SAP Note 15771 - BRBACKUP terminates - file table overflow

Symptom:

BRBACKUP terminates with error message:
BR253E errno 23: file table overflow

Cause and prerequisites

Too many open GLOBAL files (e.g. not in one process) in the system.

Solution

The error occurs when the number of files that can be open simultaneously in a UNIX system is exceeded. BRBACKUP cannot open any more files, and therefore terminates. If the UNIX kernel was configured correctly during installation (you can check this using the KINST tool), the cause is often that "forgotten" processes are still running. As a result, you can normally solve the problem by restarting the affected system.
If this does not help, you can

a) reconfigure the UNIX kernel to enable more open files. Please refer to the current installation guide for setting UNIX Kernel Parameters.

b) Consider whether other applications that are running on the computer and require a lot of open files can be moved to a different computer.