Re: A few questions to real pgsql gurus - Mailing list pgsql-general

From Justin Clift
Subject Re: A few questions to real pgsql gurus
Date
Msg-id 3E5A4363.2060907@postgresql.org
Whole thread Raw
In response to Re: A few questions to real pgsql gurus  (Dmitry Tkach <dmitry@openratings.com>)
Responses Re: A few questions to real pgsql gurus  (Dmitry Tkach <dmitry@openratings.com>)
List pgsql-general
Dmitry Tkach wrote:
> Tom Lane wrote:
<snip>
>> Have you ever actually restored one of those snapshots?  I don't believe
>> this will work, unless you shut down the database while taking the
>> snapshot.  Or unless the snapshot is instantaneous across all files in
>> the $PGDATA directory tree --- but your "within a second or so" doesn't
>> sound real promising.  If there's any time skew between copying
>> different files, you've got problems.
>>
> Yes, it *is* instanteneous, that's the point!
> The idea is, that it does not really copy anything at all - just freezes
> all the stuff under that directory exactly the way it is, and then, if
> somebody (like postmaster) is writing to that directory, it replaces the
> particular block that's is neing modified, so that the snapshot contiues
> to look at the old block, and the 'real thing' referes to the new one...

If it's of any help, recent versions of Solaris 8 and higher come with
this built in too.

Regards and best wishes,

Justin Clift


> That 'under a second' time is what it needs to setup its bookeeping
> recors, and it freezes all writes to the directory during that time...
>
> Dima

--
"My grandfather once told me that there are two kinds of people: those
who work and those who take the credit. He told me to try to be in the
first group; there was less competition there."
- Indira Gandhi


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