v62-0003-Slot-sync-worker-as-a-special-process.patch

From e29ffcf9bac74f5212ebc99b76a0faddad87b3f7 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Shveta Malik <shveta.malik@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, 16 Jan 2024 15:28:37 +0530
Subject: [PATCH v62 3/6] Slot-sync worker as a special process

This patch attempts to start slot-sync worker as a special process
which is neither a bgworker nor an Auxiliary process. The benefit
we get here is we can control the start-conditions of the worker which
further allows us to 'enable_syncslot' as PGC_SIGHUP which was otherwise
a PGC_POSTMASTER GUC when slotsync worker was registered as bgworker.
---
 doc/src/sgml/bgworker.sgml                 |  65 +---
 src/backend/postmaster/bgworker.c          |   3 -
 src/backend/postmaster/postmaster.c        |  85 ++++--
 src/backend/replication/logical/slotsync.c | 329 ++++++++++++++++-----
 src/backend/storage/lmgr/proc.c            |   9 +-
 src/backend/tcop/postgres.c                |  11 -
 src/backend/utils/activity/pgstat_io.c     |   1 +
 src/backend/utils/init/miscinit.c          |   7 +-
 src/backend/utils/init/postinit.c          |   8 +-
 src/backend/utils/misc/guc_tables.c        |   2 +-
 src/include/miscadmin.h                    |   1 +
 src/include/postmaster/bgworker.h          |   1 -
 src/include/replication/worker_internal.h  |   7 +-
 13 files changed, 354 insertions(+), 175 deletions(-)

diff --git a/doc/src/sgml/bgworker.sgml b/doc/src/sgml/bgworker.sgml
index a7cfe6c58c..2c393385a9 100644
--- a/doc/src/sgml/bgworker.sgml
+++ b/doc/src/sgml/bgworker.sgml
@@ -114,59 +114,18 @@ typedef struct BackgroundWorker
 
   <para>
    <structfield>bgw_start_time</structfield> is the server state during which
-   <command>postgres</command> should start the process. Note that this setting
-   only indicates when the processes are to be started; they do not stop when
-   a different state is reached. Possible values are:
-
-   <variablelist>
-    <varlistentry>
-     <term><literal>BgWorkerStart_PostmasterStart</literal></term>
-     <listitem>
-      <para>
-       <indexterm><primary>BgWorkerStart_PostmasterStart</primary></indexterm>
-       Start as soon as postgres itself has finished its own initialization;
-       processes requesting this are not eligible for database connections.
-      </para>
-     </listitem>
-    </varlistentry>
-
-    <varlistentry>
-     <term><literal>BgWorkerStart_ConsistentState</literal></term>
-     <listitem>
-      <para>
-       <indexterm><primary>BgWorkerStart_ConsistentState</primary></indexterm>
-       Start as soon as a consistent state has been reached in a hot-standby,
-       allowing processes to connect to databases and run read-only queries.
-      </para>
-     </listitem>
-    </varlistentry>
-
-    <varlistentry>
-     <term><literal>BgWorkerStart_ConsistentState_HotStandby</literal></term>
-     <listitem>
-      <para>
-       <indexterm><primary>BgWorkerStart_ConsistentState_HotStandby</primary></indexterm>
-       Same meaning as <literal>BgWorkerStart_ConsistentState</literal> but
-       it is more strict in terms of the server i.e. start the worker only
-       if it is hot-standby.
-      </para>
-     </listitem>
-    </varlistentry>
-
-    <varlistentry>
-     <term><literal>BgWorkerStart_RecoveryFinished</literal></term>
-     <listitem>
-      <para>
-       <indexterm><primary>BgWorkerStart_RecoveryFinished</primary></indexterm>
-       Start as soon as the system has entered normal read-write state. Note
-       that the <literal>BgWorkerStart_ConsistentState</literal> and
-      <literal>BgWorkerStart_RecoveryFinished</literal> are equivalent
-       in a server that's not a hot standby.
-      </para>
-     </listitem>
-    </varlistentry>
-
-   </variablelist>
+   <command>postgres</command> should start the process; it can be one of
+   <literal>BgWorkerStart_PostmasterStart</literal> (start as soon as
+   <command>postgres</command> itself has finished its own initialization; processes
+   requesting this are not eligible for database connections),
+   <literal>BgWorkerStart_ConsistentState</literal> (start as soon as a consistent state
+   has been reached in a hot standby, allowing processes to connect to
+   databases and run read-only queries), and
+   <literal>BgWorkerStart_RecoveryFinished</literal> (start as soon as the system has
+   entered normal read-write state).  Note the last two values are equivalent
+   in a server that's not a hot standby.  Note that this setting only indicates
+   when the processes are to be started; they do not stop when a different state
+   is reached.
   </para>
 
