v8-0001-Add-system-view-tracking-accesses-to-buffers.patch

From 156f8c96ac9bab619c55a072624e7ee4dfa82c79 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Melanie Plageman <melanieplageman@gmail.com>
Date: Thu, 2 Sep 2021 11:33:59 -0400
Subject: [PATCH v8 1/2] Add system view tracking accesses to buffers

Add pg_stat_buffers, a system view which tracks the number of buffers of
a particular type (e.g. shared, local) allocated, written, fsync'd, and
extended by each backend type.

Some of these should always be zero. For example, a checkpointer backend
will not use a BufferAccessStrategy (currently), so buffer type
"strategy" for checkpointer will be 0 for all buffer access types
(alloc, write, fsync, and extend).

All backends increment a counter in their PgBackendStatus when
performing a buffer access. On exit, backends send these stats to the
stats collector to be persisted.

When stats are reset, the reset message includes the current values of
all the live backends' buffer access counters. When receiving this
message, the stats collector will 1) save these reset values in an array
of "resets" and 2) zero out the exited backends' saved buffer access
counters. This is required for accurate stats after a reset without
writing to other backends' PgBackendStatus.

When the pg_stat_buffers view is queried, sum live backends' stats with
saved stats from exited backends and subtract saved reset stats,
returning the total.

Each row of the view is for a particular backend type and a particular
buffer type (e.g. shared buffer accesses by checkpointer) and each
column in the view is the total number of buffers of each kind of buffer
access (e.g. written). So a cell in the view would be, for example, the
number of shared buffers written by checkpointer since the last stats
reset.

Note that this commit does not add code to increment buffer accesses for
all types of buffers. It includes all possible combinations in the stats
view but doesn't populate all of them.

TODO:
- TODOs in code (which are questions for the reviewer)
- Wrappers for smgr funcs to protect against regressions and cover other
  buffer types
- Consider helper func in pgstatfuncs.c to refactor out some of the
  redundant tuplestore creation code from pg_stat_get_progress_info,
  pg_stat_get_activity, etc
- Remove pg_stats test I added
- Additional polish for comments, check ordering of function
  definitions, datatypes, etc
- When finished, catalog bump
- pgindent
---
 doc/src/sgml/monitoring.sgml                | 116 +++++++++++++++-
 src/backend/catalog/system_views.sql        |  11 ++
 src/backend/postmaster/checkpointer.c       |   3 +
 src/backend/postmaster/pgstat.c             | 138 +++++++++++++++++++-
 src/backend/storage/buffer/bufmgr.c         |  37 +++++-
 src/backend/storage/buffer/freelist.c       |  22 +++-
 src/backend/utils/activity/backend_status.c |  53 +++++++-
 src/backend/utils/adt/pgstatfuncs.c         | 137 +++++++++++++++++++
 src/backend/utils/init/miscinit.c           |  25 ++++
 src/include/access/xlog.h                   |   1 +
 src/include/catalog/pg_proc.dat             |   9 ++
 src/include/miscadmin.h                     |  23 ++++
 src/include/pgstat.h                        |  41 +++++-
 src/include/storage/buf_internals.h         |   4 +-
 src/include/utils/backend_status.h          |  15 +++
 src/test/regress/expected/rules.out         |   8 ++
 src/test/regress/sql/stats.sql              |   6 +
 17 files changed, 631 insertions(+), 18 deletions(-)

diff --git a/doc/src/sgml/monitoring.sgml b/doc/src/sgml/monitoring.sgml
index 2281ba120f..60627c692a 100644
--- a/doc/src/sgml/monitoring.sgml
+++ b/doc/src/sgml/monitoring.sgml
@@ -444,6 +444,15 @@ postgres   27093  0.0  0.0  30096  2752 ?        Ss   11:34   0:00 postgres: ser
      </entry>
      </row>
 
+     <row>
+      <entry><structname>pg_stat_buffers</structname><indexterm><primary>pg_stat_buffers</primary></indexterm></entry>
+      <entry>A row for each buffer type for each backend type showing
+      statistics about backend buffer activity. See
+       <link linkend="monitoring-pg-stat-buffers-view">
+       <structname>pg_stat_buffers</structname></link> for details.
+     </entry>
+     </row>
+
      <row>
       <entry><structname>pg_stat_wal</structname><indexterm><primary>pg_stat_wal</primary></indexterm></entry>
       <entry>One row only, showing statistics about WAL activity. See
@@ -3478,6 +3487,101 @@ SELECT pid, wait_event_type, wait_event FROM pg_stat_activity WHERE wait_event i
 
  </sect2>
 
+ <sect2 id="monitoring-pg-stat-buffers-view">
+  <title><structname>pg_stat_buffers</structname></title>
+
+  <indexterm>
+   <primary>pg_stat_buffers</primary>
+  </indexterm>
+
+  <para>
+   The <structname>pg_stat_buffers</structname> view has a row for each buffer
+   type for each backend type, containing global data for the cluster for that
+   backend and buffer type.
+  </para>
+
+  <table id="pg-stat-buffer-actions-view" xreflabel="pg_stat_buffers">
+   <title><structname>pg_stat_buffers</structname> View</title>
+   <tgroup cols="1">
+    <thead>
+     <row>
+      <entry role="catalog_table_entry"><para role="column_definition">
+       Column Type
+      </para>
+      <para>
+       Description
+      </para></entry>
+     </row>
+    </thead>
+    <tbody>
+     <row>
+      <entry role="catalog_table_entry"><para role="column_definition">
+       <structfield>backend_type</structfield> <type>text</type>
+      </para>
+      <para>
+       Type of backend (e.g. background worker, autovacuum worker).
+      </para></entry>
+     </row>
+
+     <row>
+      <entry role="catalog_table_entry"><para role="column_definition">
+       <structfield>buffer_type</structfield> <type>text</type>
+      </para>
+      <para>
+      Type of buffer accessed (e.g. shared).
+      </para></entry>
+     </row>
+
+     <row>
+      <entry role="catalog_table_entry"><para role="column_definition">
+       <structfield>alloc</structfield> <type>integer</type>
+      </para>
+      <para>
+       Number of buffers allocated.
+      </para></entry>
+     </row>
+
+     <row>
+      <entry role="catalog_table_entry"><para role="column_definition">
+       <structfield>extend</structfield> <type>integer</type>
+      </para>
+      <para>
+       Number of buffers extended.
+      </para></entry>
+     </row>
+
+     <row>
+      <entry role="catalog_table_entry"><para role="column_definition">
+       <structfield>fsync</structfield> <type>integer</type>
+      </para>
+      <para>
+       Number of buffers fsynced.
+      </para></entry>
+     </row>
+
+     <row>
+      <entry role="catalog_table_entry"><para role="column_definition">
+       <structfield>write</structfield> <type>integer</type>
+      </para>
+      <para>
+       Number of buffers written.
+      </para></entry>
+     </row>
+
+     <row>
+      <entry role="catalog_table_entry"><para role="column_definition">
+       <structfield>stats_reset</structfield> <type>timestamp with time zone</type>
+      </para>
+      <para>
+       Time at which these statistics were last reset.
+      </para></entry>
+     </row>
+    </tbody>
+   </tgroup>
+  </table>
+
+ </sect2>
+
  <sect2 id="monitoring-pg-stat-wal-view">
    <title><structname>pg_stat_wal</structname></title>
 
