Attempts to raise the maximum number of systemwide processes above 2500 fail.
$ sudo sysctl -w kern.maxproc=2500
kern.maxproc: 2500 -> 2500
$ sudo sysctl -w kern.maxproc=2501
kern.maxproc: 2500
sysctl: kern.maxproc: Invalid argument
In an archived Apple article, it's mentioned that as of OSX Server 10.6, maxproc
was 2500 for each 8 GB of installed RAM.
I'm running OSX 10.9 (non-Server), with 16 GB of RAM, on a 2012 MacBook Pro.
By comparison, the ubuntu linux VM running under OSX supports over 30 000 processes without any special configuration.
Is it possible to raise this limit above 2500? I've already run up against the default limit of 1000 without a great deal of effort.