   <para>
diff --git a/src/backend/postmaster/bgworker.c b/src/backend/postmaster/bgworker.c
index 46828b8a89..1add449f7c 100644
--- a/src/backend/postmaster/bgworker.c
+++ b/src/backend/postmaster/bgworker.c
@@ -130,9 +130,6 @@ static const struct
 	{
 		"ApplyWorkerMain", ApplyWorkerMain
 	},
-	{
-		"ReplSlotSyncWorkerMain", ReplSlotSyncWorkerMain
-	},
 	{
 		"ParallelApplyWorkerMain", ParallelApplyWorkerMain
 	},
diff --git a/src/backend/postmaster/postmaster.c b/src/backend/postmaster/postmaster.c
index d90d5d1576..2fc979b1b8 100644
--- a/src/backend/postmaster/postmaster.c
+++ b/src/backend/postmaster/postmaster.c
@@ -168,11 +168,11 @@
  * they will never become live backends.  dead_end children are not assigned a
  * PMChildSlot.  dead_end children have bkend_type NORMAL.
  *
- * "Special" children such as the startup, bgwriter and autovacuum launcher
- * tasks are not in this list.  They are tracked via StartupPID and other
- * pid_t variables below.  (Thus, there can't be more than one of any given
- * "special" child process type.  We use BackendList entries for any child
- * process there can be more than one of.)
+ * "Special" children such as the startup, bgwriter, autovacuum launcher and
+ * slot sync worker tasks are not in this list.  They are tracked via StartupPID
+ * and other pid_t variables below.  (Thus, there can't be more than one of any
+ * given "special" child process type.  We use BackendList entries for any
+ * child process there can be more than one of.)
  */
 typedef struct bkend
 {
@@ -255,7 +255,8 @@ static pid_t StartupPID = 0,
 			WalSummarizerPID = 0,
 			AutoVacPID = 0,
 			PgArchPID = 0,
-			SysLoggerPID = 0;
+			SysLoggerPID = 0,
+			SlotSyncWorkerPID = 0;
 
 /* Startup process's status */
 typedef enum
@@ -459,6 +460,9 @@ static void InitPostmasterDeathWatchHandle(void);
 	   (pmState == PM_RECOVERY || pmState == PM_HOT_STANDBY))) && \
 	 PgArchCanRestart())
 
+#define SlotSyncWorkerAllowed()	\
+	(enable_syncslot && pmState == PM_HOT_STANDBY)
+
 #ifdef EXEC_BACKEND
 
 #ifdef WIN32
@@ -1011,12 +1015,6 @@ PostmasterMain(int argc, char *argv[])
 	 */
 	ApplyLauncherRegister();
 
-	/*
-	 * Register the slot sync worker here to kick start slot-sync operation
-	 * sooner on the physical standby.
-	 */
-	SlotSyncWorkerRegister();
-
 	/*
 	 * process any libraries that should be preloaded at postmaster start
 	 */
@@ -1837,6 +1835,10 @@ ServerLoop(void)
 		if (PgArchPID == 0 && PgArchStartupAllowed())
 			PgArchPID = StartArchiver();
 
