/etc/security/limits.conf

UNIX for Advanced & Expert Users
1

HI,

To restrict the number of files and number of processes used the user we use the following configuration in the file /etc/security/limits.conf.[ I use this while installing the oracle database]

oracle soft nofile 65572
oracle hard nofile 65572
oracle soft noproc 16384
oracle soft noproc 16384

My question is what do the 'soft' and 'hard' mean?

2

Soft limit is the default limit set when a user session starts and can be increased up to the the hard limit using ulimit. The hard limit is the absolute limit.

In you case both are the same so the value has a fixed maximum from the outset.