Configuring ulimit for HBase

You can configure the ulimit for HBase using the Maximum Process File Descriptors property in Cloudera Manager.

Cloudera recommends increasing the maximum number of file handles to more than 10,000. Increasing the file handles for the user running the HBase process is an operating system configuration, not an HBase configuration. A common mistake is to increase the number of file handles for a particular user when HBase is running as a different user. HBase prints the ulimit it is using on the first line in the logs. Make sure that it is correct.

In Cloudera Manager navigate to HBase > Configuration.
Find the Maximum Process File Descriptors property.
Set the property as applicable for your use case.
Click Save Changes.
important
After changing the maximum process file descriptor limit specified in the above steps, the number of file descriptors still limits service roles. Raising the maximum process file descriptors above the Linux kernel file descriptor limit has no effect. Check the Linux kernel file descriptor limit on every host in the cluster and raise that if necessary.
You can find the Linux kernel file descriptor limit by running the following command on the Linux command line:
```
sudo cat /proc/sys/fs/nr_open
```