+		/* If we need to start a slot sync worker, try to do that now */
+		if (SlotSyncWorkerPID == 0 && SlotSyncWorkerAllowed())
+			SlotSyncWorkerPID = StartSlotSyncWorker();
+
 		/* If we need to signal the autovacuum launcher, do so now */
 		if (avlauncher_needs_signal)
 		{
@@ -2684,6 +2686,8 @@ process_pm_reload_request(void)
 			signal_child(PgArchPID, SIGHUP);
 		if (SysLoggerPID != 0)
 			signal_child(SysLoggerPID, SIGHUP);
+		if (SlotSyncWorkerPID != 0)
+			signal_child(SlotSyncWorkerPID, SIGHUP);
 
 		/* Reload authentication config files too */
 		if (!load_hba())
@@ -3041,6 +3045,8 @@ process_pm_child_exit(void)
 				AutoVacPID = StartAutoVacLauncher();
 			if (PgArchStartupAllowed() && PgArchPID == 0)
 				PgArchPID = StartArchiver();
+			if (SlotSyncWorkerAllowed() && SlotSyncWorkerPID == 0)
+				SlotSyncWorkerPID = StartSlotSyncWorker();
 
 			/* workers may be scheduled to start now */
 			maybe_start_bgworkers();
@@ -3211,6 +3217,22 @@ process_pm_child_exit(void)
 			continue;
 		}
 
+		/*
+		 * Was it the slot sycn worker? Normal exit or FATAL exit (FATAL can
+		 * be caused by libpqwalreceiver on receiving shutdown request by the
+		 * startup process during promotion) can be ignored; we'll start a new
+		 * one at the next iteration of the postmaster's main loop, if
+		 * necessary. Any other exit condition is treated as a crash.
+		 */
+		if (pid == SlotSyncWorkerPID)
+		{
+			SlotSyncWorkerPID = 0;
+			if (!EXIT_STATUS_0(exitstatus) && !EXIT_STATUS_1(exitstatus))
+				HandleChildCrash(pid, exitstatus,
+								 _("Slotsync worker process"));
+			continue;
+		}
+
 		/* Was it one of our background workers? */
 		if (CleanupBackgroundWorker(pid, exitstatus))
 		{
@@ -3577,6 +3599,12 @@ HandleChildCrash(int pid, int exitstatus, const char *procname)
 	else if (PgArchPID != 0 && take_action)
 		sigquit_child(PgArchPID);
 
+	/* Take care of the slot sync worker too */
+	if (pid == SlotSyncWorkerPID)
+		SlotSyncWorkerPID = 0;
+	else if (SlotSyncWorkerPID != 0 && take_action)
+		sigquit_child(SlotSyncWorkerPID);
+
 	/* We do NOT restart the syslogger */
 
 	if (Shutdown != ImmediateShutdown)
@@ -3717,6 +3745,8 @@ PostmasterStateMachine(void)
 			signal_child(WalReceiverPID, SIGTERM);
 		if (WalSummarizerPID != 0)
 			signal_child(WalSummarizerPID, SIGTERM);
+		if (SlotSyncWorkerPID != 0)
+			signal_child(SlotSyncWorkerPID, SIGTERM);
 		/* checkpointer, archiver, stats, and syslogger may continue for now */
 