@@ -5074,12 +5178,14 @@ SELECT pid, wait_event_type, wait_event FROM pg_stat_activity WHERE wait_event i
        </para>
        <para>
         Resets some cluster-wide statistics counters to zero, depending on the
-        argument.  The argument can be <literal>bgwriter</literal> to reset
-        all the counters shown in
-        the <structname>pg_stat_bgwriter</structname>
+        argument.  The argument can be <literal>bgwriter</literal> to reset all
+        the counters shown in the <structname>pg_stat_bgwriter</structname>
         view, <literal>archiver</literal> to reset all the counters shown in
-        the <structname>pg_stat_archiver</structname> view or <literal>wal</literal>
-        to reset all the counters shown in the <structname>pg_stat_wal</structname> view.
+        the <structname>pg_stat_archiver</structname> view,
+        <literal>wal</literal> to reset all the counters shown in the
+        <structname>pg_stat_wal</structname> view, or
+        <literal>buffers</literal> to reset all the counters shown in the
+        <structname>pg_stat_buffers</structname> view.
        </para>
        <para>
         This function is restricted to superusers by default, but other users
diff --git a/src/backend/catalog/system_views.sql b/src/backend/catalog/system_views.sql
index 55f6e3711d..30280d520b 100644
--- a/src/backend/catalog/system_views.sql
+++ b/src/backend/catalog/system_views.sql
@@ -1072,6 +1072,17 @@ CREATE VIEW pg_stat_bgwriter AS
         pg_stat_get_buf_alloc() AS buffers_alloc,
         pg_stat_get_bgwriter_stat_reset_time() AS stats_reset;
 
+CREATE VIEW pg_stat_buffers AS
+SELECT
+       b.backend_type,
+       b.buffer_type,
+       b.alloc,
+       b.extend,
+       b.fsync,
+       b.write,
+       b.stats_reset
+FROM pg_stat_get_buffers_accesses() b;
+
 CREATE VIEW pg_stat_wal AS
     SELECT
         w.wal_records,
diff --git a/src/backend/postmaster/checkpointer.c b/src/backend/postmaster/checkpointer.c
index be7366379d..fe6bd15506 100644
--- a/src/backend/postmaster/checkpointer.c
+++ b/src/backend/postmaster/checkpointer.c
@@ -577,6 +577,8 @@ HandleCheckpointerInterrupts(void)
 		ShutdownXLOG(0, 0);
 		pgstat_send_checkpointer();
 		pgstat_send_wal(true);
+		// TODO: is this needed
+		pgstat_report_buffers();
 
 		/* Normal exit from the checkpointer is here */
 		proc_exit(0);			/* done */
@@ -1104,6 +1106,7 @@ ForwardSyncRequest(const FileTag *ftag, SyncRequestType type)
 		 */
 		if (!AmBackgroundWriterProcess())
 			CheckpointerShmem->num_backend_fsync++;
+		pgstat_increment_buffer_access_type(BA_Fsync, Buf_Shared);
 		LWLockRelease(CheckpointerCommLock);
 		return false;
 	}
diff --git a/src/backend/postmaster/pgstat.c b/src/backend/postmaster/pgstat.c
index b7d0fbaefd..40f646b7c6 100644
--- a/src/backend/postmaster/pgstat.c
+++ b/src/backend/postmaster/pgstat.c
@@ -63,6 +63,7 @@
 #include "storage/pg_shmem.h"
 #include "storage/proc.h"
 #include "storage/procsignal.h"
+#include "utils/backend_status.h"
 #include "utils/builtins.h"
 #include "utils/guc.h"
 #include "utils/memutils.h"
@@ -124,9 +125,12 @@ char	   *pgstat_stat_filename = NULL;
 char	   *pgstat_stat_tmpname = NULL;
 
 /*
- * BgWriter and WAL global statistics counters.
- * Stored directly in a stats message structure so they can be sent
- * without needing to copy things around.  We assume these init to zeroes.
+ * BgWriter, Checkpointer, WAL, and I/O global statistics counters. I/O global
+ * statistics on various buffer actions are tracked in PgBackendStatus while a
+ * backend is alive and then sent to stats collector before a backend exits in
+ * a PgStat_MsgBufferActions.
+ * All others are stored directly in a stats message structure so they can be
+ * sent without needing to copy things around.  We assume these init to zeroes.
  */
 PgStat_MsgBgWriter PendingBgWriterStats;
 PgStat_MsgCheckpointer PendingCheckpointerStats;
@@ -362,6 +366,7 @@ static void pgstat_recv_analyze(PgStat_MsgAnalyze *msg, int len);
 static void pgstat_recv_archiver(PgStat_MsgArchiver *msg, int len);
 static void pgstat_recv_bgwriter(PgStat_MsgBgWriter *msg, int len);
 static void pgstat_recv_checkpointer(PgStat_MsgCheckpointer *msg, int len);
+static void pgstat_recv_buffer_type_accesses(PgStat_MsgBufferTypeAccesses *msg, int len);
 static void pgstat_recv_wal(PgStat_MsgWal *msg, int len);
 static void pgstat_recv_slru(PgStat_MsgSLRU *msg, int len);
 static void pgstat_recv_funcstat(PgStat_MsgFuncstat *msg, int len);
@@ -974,6 +979,7 @@ pgstat_report_stat(bool disconnect)
 	/* Now, send function statistics */
 	pgstat_send_funcstats();
 
+
 	/* Send WAL statistics */
 	pgstat_send_wal(true);
 
