Re: [GENERAL] Undetected corruption of table files - Mailing list pgsql-hackers

From Albe Laurenz
Subject Re: [GENERAL] Undetected corruption of table files
Date
Msg-id D960CB61B694CF459DCFB4B0128514C2221576@exadv11.host.magwien.gv.at
Whole thread Raw
In response to Re: [GENERAL] Undetected corruption of table files  ("Albe Laurenz" <all@adv.magwien.gv.at>)
Responses Re: [GENERAL] Undetected corruption of table files  (Decibel! <decibel@decibel.org>)
List pgsql-hackers
Jan Wieck wrote:
> Computing a checksum just before writing the block will NOT detect any

> faulty memory or Postgres bug that corrupted the block. You will have
a
> perfectly fine checksum over the corrupted data.
>
> A checksum only detects corruptions that happen between write and
read.
> Most data corruptions that happen during that time however lead to
some
> sort of read error reported by the disk.

I have thought some more about it, and tend to agree now:
Checksums will only detect disk failure, and that's only
one of the many integrity problems that can happen.
And one that can be reduced to a reasonable degree with good
storage systems.

So the benefit of checksums is not enough to bother.

Yours,
Laurenz Albe


pgsql-hackers by date:

Previous
From: Jan Wieck
Date:
Subject: Re: [GENERAL] Undetected corruption of table files
Next
From: Jan Wieck
Date:
Subject: Re: Final background writer cleanup for 8.3