 		/* Now transition to PM_WAIT_BACKENDS state to wait for them to die */
@@ -3732,13 +3762,13 @@ PostmasterStateMachine(void)
 		/*
 		 * PM_WAIT_BACKENDS state ends when we have no regular backends
 		 * (including autovac workers), no bgworkers (including unconnected
-		 * ones), and no walwriter, autovac launcher or bgwriter.  If we are
-		 * doing crash recovery or an immediate shutdown then we expect the
-		 * checkpointer to exit as well, otherwise not. The stats and
-		 * syslogger processes are disregarded since they are not connected to
-		 * shared memory; we also disregard dead_end children here. Walsenders
-		 * and archiver are also disregarded, they will be terminated later
-		 * after writing the checkpoint record.
+		 * ones), and no walwriter, autovac launcher or bgwriter or slot sync
+		 * worker.  If we are doing crash recovery or an immediate shutdown
+		 * then we expect the checkpointer to exit as well, otherwise not. The
+		 * stats and syslogger processes are disregarded since they are not
+		 * connected to shared memory; we also disregard dead_end children
+		 * here. Walsenders and archiver are also disregarded, they will be
+		 * terminated later after writing the checkpoint record.
 		 */
 		if (CountChildren(BACKEND_TYPE_ALL - BACKEND_TYPE_WALSND) == 0 &&
 			StartupPID == 0 &&
@@ -3748,7 +3778,8 @@ PostmasterStateMachine(void)
 			(CheckpointerPID == 0 ||
 			 (!FatalError && Shutdown < ImmediateShutdown)) &&
 			WalWriterPID == 0 &&
-			AutoVacPID == 0)
+			AutoVacPID == 0 &&
+			SlotSyncWorkerPID == 0)
 		{
 			if (Shutdown >= ImmediateShutdown || FatalError)
 			{
@@ -3846,6 +3877,7 @@ PostmasterStateMachine(void)
 			Assert(CheckpointerPID == 0);
 			Assert(WalWriterPID == 0);
 			Assert(AutoVacPID == 0);
+			Assert(SlotSyncWorkerPID == 0);
 			/* syslogger is not considered here */
 			pmState = PM_NO_CHILDREN;
 		}
@@ -4069,6 +4101,8 @@ TerminateChildren(int signal)
 		signal_child(AutoVacPID, signal);
 	if (PgArchPID != 0)
 		signal_child(PgArchPID, signal);
+	if (SlotSyncWorkerPID != 0)
+		signal_child(SlotSyncWorkerPID, signal);
 }
 
 /*
@@ -4881,6 +4915,7 @@ SubPostmasterMain(int argc, char *argv[])
 	 */
 	if (strcmp(argv[1], "--forkbackend") == 0 ||
 		strcmp(argv[1], "--forkavlauncher") == 0 ||
+		strcmp(argv[1], "--forkssworker") == 0 ||
 		strcmp(argv[1], "--forkavworker") == 0 ||
 		strcmp(argv[1], "--forkaux") == 0 ||
 		strcmp(argv[1], "--forkbgworker") == 0)
@@ -4984,6 +5019,13 @@ SubPostmasterMain(int argc, char *argv[])
 
 		AutoVacWorkerMain(argc - 2, argv + 2);	/* does not return */
 	}
+	if (strcmp(argv[1], "--forkssworker") == 0)
+	{
+		/* Restore basic shared memory pointers */
+		InitShmemAccess(UsedShmemSegAddr);
+
+		ReplSlotSyncWorkerMain(argc - 2, argv + 2); /* does not return */
+	}
 	if (strcmp(argv[1], "--forkbgworker") == 0)
 	{
 		/* do this as early as possible; in particular, before InitProcess() */
@@ -5806,9 +5848,6 @@ bgworker_should_start_now(BgWorkerStartTime start_time)
 		case PM_HOT_STANDBY:
 			if (start_time == BgWorkerStart_ConsistentState)
 				return true;
-			if (start_time == BgWorkerStart_ConsistentState_HotStandby &&
-					 pmState != PM_RUN)
-				return true;
 			/* fall through */
 
 		case PM_RECOVERY:
diff --git a/src/backend/replication/logical/slotsync.c b/src/backend/replication/logical/slotsync.c
index 87d4f5e8b1..5dbb8ab4de 100644
--- a/src/backend/replication/logical/slotsync.c
+++ b/src/backend/replication/logical/slotsync.c
@@ -27,6 +27,8 @@
  * It waits for a period of time before the next synchronization, with the
  * duration varying based on whether any slots were updated during the last
  * cycle. Refer to the comments above wait_for_slot_activity() for more details.
+ *
+ * Slot synchronization is currently not supported on the cascading standby.
  *---------------------------------------------------------------------------
  */
 