@@ -1452,6 +1458,42 @@ pgstat_reset_shared_counters(const char *target)
 		msg.m_resettarget = RESET_ARCHIVER;
 	else if (strcmp(target, "bgwriter") == 0)
 		msg.m_resettarget = RESET_BGWRITER;
+	else if (strcmp(target, "buffers") == 0) {
+		int i, buffer_type;
+		volatile	PgBackendStatus *beentry;
+
+		memset(msg.resets, 0, sizeof(PgStat_MsgBufferTypeAccesses) * BACKEND_NUM_TYPES);
+
+		msg.m_resettarget = RESET_BUFFERS;
+
+		beentry = pgstat_access_backend_status_array();
+		/*
+		 * Loop through live backends and capture reset values
+		 */
+		for (i = 0; i < MaxBackends + NUM_AUXPROCTYPES; i++)
+		{
+			PgBufferAccesses *live_accesses;
+			PgStatBufferAccesses *reset_accesses;
+			beentry++;
+			/* Don't count dead backends. They should already be counted */
+			if (beentry->st_procpid == 0)
+				continue;
+
+			live_accesses = (PgBufferAccesses *) beentry->buffer_access_stats;
+			reset_accesses = msg.resets[beentry->st_backendType].buffer_type_accesses;
+
+			for (buffer_type = 0; buffer_type < BUFFER_NUM_TYPES; buffer_type++)
+			{
+				uint64 live_allocs = pg_atomic_read_u64(&live_accesses->allocs);
+				reset_accesses->allocs = live_allocs;
+				reset_accesses->extends = pg_atomic_read_u64(&live_accesses->extends);
+				reset_accesses->fsyncs = pg_atomic_read_u64(&live_accesses->fsyncs);
+				reset_accesses->writes = pg_atomic_read_u64(&live_accesses->writes);
+				reset_accesses++;
+				live_accesses++;
+			}
+		}
+	}
 	else if (strcmp(target, "wal") == 0)
 		msg.m_resettarget = RESET_WAL;
 	else
@@ -2998,6 +3040,13 @@ static void
 pgstat_shutdown_hook(int code, Datum arg)
 {
 	Assert(!pgstat_is_shutdown);
+	/*
+	 * Only need to send stats on buffer accesses when a process exits, as
+	 * pg_stat_get_buffers() will read from live backends' PgBackendStatus and
+	 * then sum this with totals from exited backends persisted by the stats
+	 * collector.
+	 */
+	pgstat_report_buffers();
 
 	/*
 	 * If we got as far as discovering our own database ID, we can report what
@@ -3180,6 +3229,43 @@ pgstat_send_checkpointer(void)
 	MemSet(&PendingCheckpointerStats, 0, sizeof(PendingCheckpointerStats));
 }
 
+/*
+ * Called for a single backend at the time of death to send its I/O stats to
+ * the stats collector so that they may be persisted.
+ */
+void
+pgstat_report_buffers(void)
+{
+	PgStat_MsgBufferTypeAccesses msg;
+	PgBufferAccesses *src_accesses;
+	PgStatBufferAccesses *dest_accesses;
+	int buffer_type;
+
+	volatile	PgBackendStatus *beentry = MyBEEntry;
+
+	if (!beentry)
+		return;
+
+	MemSet(&msg, 0, sizeof(msg));
+	msg.backend_type = beentry->st_backendType;
+
+	src_accesses = (PgBufferAccesses *) &beentry->buffer_access_stats;
+	dest_accesses = msg.buffer_type_accesses;
+
+	for (buffer_type = 0; buffer_type < BUFFER_NUM_TYPES; buffer_type++)
+	{
+		dest_accesses->allocs += pg_atomic_read_u64(&src_accesses->allocs);
+		dest_accesses->extends += pg_atomic_read_u64(&src_accesses->extends);
+		dest_accesses->fsyncs += pg_atomic_read_u64(&src_accesses->fsyncs);
+		dest_accesses->writes += pg_atomic_read_u64(&src_accesses->writes);
+		dest_accesses++;
+		src_accesses++;
+	}
+
+	pgstat_setheader(&msg.m_hdr, PGSTAT_MTYPE_BUFFER_ACTIONS);
+	pgstat_send(&msg, sizeof(msg));
+}
+
 /* ----------
  * pgstat_send_wal() -
  *
@@ -3522,6 +3608,10 @@ PgstatCollectorMain(int argc, char *argv[])
 					pgstat_recv_checkpointer(&msg.msg_checkpointer, len);
 					break;
 
+				case PGSTAT_MTYPE_BUFFER_ACTIONS:
+					pgstat_recv_buffer_type_accesses(&msg.msg_buffer_accesses, len);
+					break;
+
 				case PGSTAT_MTYPE_WAL:
 					pgstat_recv_wal(&msg.msg_wal, len);
 					break;
@@ -5222,9 +5312,16 @@ pgstat_recv_resetsharedcounter(PgStat_MsgResetsharedcounter *msg, int len)
 	if (msg->m_resettarget == RESET_BGWRITER)
 	{
 		/* Reset the global, bgwriter and checkpointer statistics for the cluster. */
-		memset(&globalStats, 0, sizeof(globalStats));
+		memset(&globalStats.checkpointer, 0, sizeof(globalStats.checkpointer));
+		memset(&globalStats.bgwriter, 0, sizeof(globalStats.bgwriter));
 		globalStats.bgwriter.stat_reset_timestamp = GetCurrentTimestamp();
 	}
+	else if (msg->m_resettarget == RESET_BUFFERS)
+	{
+		memset(&globalStats.buffers.accesses, 0, sizeof(globalStats.buffers.accesses));
+		memcpy(globalStats.buffers.resets, msg->resets, sizeof(msg->resets));
+		globalStats.buffers.stat_reset_timestamp = GetCurrentTimestamp();
+	}
 	else if (msg->m_resettarget == RESET_ARCHIVER)
 	{
 		/* Reset the archiver statistics for the cluster. */
@@ -5512,6 +5609,39 @@ pgstat_recv_checkpointer(PgStat_MsgCheckpointer *msg, int len)
 	globalStats.checkpointer.buf_fsync_backend += msg->m_buf_fsync_backend;
 }
 
