How to resolve inotify limits during installation?

During an ITRS Analytics installation or preflight check, you might encounter an inotify limit error. Linux uses inotify to monitor file system events, and the following kernel parameters limit the resources available to each user:

• fs.inotify.max_user_instances limits the number of inotify instances. If this value is too low, workloads can report failed to create fsnotify watcher: too many open files
• fs.inotify.max_user_watches limits the number of files and directories that inotify instances can monitor. If this value is too low, workloads can report no space left on device

The Node Sysctl preflight check evaluates each setting separately on every cluster node. The minimum values are 1024 for fs.inotify.max_user_instances and 65536 for fs.inotify.max_user_watches. If a check fails, its result identifies the affected nodes and their current values. For more information, see Preflight check for inotify limits.

Note

Beginning with ITRS Analytics 2.18.x, fs.inotify.max_user_watches is included as a new check, and both fs.inotify.max_user_watches and fs.inotify.max_user_instances report a failure instead of a warning when a node is below the minimum value. If you previously saw a warning for these limits during an upgrade, you will now see a failure.

Adjust the inotify limits Copied

On each affected node:

1. Set both parameters to at least the minimum values:

   sudo sysctl -w fs.inotify.max_user_instances=1024
   sudo sysctl -w fs.inotify.max_user_watches=65536
   

2. Verify the updated values:

   sysctl fs.inotify.max_user_instances
   sysctl fs.inotify.max_user_watches
   

   The output should show values that meet or exceed the minimums:

   fs.inotify.max_user_instances = 1024
   fs.inotify.max_user_watches = 65536
   

3. Re-run the preflight checks and confirm that both inotify checks pass