@@ -40,7 +42,9 @@
 #include "commands/dbcommands.h"
 #include "pgstat.h"
 #include "postmaster/bgworker.h"
+#include "postmaster/fork_process.h"
 #include "postmaster/interrupt.h"
+#include "postmaster/postmaster.h"
 #include "replication/logical.h"
 #include "replication/logicallauncher.h"
 #include "replication/logicalworker.h"
@@ -53,6 +57,8 @@
 #include "utils/fmgroids.h"
 #include "utils/guc_hooks.h"
 #include "utils/pg_lsn.h"
+#include "utils/ps_status.h"
+#include "utils/timeout.h"
 #include "utils/varlena.h"
 
 /*
@@ -78,12 +84,17 @@ typedef struct RemoteSlot
  * Struct for sharing information between startup process and slot
  * sync worker.
  *
- * Slot sync worker's pid is needed by startup process in order to
- * shut it down during promotion.
+ * Slot sync worker's pid is needed by the startup process in order to
+ * shut it down during promotion. Startup process shuts down the slot
+ * sync worker and also sets stopSignaled=true to handle the race condition
+ * when postmaster has not noticed the promotion yet and thus may end up
+ * restarting slot slyc worker. If stopSignaled is set, the worker will
+ * exit in such a case.
  */
 typedef struct SlotSyncWorkerCtxStruct
 {
 	pid_t		pid;
+	bool		stopSignaled;
 	slock_t		mutex;
 } SlotSyncWorkerCtxStruct;
 
@@ -92,13 +103,25 @@ SlotSyncWorkerCtxStruct *SlotSyncWorker = NULL;
 /* GUC variable */
 bool		enable_syncslot = false;
 
+/* Flag to tell if we are in an slot sync worker process */
+static bool am_slotsync_worker = false;
+
 /*
  * Sleep time in ms between slot-sync cycles.
  * See wait_for_slot_activity() for how we adjust this
  */
 static long sleep_ms;
 
+/* Min and Max sleep time for slot sync worker */
+#define MIN_WORKER_NAPTIME_MS  200
+#define MAX_WORKER_NAPTIME_MS  30000	/* 30s */
+
 static void ProcessSlotSyncInterrupts(WalReceiverConn *wrconn);
+#ifdef EXEC_BACKEND
+static pid_t slotsyncworker_forkexec(void);
+#endif
+NON_EXEC_STATIC void ReplSlotSyncWorkerMain(int argc, char *argv[]) pg_attribute_noreturn();
+
 
 /*
  * If necessary, update local slot metadata based on the data from the remote
@@ -683,7 +706,8 @@ synchronize_slots(WalReceiverConn *wrconn)
  * standbys.
  */
 static void
-check_primary_info(WalReceiverConn *wrconn, bool *am_cascading_standby)
+check_primary_info(WalReceiverConn *wrconn, bool *am_cascading_standby,
+				   bool *primary_slot_invalid)
 {
 #define PRIMARY_INFO_OUTPUT_COL_COUNT 2
 	WalRcvExecResult *res;
@@ -698,8 +722,10 @@ check_primary_info(WalReceiverConn *wrconn, bool *am_cascading_standby)
 	StartTransactionCommand();
 
 	Assert(am_cascading_standby != NULL);
+	Assert(primary_slot_invalid != NULL);
 
 	*am_cascading_standby = false;	/* overwritten later if cascading */
+	*primary_slot_invalid = false;	/* overwritten later if invalid */
 
 	initStringInfo(&cmd);
 	appendStringInfo(&cmd,
@@ -737,12 +763,15 @@ check_primary_info(WalReceiverConn *wrconn, bool *am_cascading_standby)
 		Assert(!isnull);
 
 		if (!valid)
-			ereport(ERROR,
+		{
+			*primary_slot_invalid = true;
+			ereport(LOG,
 					errcode(ERRCODE_INVALID_PARAMETER_VALUE),
-					errmsg("exiting from slot synchronization due to bad configuration"),
+					errmsg("skipping slot synchronization due to bad configuration"),
 			/* translator: second %s is a GUC variable name */
 					errdetail("The primary server slot \"%s\" specified by %s is not valid.",
 							  PrimarySlotName, "primary_slot_name"));
+		}
 	}
 