+static void
+pgstat_recv_buffer_type_accesses(PgStat_MsgBufferTypeAccesses *msg, int len)
+{
+	int buffer_type;
+	PgStatBufferAccesses *src_buffer_accesses = msg->buffer_type_accesses;
+	PgStatBufferAccesses *dest_buffer_accesses = globalStats.buffers.accesses[msg->backend_type].buffer_type_accesses;
+
+	/*
+	 * No users will likely need PgStat_MsgBufferTypeAccesses->backend_type
+	 * when accessing it from globalStats since its place in the
+	 * globalStats.buffers.accesses array indicates backend_type. However,
+	 * leaving it undefined seemed like an invitation for unnecessary future
+	 * bugs.
+	 */
+	globalStats.buffers.accesses[msg->backend_type].backend_type = msg->backend_type;
+
+	for (buffer_type = 0; buffer_type < BUFFER_NUM_TYPES; buffer_type++)
+	{
+		PgStatBufferAccesses *src = &src_buffer_accesses[buffer_type];
+		PgStatBufferAccesses *dest = &dest_buffer_accesses[buffer_type];
+		dest->allocs += src->allocs;
+		dest->extends += src->extends;
+		dest->fsyncs += src->fsyncs;
+		dest->writes += src->writes;
+	}
+}
+
+PgStat_BackendAccesses *
+pgstat_get_global_buffers_stats(void)
+{
+	return &globalStats.buffers;
+}
+
 /* ----------
  * pgstat_recv_wal() -
  *
diff --git a/src/backend/storage/buffer/bufmgr.c b/src/backend/storage/buffer/bufmgr.c
index e88e4e918b..135b2d3925 100644
--- a/src/backend/storage/buffer/bufmgr.c
+++ b/src/backend/storage/buffer/bufmgr.c
@@ -972,6 +972,7 @@ ReadBuffer_common(SMgrRelation smgr, char relpersistence, ForkNumber forkNum,
 
 	if (isExtend)
 	{
+		pgstat_increment_buffer_access_type(BA_Extend, Buf_Shared);
 		/* new buffers are zero-filled */
 		MemSet((char *) bufBlock, 0, BLCKSZ);
 		/* don't set checksum for all-zero page */
@@ -1172,6 +1173,7 @@ BufferAlloc(SMgrRelation smgr, char relpersistence, ForkNumber forkNum,
 	/* Loop here in case we have to try another victim buffer */
 	for (;;)
 	{
+		bool from_ring;
 		/*
 		 * Ensure, while the spinlock's not yet held, that there's a free
 		 * refcount entry.
@@ -1182,7 +1184,7 @@ BufferAlloc(SMgrRelation smgr, char relpersistence, ForkNumber forkNum,
 		 * Select a victim buffer.  The buffer is returned with its header
 		 * spinlock still held!
 		 */
-		buf = StrategyGetBuffer(strategy, &buf_state);
+		buf = StrategyGetBuffer(strategy, &buf_state, &from_ring);
 
 		Assert(BUF_STATE_GET_REFCOUNT(buf_state) == 0);
 
@@ -1236,7 +1238,7 @@ BufferAlloc(SMgrRelation smgr, char relpersistence, ForkNumber forkNum,
 					UnlockBufHdr(buf, buf_state);
 
 					if (XLogNeedsFlush(lsn) &&
-						StrategyRejectBuffer(strategy, buf))
+						StrategyRejectBuffer(strategy, buf, &from_ring))
 					{
 						/* Drop lock/pin and loop around for another buffer */
 						LWLockRelease(BufferDescriptorGetContentLock(buf));
@@ -1245,6 +1247,23 @@ BufferAlloc(SMgrRelation smgr, char relpersistence, ForkNumber forkNum,
 					}
 				}
 
+				/*
+				 * When a strategy is in use, if the dirty buffer was selected
+				 * from the strategy ring and we did not bother checking the
+				 * freelist or doing a clock sweep to look for a clean shared
+				 * buffer to use, the write will be counted as a strategy
+				 * write. However, if the dirty buffer was obtained from the
+				 * freelist or a clock sweep, it is counted as a regular write.
+				 * When a strategy is not in use, at this point, the write can
+				 * only be a "regular" write of a dirty buffer.
+				 */
+
+				if (from_ring)
+					pgstat_increment_buffer_access_type(BA_Write, Buf_Strategy);
+				else
+					pgstat_increment_buffer_access_type(BA_Write, Buf_Shared);
+
+
 				/* OK, do the I/O */
 				TRACE_POSTGRESQL_BUFFER_WRITE_DIRTY_START(forkNum, blockNum,
 														  smgr->smgr_rnode.node.spcNode,
@@ -2143,6 +2162,18 @@ BufferSync(int flags)
 		 */
 		if (pg_atomic_read_u32(&bufHdr->state) & BM_CHECKPOINT_NEEDED)
 		{
+			// TODO: could remove BUF_WRITTEN and instead check buffers written
+			// for this backend before starting BufferSync() and after
+			// finishing. It seems like BUF_WRITTEN it is only used for
+			// CheckpointStats.ckpt_bufs_written -- which seems redundant with
+			// the new PgBufferAccesses -- and for
+			// TRACE_POSTGRESQL_BUFFER_SYNC_WRITTEN - which can perhaps be done
+			// another way?
+			// BgBufferSync() has a similar local variable, num_written, which
+			// it uses in a similar way and also seems like it could be
+			// refactored to use PgBufferAccesses.
+			// Then, SyncOneBuffer() could only return a bool representing
+			// whether or not the buffer is reusable.
 			if (SyncOneBuffer(buf_id, false, &wb_context) & BUF_WRITTEN)
 			{
 				TRACE_POSTGRESQL_BUFFER_SYNC_WRITTEN(buf_id);
@@ -2552,6 +2583,8 @@ SyncOneBuffer(int buf_id, bool skip_recently_used, WritebackContext *wb_context)
 	 * Pin it, share-lock it, write it.  (FlushBuffer will do nothing if the
 	 * buffer is clean by the time we've locked it.)
 	 */
+
+	pgstat_increment_buffer_access_type(BA_Write, Buf_Shared);
 	PinBuffer_Locked(bufHdr);
 	LWLockAcquire(BufferDescriptorGetContentLock(bufHdr), LW_SHARED);
 
diff --git a/src/backend/storage/buffer/freelist.c b/src/backend/storage/buffer/freelist.c
index 6be80476db..866cdd3911 100644
--- a/src/backend/storage/buffer/freelist.c
+++ b/src/backend/storage/buffer/freelist.c
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@
 #include "storage/buf_internals.h"
 #include "storage/bufmgr.h"
 #include "storage/proc.h"
+#include "utils/backend_status.h"
 
 #define INT_ACCESS_ONCE(var)	((int)(*((volatile int *)&(var))))
 
@@ -198,7 +199,7 @@ have_free_buffer(void)
  *	return the buffer with the buffer header spinlock still held.
  */
 BufferDesc *
-StrategyGetBuffer(BufferAccessStrategy strategy, uint32 *buf_state)
+StrategyGetBuffer(BufferAccessStrategy strategy, uint32 *buf_state, bool *from_ring)
 {
 	BufferDesc *buf;
 	int			bgwprocno;
@@ -212,6 +213,7 @@ StrategyGetBuffer(BufferAccessStrategy strategy, uint32 *buf_state)
 	if (strategy != NULL)
 	{
 		buf = GetBufferFromRing(strategy, buf_state);
+		*from_ring = buf == NULL ? false : true;
 		if (buf != NULL)
 			return buf;
 	}
@@ -247,6 +249,7 @@ StrategyGetBuffer(BufferAccessStrategy strategy, uint32 *buf_state)
 	 * the rate of buffer consumption.  Note that buffers recycled by a
 	 * strategy object are intentionally not counted here.
 	 */
+	pgstat_increment_buffer_access_type(BA_Alloc, Buf_Shared);
 	pg_atomic_fetch_add_u32(&StrategyControl->numBufferAllocs, 1);
 
