Processes in a Zombie (Z) or Defunct State

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Environment

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10

Situation

Defunct processes, also called zombie processes - may be an application error as well.

#==[ Checking Health of Processes ]=================#
# egrep " D| Z" /var/log/nts_x64-7_090210_1117/psout.vNO31896
                                            vv
root       707 23884 0.0 0.0      0     0 Z    00:00:00 [ncs-resourced.p]<defunct>
root      3816 2949 0.0 0.0   6012   656 D    00:02:52 hald-addon-storage
root     23830     1 0.0 0.0      0     0 D    00:01:03 [MPK Thread]
root     23831     1 0.0 0.0      0     0 D    00:00:09 [MPK Thread]
root     23839     1 0.0 0.0      0     0 D    00:00:07 [MPK Thread]
root     23844     1 0.0 0.0      0     0 D    00:00:00 [MPK Thread]
                                            ^^

Resolution

Defunct ("zombie") processes are child processes that have terminated, but have not been reaped by the parent. See ps(1). If a parent process does not clean up its terminated child processes, it could be an indication of an application bug, configuration or other issue with the application. Make sure to account for the defunct processes. Check the application's configuration, restart the server, and observe the application's behavior.

Run chkbin </path/to/parent/process/binary> to confirm the application and its libraries are healthy.

Disclaimer

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