From owner-freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG  Sun Dec 16 05:38:52 2007
Return-Path: <owner-freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG>
Delivered-To: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org
Received: from mx1.freebsd.org (mx1.freebsd.org [IPv6:2001:4f8:fff6::34])
	by hub.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 5E08916A418
	for <freebsd-questions@freebsd.org>;
	Sun, 16 Dec 2007 05:38:52 +0000 (UTC)
	(envelope-from smithi@nimnet.asn.au)
Received: from gaia.nimnet.asn.au (nimbin.lnk.telstra.net [139.130.45.143])
	by mx1.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 8AA4013C458
	for <freebsd-questions@freebsd.org>;
	Sun, 16 Dec 2007 05:38:49 +0000 (UTC)
	(envelope-from smithi@nimnet.asn.au)
Received: from localhost (smithi@localhost)
	by gaia.nimnet.asn.au (8.8.8/8.8.8R1.5) with SMTP id QAA03586;
	Sun, 16 Dec 2007 16:37:54 +1100 (EST)
	(envelope-from smithi@nimnet.asn.au)
Date: Sun, 16 Dec 2007 16:37:54 +1100 (EST)
From: Ian Smith <smithi@nimnet.asn.au>
To: Kevin Kinsey <kdk@daleco.biz>
In-Reply-To: <20071216022333.9119316A569@hub.freebsd.org>
Message-ID: <Pine.BSF.3.96.1071216160742.27136A-100000@gaia.nimnet.asn.au>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII
Cc: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org, Rudy <crapsh@monkeybrains.net>
Subject: Re: cron pile up!  Lot's of "cron: running job (cron)"
X-BeenThere: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org
X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.5
Precedence: list
List-Id: User questions <freebsd-questions.freebsd.org>
List-Unsubscribe: <http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions>, 
	<mailto:freebsd-questions-request@freebsd.org?subject=unsubscribe>
List-Archive: <http://lists.freebsd.org/pipermail/freebsd-questions>
List-Post: <mailto:freebsd-questions@freebsd.org>
List-Help: <mailto:freebsd-questions-request@freebsd.org?subject=help>
List-Subscribe: <http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions>, 
	<mailto:freebsd-questions-request@freebsd.org?subject=subscribe>
X-List-Received-Date: Sun, 16 Dec 2007 05:38:52 -0000

On Sat, 15 Dec 2007 16:18:31 -0600 Kevin Kinsey <kdk@daleco.biz> wrote:
 > Rudy wrote:
 > >> The thing is, sometimes it runs fine, other times it backlogs (It may 
 > >> complete at a latter date... the PID 82253 is still waiting ... Gonna 
 > >> see it it completes instead of killing all the stuck crons...).
 > >>
 > > 
 > > All the crons are cleared out right now... 'ps' shows only crond.  
 > > Related to putting the other cron job in " marks???
 > > 
 > 
 > Well, I think I messed up in my suggestion, by omitting the
 > CRON at the end.  My point/thought was, put the entire command
 > "/path/to/script.sh  ARG" in quotes.
 > 
 > Cron is pretty archaic, and I wondered if it was trying to
 > run "/path/to/script.sh" and "ARG" as two jobs instead of
 > one, and hanging on "ARG" since CRON is something of a 
 > reserved word.  IANAE, YMMV, and all that.

MMV :)  The following has been merrily running on three boxes, the
oldest of them for, um, 9.5 years: 

*/5     *       *       *       *       root    /root/bin/ipfwsnap cron

Yes, 'cron' is a checked and logged argument to ipfwsnap.  Various other
/etc/crontab entries demonstrate no need to enclose arguments in quotes,
except where they'd be necessary anyway - as per examples in crontab(5)

Cheers, Ian