 	/*
@@ -683,8 +686,14 @@ AddBufferToRing(BufferAccessStrategy strategy, BufferDesc *buf)
  * if this buffer should be written and re-used.
  */
 bool
-StrategyRejectBuffer(BufferAccessStrategy strategy, BufferDesc *buf)
+StrategyRejectBuffer(BufferAccessStrategy strategy, BufferDesc *buf, bool *from_ring)
 {
+	/*
+	 * If we decide to use the dirty buffer selected by StrategyGetBuffer, then
+	 * ensure that we count it as such in pg_stat_buffers view.
+	 */
+	*from_ring = true;
+
 	/* We only do this in bulkread mode */
 	if (strategy->btype != BAS_BULKREAD)
 		return false;
@@ -700,5 +709,14 @@ StrategyRejectBuffer(BufferAccessStrategy strategy, BufferDesc *buf)
 	 */
 	strategy->buffers[strategy->current] = InvalidBuffer;
 
+	/*
+	 * Since we will not be writing out a dirty buffer from the ring, set
+	 * from_ring to false so that the caller does not count this write as a
+	 * "strategy write" and can do proper bookkeeping for
+	 * pg_stat_buffers.
+	 */
+	*from_ring = false;
+
+
 	return true;
 }
diff --git a/src/backend/utils/activity/backend_status.c b/src/backend/utils/activity/backend_status.c
index 7229598822..50e7081a16 100644
--- a/src/backend/utils/activity/backend_status.c
+++ b/src/backend/utils/activity/backend_status.c
@@ -279,7 +279,7 @@ pgstat_beinit(void)
  * pgstat_bestart() -
  *
  *	Initialize this backend's entry in the PgBackendStatus array.
- *	Called from InitPostgres.
+ *	Called from InitPostgres and AuxiliaryProcessMain
  *
  *	Apart from auxiliary processes, MyBackendId, MyDatabaseId,
  *	session userid, and application_name must be set for a
@@ -293,6 +293,7 @@ pgstat_bestart(void)
 {
 	volatile PgBackendStatus *vbeentry = MyBEEntry;
 	PgBackendStatus lbeentry;
+	int buffer_type;
 #ifdef USE_SSL
 	PgBackendSSLStatus lsslstatus;
 #endif
@@ -399,6 +400,17 @@ pgstat_bestart(void)
 	lbeentry.st_progress_command = PROGRESS_COMMAND_INVALID;
 	lbeentry.st_progress_command_target = InvalidOid;
 	lbeentry.st_query_id = UINT64CONST(0);
+	for (buffer_type = 0; buffer_type < BUFFER_NUM_TYPES; buffer_type++)
+	{
+		// TODO: is it okay stylistically that I do this loop differently
+		// elsewhere (e.g. increment the accesses variable vs using buffer_type
+		// as an index into the array)?
+		PgBufferAccesses *accesses = &lbeentry.buffer_access_stats[buffer_type];
+		pg_atomic_init_u64(&accesses->allocs, 0);
+		pg_atomic_init_u64(&accesses->extends, 0);
+		pg_atomic_init_u64(&accesses->fsyncs, 0);
+		pg_atomic_init_u64(&accesses->writes, 0);
+	}
 
 	/*
 	 * we don't zero st_progress_param here to save cycles; nobody should
@@ -1045,6 +1057,45 @@ pgstat_get_my_query_id(void)
 	return MyBEEntry->st_query_id;
 }
 
+PgBackendStatus *
+pgstat_access_backend_status_array(void)
+{
+	return BackendStatusArray;
+}
+
+// TODO: is there a way to inline this in a header file for performance reasons?
+// not sure with the static function calls in it
+void
+pgstat_increment_buffer_access_type(BufferAccessType ba_type, BufferType buf_type)
+{
+	PgBufferAccesses *accesses;
+	PgBackendStatus *beentry   = MyBEEntry;
+
+	// TODO: do I need to check pgstat_track_activities?
+	if (!beentry || !pgstat_track_activities)
+		return;
+
+	accesses = &beentry->buffer_access_stats[buf_type];
+	switch (ba_type)
+	{
+		case BA_Alloc:
+			pg_atomic_write_u64(&accesses->allocs,
+					pg_atomic_read_u64(&accesses->allocs) + 1);
+			break;
+		case BA_Extend:
+			pg_atomic_write_u64(&accesses->extends,
+					pg_atomic_read_u64(&accesses->extends) + 1);
+			break;
+		case BA_Fsync:
+			pg_atomic_write_u64(&accesses->fsyncs,
+					pg_atomic_read_u64(&accesses->fsyncs) + 1);
+			break;
+		case BA_Write:
+			pg_atomic_write_u64(&accesses->writes,
+					pg_atomic_read_u64(&accesses->writes) + 1);
+			break;
+	}
+}
 
 /* ----------
  * pgstat_fetch_stat_beentry() -
diff --git a/src/backend/utils/adt/pgstatfuncs.c b/src/backend/utils/adt/pgstatfuncs.c
index ff5aedc99c..d4e0ce4143 100644
--- a/src/backend/utils/adt/pgstatfuncs.c
+++ b/src/backend/utils/adt/pgstatfuncs.c
@@ -1796,6 +1796,143 @@ pg_stat_get_buf_alloc(PG_FUNCTION_ARGS)
 	PG_RETURN_INT64(pgstat_fetch_stat_bgwriter()->buf_alloc);
 }
 
