Too many open files in system

[Steve Buehler]

	I am getting a lot of messages about Too many open files in system.  I am 
running RHEL 3.x on a dual Xeon 2.4Ghz with 2Gig of ram.  The only thing 
really different from the average system is that we are running an Ensim 
Control panel and this normally happens when we are doing backups.  But we 
have other systems like this and don't have this problem.  Also, I know 
that there are other people out there running this with more than the 185 
sites that we have on this server.  Now I do agree that a couple of our 
sites get more hits than a lot of the other servers that are out there with 
this type of setup.  But they are only averaging (each):
25,000 hits per day
25,000 files hit
5,500 Pages
720 visits
10Gig of bandwidth a month.

Below are the logwatch messages being sent to me.  I also have a bunch of 
PAM faulty modules too that I don't remember seeing before and am not sure 
what to do about them either.
    Expunge ignored on readonly mailbox: 5 Time(s)
    PAM adding faulty module: /lib/security/pam_unix.so: 3 Time(s)
    Mailbox is open by another process, access is readonly: 3 Time(s)
    PAM unable to dlopen(/lib/security/pam_unix.so): 3 Time(s)
    Mailbox open failed, aborted: Too many open files in system: 3 Time(s)
    PAM adding faulty module: /lib/security/pam_cracklib.so: 2 Time(s)
    PAM adding faulty module: /lib/security/pam_listfile.so: 2 Time(s)
    PAM [dlerror: /lib/security/pam_listfile.so: cannot open shared object 
file: Too many open files in system]: 2 Time(s)
    PAM unable to dlopen(/lib/security/pam_cracklib.so): 2 Time(s)
    PAM unable to dlopen(/lib/security/pam_listfile.so): 2 Time(s)
    PAM unable to dlopen(/lib/security/pam_env.so): 2 Time(s)
    PAM [dlerror: libcrack.so.2: cannot open shared object file: Too many 
open files in system]: 2 Time(s)
    PAM [dlerror: /lib/security/pam_env.so: cannot open shared object file: 
Too many open files in system]: 2 Time(s)
    PAM adding faulty module: /lib/security/pam_env.so: 2 Time(s)
    PAM adding faulty module: /lib/security/$ISA/pam_deny.so: 1 Time(s)
    Error opening or locking INBOX user=Fred 
host=client504.fnj1.hawkcommunications.com [64.63.244.95]: 1 Time(s)
    PAM [dlerror: /lib/security/../../lib/security/pam_deny.so: cannot open 
shared object file: Too many open files in system]: 1 Time(s)
    Error opening or locking INBOX user=phil host=[67.96.183.226]: 1 Time(s)
    PAM unable to dlopen(/lib/security/$ISA/pam_deny.so): 1 Time(s)
    Error opening or locking INBOX user=Fred 
host=client242.fnj1.hawkcommunications.com [64.63.223.242]: 1 Time(s)
    Error opening or locking INBOX user=jpanther 
host=adsl-69-154-20-31.dsl.ksc2mo.swbell.net [69.154.20.31]: 1 Time(s)
    PAM unable to dlopen(/lib/security/pam_stack.so): 1 Time(s)
    PAM adding faulty module: /lib/security/pam_stack.so: 1 Time(s)
    PAM [dlerror: /lib/security/pam_unix.so: cannot open shared object 
file: Too many open files in system]: 1 Time(s)
    PAM [dlerror: libnsl.so.1: cannot open shared object file: Too many 
open files in system]: 1 Time(s)
    Killed (lost mailbox lock) user=jpanther 
host=adsl-69-154-20-31.dsl.ksc2mo.swbell.net [69.154.20.31]: 1 Time(s)
    PAM adding faulty module: /lib/security/pam_ensimvwh.so: 1 Time(s)
    PAM [dlerror: /lib/security/pam_stack.so: cannot open shared object 
file: Too many open files in system]: 1 Time(s)
    PAM [dlerror: libcrypt.so.1: cannot open shared object file: Too many 
open files in system]: 1 Time(s)
    PAM [dlerror: /lib/security/pam_ensimvwh.so: cannot open shared object 
file: Too many open files in system]: 1 Time(s)
    PAM unable to dlopen(/lib/security/pam_ensimvwh.so): 1 Time(s)