 	ExecClearTuple(tupslot);
@@ -752,18 +781,18 @@ check_primary_info(WalReceiverConn *wrconn, bool *am_cascading_standby)
 
 /*
  * Check that all necessary GUCs for slot synchronization are set
- * appropriately. If not, raise an ERROR.
+ * appropriately. If not, log the message and pass 'valid' as false
+ * to the caller.
  *
  * If all checks pass, extracts the dbname from the primary_conninfo GUC and
  * returns it.
  */
 static char *
-validate_parameters_and_get_dbname(void)
+validate_parameters_and_get_dbname(bool *valid)
 {
 	char	   *dbname;
 
-	/* Sanity check. */
-	Assert(enable_syncslot);
+	*valid = false;
 
 	/*
 	 * A physical replication slot(primary_slot_name) is required on the
@@ -772,10 +801,13 @@ validate_parameters_and_get_dbname(void)
 	 * be invalidated.
 	 */
 	if (PrimarySlotName == NULL || strcmp(PrimarySlotName, "") == 0)
-		ereport(ERROR,
+	{
+		ereport(LOG,
 		/* translator: %s is a GUC variable name */
-				errmsg("exiting from slot synchronization due to bad configuration"),
+				errmsg("skipping slot synchronization due to bad configuration"),
 				errhint("%s must be defined.", "primary_slot_name"));
+		return NULL;
+	}
 
 	/*
 	 * hot_standby_feedback must be enabled to cooperate with the physical
@@ -783,30 +815,39 @@ validate_parameters_and_get_dbname(void)
 	 * catalog_xmin values on the standby.
 	 */
 	if (!hot_standby_feedback)
-		ereport(ERROR,
+	{
+		ereport(LOG,
 		/* translator: %s is a GUC variable name */
-				errmsg("exiting from slot synchronization due to bad configuration"),
+				errmsg("skipping slot synchronization due to bad configuration"),
 				errhint("%s must be enabled.", "hot_standby_feedback"));
+		return NULL;
+	}
 
 	/*
 	 * Logical decoding requires wal_level >= logical and we currently only
 	 * synchronize logical slots.
 	 */
 	if (wal_level < WAL_LEVEL_LOGICAL)
-		ereport(ERROR,
+	{
+		ereport(LOG,
 		/* translator: %s is a GUC variable name */
-				errmsg("exiting from slot synchronization due to bad configuration"),
+				errmsg("skipping slot synchronization due to bad configuration"),
 				errhint("wal_level must be >= logical."));
+		return NULL;
+	}
 
 	/*
 	 * The primary_conninfo is required to make connection to primary for
 	 * getting slots information.
 	 */
 	if (PrimaryConnInfo == NULL || strcmp(PrimaryConnInfo, "") == 0)
-		ereport(ERROR,
+	{
+		ereport(LOG,
 		/* translator: %s is a GUC variable name */
-				errmsg("exiting from slot synchronization due to bad configuration"),
+				errmsg("skipping slot synchronization due to bad configuration"),
 				errhint("%s must be defined.", "primary_conninfo"));
+		return NULL;
+	}
 
 	/*
 	 * The slot sync worker needs a database connection for walrcv_exec to
@@ -814,14 +855,61 @@ validate_parameters_and_get_dbname(void)
 	 */
 	dbname = walrcv_get_dbname_from_conninfo(PrimaryConnInfo);
 	if (dbname == NULL)
-		ereport(ERROR,
+	{
+		ereport(LOG,
 
