Manually Configuring Operating System Settings

Vertica requires that you manually configure some general operating system settings. Vertica recommends that you configure these settings in the /etc/rc.local script to prevent them from reverting on reboot. The /etc/rc.local startup script contains scripts and commands that run each time the system is booted.

If you are using Red Hat 7.0 or CentOS 7.0 or higher, you must make sure the tuning system service will not start upon reboot. Run the following command as sudo or root:

$ chkconfig tuned off

Turning off tuning prevents monitoring of your OS and any tuning of your OS based on this monitoring. Tuning also enables THP silently which may cause issues in other areas, for example read ahead.

Note: SUSE systems use the /etc/init.d/after.local file rather than the etc/rc.local file. For purposes of using Vertica, the functionality of both files is the same.

Settings to Configure Manually

The /etc/rc.local settings relevant to the installation of Vertica include:

Permanently Changing Settings with /etc/rc.local

  1. As the root user, open the /etc/rc.local file:
    # vi /etc/rc.local
  2. Enter a script or command. For example, to set the transparent hugepages setting to meet Vertica requirements, enter:
    echo never > /sys/kernel/mm/redhat_transparent_hugepage/enabled

    Important: On some Ubuntu/Debian systems, the last line in /etc/rc.local must be "exit 0". Any additions to /etc/rc.local must come before "exit 0".

  3. Save your changes, and close the /etc/rc.local file.
  4. If you are using Red Hat 7.0 or CentOS 7.0 or higher, run the following command as root or sudo:
    $ chmod +x /etc/rc.d/rc.local

On the next reboot, the command runs during startup. You can also run the command manually, as the root user, if you want it to take effect immediately.