---
id: 4f461934-70f8-11ee-b962-0242ac120002
---

# Orphaned Processes in Apache Airflow
---

This incident type refers to the presence of orphaned processes in Apache Airflow. Orphaned processes are those that have been started by a parent process but are not properly terminated when they are no longer needed. These processes can consume system resources and cause performance issues. In the context of Apache Airflow, orphaned processes can affect the scheduling and execution of tasks, leading to failures or delays in completing workflows. The incident requires identifying and removing these orphaned processes to restore normal system operations.

### Parameters
```shell
export POD_NAME="PLACEHOLDER"

export CONTAINER_NAME="PLACEHOLDER"

export NAMESPACE="PLACEHOLDER"

export PROCESS_NAME="PLACEHOLDER"
```

## Debug

### Get the list of processes running in a specific container
```shell
kubectl exec ${POD_NAME} -c ${CONTAINER_NAME} -- ps -ef
```

### Check the CPU and memory usage of a specific pod
```shell
kubectl top pod ${POD_NAME}
```

### Check the CPU and memory usage of all pods in the default namespace
```shell
kubectl top pod --all-namespaces
```
### Identify the orphaned processes in Apache Airflow using relevant tools and commands.
```shell


#!/bin/bash



# set the namespace and pod name

NAMESPACE=${NAMESPACE}

POD_NAME=${POD_NAME}



# get the list of running processes in the pod

RUNNING_PROCESSES=$(kubectl exec $POD_NAME -n $NAMESPACE -- ps -ef)



# loop through the processes and identify the orphaned processes

while read -r PROCESS; do

  # get the parent process ID

  PARENT_PID=$(echo $PROCESS | awk '{print $3}')

  # check if the parent process is still running

  if ! kubectl exec $POD_NAME -n $NAMESPACE -- ps -p $PARENT_PID >/dev/null 2>&1; then

    # if the parent process is not running, print the orphaned process

    echo "Orphaned process found: $PROCESS"

  fi

done <<< "$RUNNING_PROCESSES"




```

## Repair

### Kill the identified orphaned processes to prevent resource hogging and potential system crashes.
```shell


#!/bin/bash



# Set the namespace and pod name where the orphaned processes are running

NAMESPACE=${NAMESPACE}

POD_NAME=${POD_NAME}



# Get the process IDs of the orphaned processes in the pod

ORPHANED_PIDS=$(kubectl exec -n $NAMESPACE $POD_NAME -- ps -ef | grep ${PROCESS_NAME} | grep -v grep | awk '{print $2}')



# Kill the orphaned processes

if [ ! -z "$ORPHANED_PIDS" ]; then

  kubectl exec -n $NAMESPACE $POD_NAME -- kill -9 $ORPHANED_PIDS

  echo "Orphaned processes have been killed."

else

  echo "No orphaned processes found."

fi


```


This incident type refers to the presence of orphaned processes in Apache Airflow. Orphaned processes are those that have been started by a parent process but are not properly terminated when they are no longer needed. These processes can consume system resources and cause performance issues. In the context of Apache Airflow, orphaned processes can affect the scheduling and execution of tasks, leading to failures or delays in completing workflows. The incident requires identifying and removing these orphaned processes to restore normal system operations.


```shell
export POD_NAME="PLACEHOLDER"

export CONTAINER_NAME="PLACEHOLDER"

export NAMESPACE="PLACEHOLDER"

export PROCESS_NAME="PLACEHOLDER"
```


### Get the list of processes running in a specific container

```shell
kubectl exec ${POD_NAME} -c ${CONTAINER_NAME} -- ps -ef
```

### Check the CPU and memory usage of a specific pod

```shell
kubectl top pod ${POD_NAME}
```

### Check the CPU and memory usage of all pods in the default namespace

```shell
kubectl top pod --all-namespaces
```

### Identify the orphaned processes in Apache Airflow using relevant tools and commands.

```shell


#!/bin/bash



# set the namespace and pod name

NAMESPACE=${NAMESPACE}

POD_NAME=${POD_NAME}



# get the list of running processes in the pod

RUNNING_PROCESSES=$(kubectl exec $POD_NAME -n $NAMESPACE -- ps -ef)



# loop through the processes and identify the orphaned processes

while read -r PROCESS; do

  # get the parent process ID

  PARENT_PID=$(echo $PROCESS | awk '{print $3}')

  # check if the parent process is still running

  if ! kubectl exec $POD_NAME -n $NAMESPACE -- ps -p $PARENT_PID >/dev/null 2>&1; then

    # if the parent process is not running, print the orphaned process

    echo "Orphaned process found: $PROCESS"

  fi

done <<< "$RUNNING_PROCESSES"




```


### Kill the identified orphaned processes to prevent resource hogging and potential system crashes.

```shell


#!/bin/bash



# Set the namespace and pod name where the orphaned processes are running

NAMESPACE=${NAMESPACE}

POD_NAME=${POD_NAME}



# Get the process IDs of the orphaned processes in the pod

ORPHANED_PIDS=$(kubectl exec -n $NAMESPACE $POD_NAME -- ps -ef | grep ${PROCESS_NAME} | grep -v grep | awk '{print $2}')



# Kill the orphaned processes

if [ ! -z "$ORPHANED_PIDS" ]; then

  kubectl exec -n $NAMESPACE $POD_NAME -- kill -9 $ORPHANED_PIDS

  echo "Orphaned processes have been killed."

else

  echo "No orphaned processes found."

fi


```


Orphaned Processes in Apache Airflow

Overview

Parameters

Debug

Get the list of processes running in a specific container

Check the CPU and memory usage of a specific pod

Check the CPU and memory usage of all pods in the default namespace

Identify the orphaned processes in Apache Airflow using relevant tools and commands.

Repair

Kill the identified orphaned processes to prevent resource hogging and potential system crashes.

Learn more

Related Runbooks

Support