Watchdog timer driver for boards with ICH southbridge

[dukzcry]

Maybe someone will find this kext useful...
Most of info is given at https://github.com/dukzcry/osx-goodies/blob/master/watchdog/README.mkd. There are some downsides of this solution mentioned in it. Please read through carefully before trying.

Those, who run server under OS X with requirement on high availability may agree with me that just passing of "panic_restart_timeout" flag to the kernel may be not enough to satisfy this requirement So here is the driver called iTCOWatchdog for watchdog timer which is present on most of systems with Intel chipset. It will do hard reboot of your machine either on KP and machine hang. Configured by default to react on scheduler failure too.

Installer and debug version of kext http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/files/file/938-itcowatchdogkext/

 

Edited March 12, 2018 by dukzcry

[justroach]

Hey dukzcry! Can you please re-link the installer? I had this working before and want to try it out again. Thanks so much!

 

NM! I found it here: 

 

Edited November 17, 2023 by justroach

[justroach]

It doesn't look like dukzcry is around much anymore, but I wanted to update my experience here. I'm using a virtualized Monterey (12.7.1) to run SecuritySpy and some other "server" stuff. The PCIe passthrough seems to cause the VM to lock on occasion.

 

I tried to install the mpkg listed in the link I posted, but I get "This package is incompatible with this version of macOS. The package is trying to install content to the system volume. Contact the software manufacturer for assistance."

 

Instead, I put the debug kext in the EFI partition and used SimpleTree's Snapshot OC to update the config.plist.

 

I added 

watchdog: model=i6300esb,action=reset

to the QEMU config file. After booting up DPCIManager can see the "6300ESB Watchdog Timer" device, but the OS doesn't reboot. I'll report back to see if a crash works.

 

I'm at a loss for how to check if it is working and for logs.

[ArcaneRhapsody]

On 11/17/2023 at 2:07 PM, justroach said:

It doesn't look like dukzcry is around much anymore, but I wanted to update my experience here. I'm using a virtualized Monterey (12.7.1) to run SecuritySpy and some other "server" stuff. The PCIe passthrough seems to cause the VM to lock on occasion.

 

I tried to install the mpkg listed in the link I posted, but I get "This package is incompatible with this version of macOS. The package is trying to install content to the system volume. Contact the software manufacturer for assistance."

 

Instead, I put the debug kext in the EFI partition and used SimpleTree's Snapshot OC to update the config.plist.

 

I added 

watchdog: model=i6300esb,action=reset

to the QEMU config file. After booting up DPCIManager can see the "6300ESB Watchdog Timer" device, but the OS doesn't reboot. I'll report back to see if a crash works.

 

I'm at a loss for how to check if it is working and for logs.

 

Your approach to using the debug kext in the EFI partition and updating the config.plist through Snapshot OC is quite resourceful. The fact that DPCIManager recognizes the "6300ESB Watchdog Timer" is a good sign, but it's tricky to verify if it's fully operational without an actual crash event.

 

If you're looking for logs or ways to test the functionality, you might consider setting up controlled scenarios where a system failure is simulated. Just proceed with caution to avoid any unwanted system crashes.