[TriLUG] nohup (unattended jobs/processes)

[John Beimler]

Jeff Bollinger wrote:
> -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
> Hash: SHA1
> 
> I started a process yesterday that I believe will take a few more days
> to complete.  I'm logged into my Gnome desktop, and have ssh'd into
> another host where I'm running the job.  I'm a little nervous now that
> my SSH connection may drop/system will crash/other catastrophes could
> happen, so I would like to know if its possible to use something like
> `nohup` now that the job has already started, so that if anything
> happens to my connection, the job will continue until complete.  It's
> currently running in the background at this point, but now that it's
> started can I modify it?
> 

I know this isn't what you asked, but for all those processes I try to 
make sure I start them in a screen 
(http://www.gnu.org/software/screen/screen.html) session. It lets you 
detach from where you are at and reattach at a later time. You can also 
attach from another terminal without detaching from your main terminal 
to see what's going on. It can be a real life saver for the drop outs, 
as well as a long install. This way I can detach, go home, and re attach 
and still have a long running process going, and not have to sit at my 
desk until its done.

Peace.

john