 		/*
 		 * translator: 'dbname' is a specific option; %s is a GUC variable
 		 * name
 		 */
-				errmsg("exiting from slot synchronization due to bad configuration"),
+				errmsg("skipping slot synchronization due to bad configuration"),
 				errhint("'dbname' must be specified in %s.", "primary_conninfo"));
+		return NULL;
+	}
+
+	/* All good, set valid to true now */
+	*valid = true;
+
+	return dbname;
+}
+
+/*
+ * Check that all necessary GUCs for slot synchronization are set
+ * appropriately. If not, sleep for MAX_WORKER_NAPTIME_MS and check again.
+ * The idea is to become no-op until we get valid GUCs values.
+ *
+ * If all checks pass, extracts the dbname from the primary_conninfo GUC and
+ * returns it.
+ */
+static char *
+wait_for_valid_params_and_get_dbname(void)
+{
+	char	   *dbname;
+	int			rc;
+	bool		valid;
+
+	/* Sanity check. */
+	Assert(enable_syncslot);
+
+	for (;;)
+	{
+		dbname = validate_parameters_and_get_dbname(&valid);
+		if (valid)
+			break;
+		else
+		{
+			ProcessSlotSyncInterrupts(NULL);
+
+			rc = WaitLatch(MyLatch,
+						   WL_LATCH_SET | WL_TIMEOUT | WL_EXIT_ON_PM_DEATH,
+						   MAX_WORKER_NAPTIME_MS,
+						   WAIT_EVENT_REPL_SLOTSYNC_MAIN);
+
+			if (rc & WL_LATCH_SET)
+				ResetLatch(MyLatch);
+
+		}
+	}
 
 	return dbname;
 }
@@ -837,6 +925,7 @@ slotsync_reread_config(void)
 {
 	char	   *old_primary_conninfo = pstrdup(PrimaryConnInfo);
 	char	   *old_primary_slotname = pstrdup(PrimarySlotName);
+	bool		old_enable_syncslot = enable_syncslot;
 	bool		old_hot_standby_feedback = hot_standby_feedback;
 	bool		conninfo_changed;
 	bool		primary_slotname_changed;
@@ -849,13 +938,13 @@ slotsync_reread_config(void)
 
 	if (conninfo_changed ||
 		primary_slotname_changed ||
+		old_enable_syncslot != enable_syncslot ||
 		(old_hot_standby_feedback != hot_standby_feedback))
 	{
 		ereport(LOG,
 				errmsg("slot sync worker will restart because of"
 					   " a parameter change"));
-		/* The exit code 1 will make postmaster restart this worker */
-		proc_exit(1);
+		proc_exit(0);
 	}
 
 	pfree(old_primary_conninfo);
@@ -872,7 +961,8 @@ ProcessSlotSyncInterrupts(WalReceiverConn *wrconn)
 
 	if (ShutdownRequestPending)
 	{
-		walrcv_disconnect(wrconn);
+		if (wrconn)
+			walrcv_disconnect(wrconn);
 		ereport(LOG,
 				errmsg("replication slot sync worker is shutting down"
 					   " on receiving SIGINT"));
@@ -905,20 +995,16 @@ slotsync_worker_onexit(int code, Datum arg)
  * sync-cycles is reset to the minimum (200ms).
  */
 static void
-wait_for_slot_activity(bool some_slot_updated, bool am_cascading_standby)
+wait_for_slot_activity(bool some_slot_updated, bool recheck_primary_info)
 {
-#define MIN_WORKER_NAPTIME_MS  200
-#define MAX_WORKER_NAPTIME_MS  30000	/* 30s */
-
 	int			rc;
 
-	if (am_cascading_standby)
+	if (recheck_primary_info)
 	{
 		/*
-		 * Slot synchronization is currently not supported on cascading
-		 * standby. So if we are on the cascading standby, we will skip the
-		 * sync and take a longer nap before we check again whether we are
-		 * still cascading standby or not.
+		 * If we are on the cascading standby or primary_slot_name configured
+		 * is not valid, then we will skip the sync and take a longer nap
+		 * before we can do check_primary_info() again.
 		 */
 		sleep_ms = MAX_WORKER_NAPTIME_MS;
 	}
@@ -954,44 +1040,115 @@ wait_for_slot_activity(bool some_slot_updated, bool am_cascading_standby)
  * It connects to the primary server, fetches logical failover slots
  * information periodically in order to create and sync the slots.
  */
-void
-ReplSlotSyncWorkerMain(Datum main_arg)
+NON_EXEC_STATIC void
+ReplSlotSyncWorkerMain(int argc, char *argv[])
 {
 	WalReceiverConn *wrconn = NULL;
 	char	   *dbname;
 	bool		am_cascading_standby;
+	bool		primary_slot_invalid;
 	char	   *err;
+	sigjmp_buf	local_sigjmp_buf;
 
