vacuum locks up database - Mailing list pgsql-admin

From jonesbl@WellsFargo.COM
Subject vacuum locks up database
Date
Msg-id EC3A956C8957BE4C80D15D9F5A8B8005116DF6@msgsw55cacah09.wellsfargo.com
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Responses Re: vacuum locks up database  (Tom Lane <tgl@sss.pgh.pa.us>)
List pgsql-admin
Postgres ver. 7.3.1 on HPUX:

I have a fairly large database. My big table has about 32,000,000 rows with
3 indexes. When I run vacuumdb and it gets to the big table, it churns for
about 3 hours and starts blocking other database users. Simple inserts into
that table timeout after 15 minutes.

I have increased vacuum_mem = 23768 and had no effect on the problem.

I have nice'd the psql client -19, but the resulting postgres process is
still running at it's original priority.

Is there anyway to force vacuum to run more as a background job and not
block others from accessing the database during the vacuum process?

What are the trade-offs for pushing vacuum_mem up even higher? Would that
help?


Bill Jones
Systems Architect
Middleware Services
Wells Fargo Services Company
Office --415.243.1364
PCS -- 415.254.3831 (4152543831@mobile.att.net)

Views expressed are mine. Only in unusual circumstances are they shared by
my employer.


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