+Datum
+pg_stat_get_buffers_accesses(PG_FUNCTION_ARGS)
+{
+#define NROWS ((BACKEND_NUM_TYPES - 1) * BUFFER_NUM_TYPES)
+	ReturnSetInfo *rsinfo = (ReturnSetInfo *) fcinfo->resultinfo;
+	TupleDesc	tupdesc;
+	Tuplestorestate *tupstore;
+	MemoryContext per_query_ctx;
+	MemoryContext oldcontext;
+	PgStat_BackendAccesses *backend_accesses;
+	int buffer_type;
+	int backend_type;
+	Datum reset_time;
+	int i;
+	// TODO: does this need to be volatile
+	volatile PgBackendStatus *beentry;
+
+	enum {
+		COLUMN_BACKEND_TYPE,
+		COLUMN_BUFFER_TYPE,
+		COLUMN_ALLOCS,
+		COLUMN_EXTENDS,
+		COLUMN_FSYNCS,
+		COLUMN_WRITES,
+		COLUMN_RESET_TIME,
+		COLUMN_LENGTH,
+	};
+
+	Datum all_values[NROWS][COLUMN_LENGTH];
+	bool all_nulls[NROWS][COLUMN_LENGTH];
+
+	/* check to see if caller supports us returning a tuplestore */
+	if (rsinfo == NULL || !IsA(rsinfo, ReturnSetInfo))
+		ereport(ERROR,
+				(errcode(ERRCODE_FEATURE_NOT_SUPPORTED),
+				 errmsg("set-valued function called in context that cannot accept a set")));
+	if (!(rsinfo->allowedModes & SFRM_Materialize))
+		ereport(ERROR,
+				(errcode(ERRCODE_FEATURE_NOT_SUPPORTED),
+				 errmsg("materialize mode required, but it is not allowed in this context")));
+
+	/* Build a tuple descriptor for our result type */
+	if (get_call_result_type(fcinfo, NULL, &tupdesc) != TYPEFUNC_COMPOSITE)
+		elog(ERROR, "return type must be a row type");
+
+	per_query_ctx = rsinfo->econtext->ecxt_per_query_memory;
+	oldcontext = MemoryContextSwitchTo(per_query_ctx);
+
+	tupstore = tuplestore_begin_heap(true, false, work_mem);
+	rsinfo->returnMode = SFRM_Materialize;
+	rsinfo->setResult = tupstore;
+	rsinfo->setDesc = tupdesc;
+
+	MemoryContextSwitchTo(oldcontext);
+
+	memset(all_values, 0, sizeof(all_values));
+	memset(all_nulls, 0, sizeof(all_nulls));
+
+	/*
+	 * Loop through all live backends and count their buffer accesses for each
+	 * buffer type
+	 */
+	beentry = pgstat_access_backend_status_array();
+	for (i = 0; i < MaxBackends + NUM_AUXPROCTYPES; i++)
+	{
+		PgBufferAccesses *buffer_accesses;
+		beentry++;
+		/* Don't count dead backends. They should already be counted */
+		if (beentry->st_procpid == 0)
+			continue;
+
+		buffer_accesses = (PgBufferAccesses *) beentry->buffer_access_stats;
+
+		for (buffer_type = 0; buffer_type < BUFFER_NUM_TYPES; buffer_type++)
+		{
+			int rownum = (beentry->st_backendType - 1) * BUFFER_NUM_TYPES + buffer_type;
+			Datum *values = all_values[rownum];
+
+			/*
+			 * COLUMN_RESET_TIME, COLUMN_BACKEND_TYPE, and COLUMN_BUFFER_TYPE
+			 * will all be set when looping through exited backends array
+			 */
+			values[COLUMN_ALLOCS] += pg_atomic_read_u64(&buffer_accesses->allocs);
+			values[COLUMN_EXTENDS] += pg_atomic_read_u64(&buffer_accesses->extends);
+			values[COLUMN_FSYNCS] += pg_atomic_read_u64(&buffer_accesses->fsyncs);
+			values[COLUMN_WRITES] += pg_atomic_read_u64(&buffer_accesses->writes);
+			buffer_accesses++;
+		}
+	}
+
+	/* Add stats from all exited backends */
+	pgstat_fetch_global();
+	backend_accesses = pgstat_get_global_buffers_stats();
+
+	reset_time = TimestampTzGetDatum(backend_accesses->stat_reset_timestamp);
+
+	/* 0 is not a valid BackendType */
+	for (backend_type = 1; backend_type < BACKEND_NUM_TYPES; backend_type++)
+	{
+		PgStatBufferAccesses *buffer_accesses = backend_accesses->accesses[backend_type].buffer_type_accesses;
+		PgStatBufferAccesses *resets = backend_accesses->resets[backend_type].buffer_type_accesses;
+
+		Datum backend_type_desc = CStringGetTextDatum(GetBackendTypeDesc(backend_type));
+
+		for (buffer_type = 0; buffer_type < BUFFER_NUM_TYPES; buffer_type++)
+		{
+			/*
+			 * Subtract 1 from backend_type to avoid having rows for B_INVALID
+			 * BackendType
+			 */
+			Datum *values = all_values[(backend_type - 1) * BUFFER_NUM_TYPES + buffer_type];
+
+			values[COLUMN_BACKEND_TYPE] = backend_type_desc;
+			values[COLUMN_BUFFER_TYPE] = CStringGetTextDatum(GetBufferTypeDesc(buffer_type));
+			values[COLUMN_ALLOCS] = values[COLUMN_ALLOCS] + buffer_accesses->allocs - resets->allocs;
+			values[COLUMN_EXTENDS] = values[COLUMN_EXTENDS] + buffer_accesses->extends - resets->extends;
+			values[COLUMN_FSYNCS] = values[COLUMN_FSYNCS] + buffer_accesses->fsyncs - resets->fsyncs;
+			values[COLUMN_WRITES] = values[COLUMN_WRITES] + buffer_accesses->writes - resets->writes;
+			values[COLUMN_RESET_TIME] = reset_time;
+			buffer_accesses++;
+			resets++;
+		}
+	}
+
+	for (i = 0; i < NROWS; i++)
+	{
+		Datum *values = all_values[i];
+		bool *nulls = all_nulls[i];
+		tuplestore_putvalues(tupstore, tupdesc, values, nulls);
+	}
+
+	/* clean up and return the tuplestore */
+	tuplestore_donestoring(tupstore);
+
+	return (Datum) 0;
+}
+
 /*
  * Returns statistics of WAL activity
  */
diff --git a/src/backend/utils/init/miscinit.c b/src/backend/utils/init/miscinit.c
index 88801374b5..50b50d00ce 100644
--- a/src/backend/utils/init/miscinit.c
+++ b/src/backend/utils/init/miscinit.c
@@ -299,6 +299,31 @@ GetBackendTypeDesc(BackendType backendType)
 	return backendDesc;
 }
 
