<p>Configure some swap space, you are probably running out of memory, check with <code>dmesg</code> on your instance for additional information.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2014-01-30T20:55:26.257Z
2022-01-07T17:13:19.330Z
2022-01-07T17:13:19.330Z
Giovanni Toraldo
<p>If you are downloading the blockchain you will likely run out of hard drive space.  Most default instances start with only 8 GB of storage.  SSH into the box and check disk utilization.</p>

<pre><code>df -h
</code></pre>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-01-31T02:21:33.990Z
Good point but in my case I have attached a 30 gig volume and it's about half full.
Spencer Ruport
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-01-31T02:56:04.773Z
Also, running out of disk space wouldn't likely result in the process getting SIGKILL.  It would typically fail more gracefully with an I/O error.
Nate Eldredge
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-02-01T15:13:03.553Z
```no space left on device```.
Giovanni Toraldo
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-01-30T23:19:09.577Z
2014-01-30T23:19:09.577Z
Mark S.
<p>I'm trying to run bitcoind on an AWS debian instance. Running with the <code>-daemon</code> option would terminate with no indication as to why so I decided to run it under a <code>screen</code>. I started it last night (without options) and disconnected from the screen and verified that it was working. This morning the server had stopped so I reconnected to the screen session it was running on and the only message bitcoind gave was "Killed".</p>

<p>There's nothing in the logs that seems to indicate how or why this is happening and I'm at a bit of a loss. Can anyone give me some recommendations or insight on how to determine the cause of the issue?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-01-30T18:07:07.803Z
This often occurs when the machine runs out of memory.  If so, there would likely be a message in one of your system logs (not the bitcoind log).  How much memory does your instance have?
Nate Eldredge
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-01-30T18:10:29.127Z
@SunWKim: I don't know exactly how AWS works, but it seems unlikely that this is due to Amazon's interference.  Providers typically don't mess with what's running on a virtual machine; you've paid for the instance and you're entitled to use all its resources.  If there were a problem, I'd expect them to shut down the instance completely, not go around killing processes on it.
Nate Eldredge
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-01-30T19:21:53.380Z
@NateEldredge - Thanks for the memory suggestion. I have ~589 mb and linux is reporting about 6mb free when the server is running so you're probably correct. You mention there is a system log that would indicate an out of memory exception? I know it's most likely the issue but for my own curiosity where would I locate it? (Linux newbie)
Spencer Ruport
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-01-30T19:57:29.550Z
Is this a free usage tier or AWS you have paid for? From my understanding, if you have to pay for AWS you are losing money since you will not mine enough in the long run to pay for the computing cost.
Sun
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-01-30T20:36:44.130Z
Yeah, that's probably too little memory.  For reference, bitcoin-qt is using about 400MB on my machine right now, and of course you need some for the rest of the system.  For logs, I'm not 100% sure about Debian but I would look in `/var/log/syslog`, or if you haven't rebooted since the incident, run `dmesg |less`.
Nate Eldredge
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-01-30T21:14:59.430Z
When Bitcoind is initially syncing the blockchain, it takes a lot more memory and CPU recources than when it's all caught up.  I regularly saw 90+% CPU on a 1.5gb Ubuntu instance.  But it all settled down once I caught up.
ChrisW
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-01-30T21:27:33.140Z
@SunWKim - I'm aware of this. It's purely for educational purposes both in getting familiar with bitcoin and linux.
Spencer Ruport
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-01-30T21:28:15.503Z
@NateEldredge - If you turn your comment into an answer I'll upvote/accept it.
Spencer Ruport
<bitcoind>
Bitcoind daemon keeps getting "killed" on AWS
Spencer Ruport
# Bitcoind daemon keeps getting "killed" on AWS

(Asked by: username_0 on 2014-01-30)

I'm trying to run bitcoind on an AWS debian instance. Running with the `-daemon` option would terminate with no indication as to why so I decided to run it under a `screen`. I started it last night (without options) and disconnected from the screen and verified that it was working. This morning the server had stopped so I reconnected to the screen session it was running on and the only message bitcoind gave was "Killed".

There's nothing in the logs that seems to indicate how or why this is happening and I'm at a bit of a loss. Can anyone give me some recommendations or insight on how to determine the cause of the issue?

**Tags:** bitcoind

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: This often occurs when the machine runs out of memory.  If so, there would likely be a message in one of your system logs (not the bitcoind log).  How much memory does your instance have?  
> **username_1**: @username_2WKim: I don't know exactly how AWS works, but it seems unlikely that this is due to Amazon's interference.  Providers typically don't mess with what's running on a virtual machine; you've paid for the instance and you're entitled to use all its resources.  If there were a problem, I'd expect them to shut down the instance completely, not go around killing processes on it.  
> **username_0**: @NateEldredge - Thanks for the memory suggestion. I have ~589 mb and linux is reporting about 6mb free when the server is running so you're probably correct. You mention there is a system log that would indicate an out of memory exception? I know it's most likely the issue but for my own curiosity where would I locate it? (Linux newbie)  
> **username_2**: Is this a free usage tier or AWS you have paid for? From my understanding, if you have to pay for AWS you are losing money since you will not mine enough in the long run to pay for the computing cost.  
> **username_1**: Yeah, that's probably too little memory.  For reference, bitcoin-qt is using about 400MB on my machine right now, and of course you need some for the rest of the system.  For logs, I'm not 100% sure about Debian but I would look in `/var/log/syslog`, or if you haven't rebooted since the incident, run `dmesg |less`.  
> **username_3**: When Bitcoind is initially syncing the blockchain, it takes a lot more memory and CPU recources than when it's all caught up.  I regularly saw 90+% CPU on a 1.5gb Ubuntu instance.  But it all settled down once I caught up.  
> **username_0**: @username_2WKim - I'm aware of this. It's purely for educational purposes both in getting familiar with bitcoin and linux.  
> **username_0**: @NateEldredge - If you turn your comment into an answer I'll upvote/accept it.  

---

## 2 answers

### Answer by username_4 on 2014-01-30. Score: 4

Configure some swap space, you are probably running out of memory, check with `dmesg` on your instance for additional information.


---

### Answer by username_5 on 2014-01-30. Score: 0

If you are downloading the blockchain you will likely run out of hard drive space.  Most default instances start with only 8 GB of storage.  SSH into the box and check disk utilization.
df -h

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Good point but in my case I have attached a 30 gig volume and it's about half full.  
> **username_1**: Also, running out of disk space wouldn't likely result in the process getting SIGKILL.  It would typically fail more gracefully with an I/O error.  
> **username_4**: ```no space left on device```.  

---

