So, testing:
1. I tested running an AWS instance (Ubuntu 14.04) into 100% IOWAIT, and
the shutdown didn't kick in even when storage went full "d" state. It's
possible that other kinds of remote storage failures would cause a
shutdown, but don't we want them to?
2. I tested deleting /pgdata/* several times (with pgbench running), and
Postgres shut down within 20 seconds each time.
3. I tested messing with the permissions on pg_control and global, and
Postgres threw other errors but continued running.
4. I mv'd the files and that didn't trigger a shutdown.
5. I did a fast swap:
rm -rf /pgdata/*
cp -p -r /pgdata2/* /pgdata/
... as expected, this did NOT cause postgres to shut down.
--
Josh Berkus
PostgreSQL Experts Inc.
http://pgexperts.com
