel LPs: 8 PPs: 8 STALE PPs: 0 BB POLICY: relocatable INTER-POLICY: minimum RELOCATABLE: yes INTRA-POLICY: middle UPPER BOUND: 32 MOUNT POINT: N/A LABEL: None MIRROR WRITE CONSISTENCY: on/ACTIVE EACH LP COPY ON A SEPARATE PV ?: yes Serialize IO ?: NO
Note the number of LPs, and increase the logical volume by a reasonable extent. In this example, I can double the size of the logical volume by adding an additional 8 LPs, as shown in the example command below:
eclipse:root:/# extendlv lg_dumplv 8
If a file system needs to be increased, review the current and estimated sizes of the file system provided by the dumpcheck utility. Then, expand the filesystem using a command similar to the following example:
chfs -a size=8G /var/adm/ras
Once you have confirmed the new size same lslv or df commands, run the same dumpcheck command to verify that no errors or warnings are generated. If the situation has been resolved, running the dumpcheck command will simply return you to the command prompt with no errors.
For more information on the AIX dump device, it’s purpose, and more detailed troubleshooting steps, see IBM’s website: Increase the Size of a Dump Device