diff --git a/website/source/docs/other/debugging.html.md b/website/source/docs/other/debugging.html.md index 76aca253f..738d4adb9 100644 --- a/website/source/docs/other/debugging.html.md +++ b/website/source/docs/other/debugging.html.md @@ -96,3 +96,19 @@ AMI. "while [ ! -f /var/lib/cloud/instance/boot-finished ]; do echo 'Waiting for cloud-init...'; sleep 1; done" ] } + + +## Issues when using numerous Builders/Provisioners/Post-Processors + +Packer uses a separate process for each builder, provisioner, post-processor, +and plugin. In certain cases, if you have too many of these, you can run out of +[file descriptors](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File_descriptor). This results +in an error that might look like + +``` +error initializing provisioner 'powershell': fork/exec /files/go/bin/packer: +too many open files +``` + +On Unix systems, you can check what your file descriptor limit is with `ulimit +-Sn`. You should check with your OS vendor on how to raise this limit.