+const char *
+GetBufferTypeDesc(BufferType bufferType)
+{
+	const char *bufferDesc = "unknown buffer type";
+
+	switch (bufferType)
+	{
+		case Buf_Direct:
+			bufferDesc = "direct";
+			break;
+		case Buf_Local:
+			bufferDesc = "local";
+			break;
+		case Buf_Shared:
+			bufferDesc = "shared";
+			break;
+		case Buf_Strategy:
+			bufferDesc = "strategy";
+			break;
+	}
+
+	return bufferDesc;
+}
+
+
 /* ----------------------------------------------------------------
  *				database path / name support stuff
  * ----------------------------------------------------------------
diff --git a/src/include/access/xlog.h b/src/include/access/xlog.h
index 5e2c94a05f..58575889de 100644
--- a/src/include/access/xlog.h
+++ b/src/include/access/xlog.h
@@ -224,6 +224,7 @@ typedef struct CheckpointStatsData
 	TimestampTz ckpt_sync_end_t;	/* end of fsyncs */
 	TimestampTz ckpt_end_t;		/* end of checkpoint */
 
+	// TODO: is this now redundant with checkpointer's backend writes buffers counter?
 	int			ckpt_bufs_written;	/* # of buffers written */
 
 	int			ckpt_segs_added;	/* # of new xlog segments created */
diff --git a/src/include/catalog/pg_proc.dat b/src/include/catalog/pg_proc.dat
index d068d6532e..54661e2b5f 100644
--- a/src/include/catalog/pg_proc.dat
+++ b/src/include/catalog/pg_proc.dat
@@ -5642,6 +5642,15 @@
   proname => 'pg_stat_get_buf_alloc', provolatile => 's', proparallel => 'r',
   prorettype => 'int8', proargtypes => '', prosrc => 'pg_stat_get_buf_alloc' },
 
+{ oid => '8459', descr => 'statistics: counts of various types of accesses of buffers done by each backend type',
+  proname => 'pg_stat_get_buffers_accesses', provolatile => 's', proisstrict => 'f',
+  prorows => '52', proretset => 't',
+  proparallel => 'r', prorettype => 'record', proargtypes => '',
+  proallargtypes => '{text,text,int8,int8,int8,int8,timestamptz}',
+  proargmodes => '{o,o,o,o,o,o,o}',
+  proargnames => '{backend_type,buffer_type,alloc,extend,fsync,write,stats_reset}',
+  prosrc => 'pg_stat_get_buffers_accesses' },
+
 { oid => '1136', descr => 'statistics: information about WAL activity',
   proname => 'pg_stat_get_wal', proisstrict => 'f', provolatile => 's',
   proparallel => 'r', prorettype => 'record', proargtypes => '',
diff --git a/src/include/miscadmin.h b/src/include/miscadmin.h
index 90a3016065..266d32835c 100644
--- a/src/include/miscadmin.h
+++ b/src/include/miscadmin.h
@@ -338,9 +338,32 @@ typedef enum BackendType
 	B_LOGGER,
 } BackendType;
 
+#define BACKEND_NUM_TYPES (B_LOGGER + 1)
+
+typedef enum BufferAccessType
+{
+	BA_Alloc,
+	BA_Extend,
+	BA_Fsync,
+	BA_Write,
+}	BufferAccessType;
+
+#define BUFFER_ACCESS_NUM_TYPES (BA_Write + 1)
+
+typedef enum BufferType
+{
+	Buf_Direct,
+	Buf_Local,
+	Buf_Shared,
+	Buf_Strategy,
+} BufferType;
+
+#define BUFFER_NUM_TYPES (Buf_Strategy + 1)
+
 extern BackendType MyBackendType;
 
 extern const char *GetBackendTypeDesc(BackendType backendType);
+extern const char * GetBufferTypeDesc(BufferType bufferType);
 
 extern void SetDatabasePath(const char *path);
 extern void checkDataDir(void);
diff --git a/src/include/pgstat.h b/src/include/pgstat.h
index bcd3588ea2..c97b6897cf 100644
--- a/src/include/pgstat.h
+++ b/src/include/pgstat.h
@@ -72,6 +72,7 @@ typedef enum StatMsgType
 	PGSTAT_MTYPE_ARCHIVER,
 	PGSTAT_MTYPE_BGWRITER,
 	PGSTAT_MTYPE_CHECKPOINTER,
+	PGSTAT_MTYPE_BUFFER_ACTIONS,
 	PGSTAT_MTYPE_WAL,
 	PGSTAT_MTYPE_SLRU,
 	PGSTAT_MTYPE_FUNCSTAT,
@@ -138,6 +139,7 @@ typedef enum PgStat_Shared_Reset_Target
 {
 	RESET_ARCHIVER,
 	RESET_BGWRITER,
+	RESET_BUFFERS,
 	RESET_WAL
 } PgStat_Shared_Reset_Target;
 
@@ -224,7 +226,9 @@ typedef struct PgStat_MsgHdr
  * platforms, but we're being conservative here.)
  * ----------
  */
-#define PGSTAT_MAX_MSG_SIZE 1000
+// TODO: how sketchy is this? What can I do instead? The array of counters for
+// reset message is 2kB, I think
+#define PGSTAT_MAX_MSG_SIZE 3000
 #define PGSTAT_MSG_PAYLOAD	(PGSTAT_MAX_MSG_SIZE - sizeof(PgStat_MsgHdr))
 
 
@@ -342,6 +346,30 @@ typedef struct PgStat_MsgResetcounter
 	Oid			m_databaseid;
 } PgStat_MsgResetcounter;
 
+// TODO: should these be PgStat_Counters? kind of want them unsigned though...
+typedef struct PgStatBufferAccesses
+{
+	uint64 allocs;
+	uint64 extends;
+	uint64 fsyncs;
+	uint64 writes;
+} PgStatBufferAccesses;
+
+typedef struct PgStat_MsgBufferTypeAccesses
+{
+	PgStat_MsgHdr m_hdr;
+
+	BackendType backend_type;
+	PgStatBufferAccesses buffer_type_accesses[BUFFER_NUM_TYPES];
+} PgStat_MsgBufferTypeAccesses;
+
+typedef struct PgStat_BackendAccesses
+{
+	TimestampTz stat_reset_timestamp;
+	PgStat_MsgBufferTypeAccesses accesses[BACKEND_NUM_TYPES];
+	PgStat_MsgBufferTypeAccesses resets[BACKEND_NUM_TYPES];
+} PgStat_BackendAccesses;
+
 /* ----------
  * PgStat_MsgResetsharedcounter Sent by the backend to tell the collector
  *								to reset a shared counter
@@ -351,6 +379,10 @@ typedef struct PgStat_MsgResetsharedcounter
 {
 	PgStat_MsgHdr m_hdr;
 	PgStat_Shared_Reset_Target m_resettarget;
+	// TODO: Should I make a new type of reset message that is only used for
+	// resetting pg_stat_buffers stats and includes this resets array?
+	// Is it okay that we are mixing query and command messages?
+	PgStat_MsgBufferTypeAccesses resets[BACKEND_NUM_TYPES];
 } PgStat_MsgResetsharedcounter;
 
