how to check if CRON is running?

eeps24 · 06-27-2013, 02:37 PM

I have script jobs that run in cron, all of sudden these jobs do not run. If I run the scripts manually they work fine, so this is telling me that CRON is the issue.

What should I be looking for/how can I tell if something isnt right?

if I do a cron -l I do see my scripts in there.

TB0ne · 06-27-2013, 02:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eeps24

I have script jobs that run in cron, all of sudden these jobs do not run. If I run the scripts manually they work fine, so this is telling me that CRON is the issue.

What should I be looking for/how can I tell if something isnt right?

if I do a cron -l I do see my scripts in there.

If the jobs WERE running through cron just fine, and have stopped, then the cron daemon may be stopped. You don't say what version/distro of Linux you're using, but "/etc/init.d/cron status" (as root) will tell you. If it's stopped, try to start it, and check the status again. You may also want to check the system logs and cron logs, to see if anything caused it to stop.

eeps24 · 06-27-2013, 02:59 PM

redhat...im going to ask a noob question, how do I switch to root?

would I do..

1. su root
2. then type "/etc/init.d/cron status"

eeps24 · 06-27-2013, 03:03 PM

i typed "service crond status" and it says its running.

TB0ne · 06-28-2013, 01:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eeps24

redhat...im going to ask a noob question, how do I switch to root?
would I do..

1. su root
2. then type "/etc/init.d/cron status"

Yes, you could, or type in "sudo -s", or "sudo /etc/init.d/cron status".

Quote:

Originally Posted by eeps24

i typed "service crond status" and it says its running.

You might want to try to restart it.

You still don't say what version/distro of Linux you're using, if the cron jobs have ever worked, if you've seen anything in the logs, or if there have been any changes lately. All could be parts of the problem(s).

eeps24 · 06-28-2013, 01:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TB0ne

You still don't say what version/distro of Linux you're using, if the cron jobs have ever worked, if you've seen anything in the logs, or if there have been any changes lately. All could be parts of the problem(s).

redhat linux, not sure which version. The error log shows this....

/abc/v6.8/integrator/kshlib/setroot: line 19 /integrator/bin/abcsetenv: no such file or directory.

Line above this error is:
++ /integrator/bin/abcsetenv – root ksh

Also looks like an error to me:
/home/abc/bin/clean.sh line 83 cd: /server/logs: no such file or directory.

TB0ne · 06-28-2013, 02:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eeps24

redhat linux, not sure which version. The error log shows this....

/abc/v6.8/integrator/kshlib/setroot: line 19 /integrator/bin/abcsetenv: no such file or directory.

Line above this error is:
++ /integrator/bin/abcsetenv – root ksh

Also looks like an error to me:
/home/abc/bin/clean.sh line 83 cd: /server/logs: no such file or directory.

Ok, so based on that, are those paths correct? Have you looked at line 19 in the abcsetenv file? And again, has this EVER worked??

chrism01 · 06-30-2013, 11:59 PM

As above and to check OS version, please post

Code:

cat /etc/*release*

uname -a

Errors should appear in /var/log/cron.
Note also that cron often emails the job owner or root if it has problems, so try 'mailx' as each of those users.

kamalmin · 07-01-2013, 08:40 PM

if you are using Fedora/redhat/centos then

1) restart the crontab service

#service crond restart

2) check the user crontabl entry

#crontab -lu <user name>

eg
#crontab -lu testuser

if you are using suse linux then

1) restart the crontab service

#service cron restart

2) check the user crontabl entry

#crontab -lu <user name>

eg
#crontab -lu testuser

TB0ne · 07-02-2013, 08:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kamalmin

if you are using Fedora/redhat/centos then

1) restart the crontab service
#service crond restart

2) check the user crontabl entry
#crontab -lu <user name>

if you are using suse linux then

The OP already said they were using Red Hat Linux, and the steps you posted were already suggested/tried. Please read the thread carefully before posting.

gdr · 07-02-2013, 09:09 AM

If there is an error during execution, Cron is sending it by email to root by default, but you can change it by adding a line like this to your crontab:

MAILTO=you@yourserver.com

It will probably end up in spam.

Another way is to read root's email locally via terminal, by installing an email client like Pine or Mutt, and running them as root.

chrism01 · 07-03-2013, 01:49 AM

No need to install Pine/Mutt, try mailx or mail; these are usually in the default install.

gdr · 07-03-2013, 05:57 AM

Sure, mail/mailx will be good too, unless the number of emails collected is in the 10k range