"Marc G. Fournier" <scrappy@postgresql.org> writes:
> I'm suspecting that the issue is amplified by load on the server itself
That would fit right in with my idea that the failure occurs when the
process loses its timeslice partway through gettimeofday(). Heavier
load would presumably make it more likely to lose the CPU.
BTW, I can't get top(1) to work on either pgsql74 or svr1, any idea why?
regards, tom lane