 /* ----------
@@ -479,6 +511,8 @@ typedef struct PgStat_MsgCheckpointer
 	PgStat_Counter m_checkpoint_sync_time;
 } PgStat_MsgCheckpointer;
 
+
+
 /* ----------
  * PgStat_MsgWal			Sent by backends and background processes to update WAL statistics.
  * ----------
@@ -703,6 +737,7 @@ typedef union PgStat_Msg
 	PgStat_MsgArchiver msg_archiver;
 	PgStat_MsgBgWriter msg_bgwriter;
 	PgStat_MsgCheckpointer msg_checkpointer;
+	PgStat_MsgBufferTypeAccesses msg_buffer_accesses;
 	PgStat_MsgWal msg_wal;
 	PgStat_MsgSLRU msg_slru;
 	PgStat_MsgFuncstat msg_funcstat;
@@ -879,6 +914,7 @@ typedef struct PgStat_GlobalStats
 
 	PgStat_CheckpointerStats checkpointer;
 	PgStat_BgWriterStats bgwriter;
+	PgStat_BackendAccesses buffers;
 } PgStat_GlobalStats;
 
 /*
@@ -946,7 +982,6 @@ typedef struct PgStat_FunctionCallUsage
 	instr_time	f_start;
 } PgStat_FunctionCallUsage;
 
-
 /* ----------
  * GUC parameters
  * ----------
@@ -1119,6 +1154,8 @@ extern void pgstat_twophase_postabort(TransactionId xid, uint16 info,
 extern void pgstat_send_archiver(const char *xlog, bool failed);
 extern void pgstat_send_bgwriter(void);
 extern void pgstat_send_checkpointer(void);
+extern void pgstat_report_buffers(void);
+extern PgStat_BackendAccesses * pgstat_get_global_buffers_stats(void);
 extern void pgstat_send_wal(bool force);
 
 /* ----------
diff --git a/src/include/storage/buf_internals.h b/src/include/storage/buf_internals.h
index 33fcaf5c9a..7e385135db 100644
--- a/src/include/storage/buf_internals.h
+++ b/src/include/storage/buf_internals.h
@@ -310,10 +310,10 @@ extern void ScheduleBufferTagForWriteback(WritebackContext *context, BufferTag *
 
 /* freelist.c */
 extern BufferDesc *StrategyGetBuffer(BufferAccessStrategy strategy,
-									 uint32 *buf_state);
+									 uint32 *buf_state, bool *from_ring);
 extern void StrategyFreeBuffer(BufferDesc *buf);
 extern bool StrategyRejectBuffer(BufferAccessStrategy strategy,
-								 BufferDesc *buf);
+								 BufferDesc *buf, bool *from_ring);
 
 extern int	StrategySyncStart(uint32 *complete_passes, uint32 *num_buf_alloc);
 extern void StrategyNotifyBgWriter(int bgwprocno);
diff --git a/src/include/utils/backend_status.h b/src/include/utils/backend_status.h
index 8042b817df..30b7103831 100644
--- a/src/include/utils/backend_status.h
+++ b/src/include/utils/backend_status.h
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@
 #include "datatype/timestamp.h"
 #include "libpq/pqcomm.h"
 #include "miscadmin.h"			/* for BackendType */
+#include "port/atomics.h"
 #include "utils/backend_progress.h"
 
 
@@ -79,6 +80,16 @@ typedef struct PgBackendGSSStatus
 
 } PgBackendGSSStatus;
 
+// TODO: I'd like to move this elsewhere since it doesn't seem related to backend_status, but, I'm not sure where
+// I tried miscadmin.h but couldn't figure out what to include to get the Postgres atomic types and link correctly
+// Should it be elsewhere?
+typedef struct PgBufferAccesses
+{
+	pg_atomic_uint64 allocs;
+	pg_atomic_uint64 extends;
+	pg_atomic_uint64 fsyncs;
+	pg_atomic_uint64 writes;
+} PgBufferAccesses;
 
 /* ----------
  * PgBackendStatus
@@ -168,6 +179,7 @@ typedef struct PgBackendStatus
 
 	/* query identifier, optionally computed using post_parse_analyze_hook */
 	uint64		st_query_id;
+	PgBufferAccesses buffer_access_stats[BUFFER_NUM_TYPES];
 } PgBackendStatus;
 
 
@@ -306,6 +318,9 @@ extern const char *pgstat_get_crashed_backend_activity(int pid, char *buffer,
 													   int buflen);
 extern uint64 pgstat_get_my_query_id(void);
 
+extern PgBackendStatus *pgstat_access_backend_status_array(void);
+extern void pgstat_increment_buffer_access_type(BufferAccessType ba_type, BufferType buf_type);
+
 
 /* ----------
  * Support functions for the SQL-callable functions to
diff --git a/src/test/regress/expected/rules.out b/src/test/regress/expected/rules.out
index 2fa00a3c29..9172b0fcd2 100644
--- a/src/test/regress/expected/rules.out
+++ b/src/test/regress/expected/rules.out
@@ -1828,6 +1828,14 @@ pg_stat_bgwriter| SELECT pg_stat_get_bgwriter_timed_checkpoints() AS checkpoints
     pg_stat_get_buf_fsync_backend() AS buffers_backend_fsync,
     pg_stat_get_buf_alloc() AS buffers_alloc,
     pg_stat_get_bgwriter_stat_reset_time() AS stats_reset;
+pg_stat_buffers| SELECT b.backend_type,
+    b.buffer_type,
+    b.alloc,
+    b.extend,
+    b.fsync,
+    b.write,
+    b.stats_reset
+   FROM pg_stat_get_buffers_accesses() b(backend_type, buffer_type, alloc, extend, fsync, write, stats_reset);
 pg_stat_database| SELECT d.oid AS datid,
     d.datname,
         CASE
diff --git a/src/test/regress/sql/stats.sql b/src/test/regress/sql/stats.sql
index feaaee6326..c132717e08 100644
--- a/src/test/regress/sql/stats.sql
+++ b/src/test/regress/sql/stats.sql
@@ -176,4 +176,10 @@ FROM prevstats AS pr;
 
 DROP TABLE trunc_stats_test, trunc_stats_test1, trunc_stats_test2, trunc_stats_test3, trunc_stats_test4;
 DROP TABLE prevstats;
+SELECT * FROM pg_stat_buffers;
+SELECT pg_stat_reset_shared('buffers');
+-- TODO: Is it okay that it takes a second for the message to be received, so I
+-- can't query the view right away and see it reset?
+SELECT pg_sleep(2);
+SELECT * FROM pg_stat_buffers;
 -- End of Stats Test
-- 
2.27.0