-	ereport(LOG, errmsg("replication slot sync worker started"));
+	am_slotsync_worker = true;
 
-	on_shmem_exit(slotsync_worker_onexit, (Datum) 0);
+	MyBackendType = B_SLOTSYNC_WORKER;
 
-	SpinLockAcquire(&SlotSyncWorker->mutex);
+	init_ps_display(NULL);
+
+	SetProcessingMode(InitProcessing);
+
+	/*
+	 * Create a per-backend PGPROC struct in shared memory.  We must do this
+	 * before we access any shared memory.
+	 */
+	InitProcess();
+
+	/*
+	 * Early initialization.
+	 */
+	BaseInit();
 
+	Assert(SlotSyncWorker != NULL);
+
+	SpinLockAcquire(&SlotSyncWorker->mutex);
 	Assert(SlotSyncWorker->pid == InvalidPid);
 
+	/*
+	 * Startup process signaled the slot sync worker to stop, so if meanwhile
+	 * postmaster ended up starting the worker again, exit.
+	 */
+	if (SlotSyncWorker->stopSignaled)
+	{
+		SpinLockRelease(&SlotSyncWorker->mutex);
+		proc_exit(0);
+	}
+
 	/* Advertise our PID so that the startup process can kill us on promotion */
 	SlotSyncWorker->pid = MyProcPid;
-
 	SpinLockRelease(&SlotSyncWorker->mutex);
 
+	ereport(LOG, errmsg("replication slot sync worker started"));
+
+	on_shmem_exit(slotsync_worker_onexit, (Datum) 0);
+
 	/* Setup signal handling */
 	pqsignal(SIGHUP, SignalHandlerForConfigReload);
 	pqsignal(SIGINT, SignalHandlerForShutdownRequest);
 	pqsignal(SIGTERM, die);
-	BackgroundWorkerUnblockSignals();
+
+	/*
+	 * Establishes SIGALRM handler and initialize timeout module. It is needed
+	 * by InitPostgres to register different timeouts.
+	 */
+	InitializeTimeouts();
 
 	/* Load the libpq-specific functions */
 	load_file("libpqwalreceiver", false);
 
-	dbname = validate_parameters_and_get_dbname();
+	/*
+	 * If an exception is encountered, processing resumes here.
+	 *
+	 * We just need to clean up, report the error, and go away.
+	 *
+	 * If we do not have this handling here, then since this worker process
+	 * operates at the bottom of the exception stack, ERRORs turn into FATALs.
+	 * Therefore, we create our own exception handler to catch ERRORs.
+	 */
+	if (sigsetjmp(local_sigjmp_buf, 1) != 0)
+	{
+		/* since not using PG_TRY, must reset error stack by hand */
+		error_context_stack = NULL;
+
+		/* Prevents interrupts while cleaning up */
+		HOLD_INTERRUPTS();
+
+		/* Report the error to the server log */
+		EmitErrorReport();
+
+		/*
+		 * We can now go away.  Note that because we called InitProcess, a
+		 * callback was registered to do ProcKill, which will clean up
+		 * necessary state.
+		 */
+		proc_exit(0);
+	}
+
+	/* We can now handle ereport(ERROR) */
+	PG_exception_stack = &local_sigjmp_buf;
+
+	BackgroundWorkerUnblockSignals();
+
+	dbname = wait_for_valid_params_and_get_dbname();
 
 	/*
 	 * Connect to the database specified by user in primary_conninfo. We need
 	 * a database connection for walrcv_exec to work. Please see comments atop
 	 * libpqrcv_exec.
 	 */
-	BackgroundWorkerInitializeConnection(dbname, NULL, 0);
+	InitPostgres(dbname, InvalidOid, NULL, InvalidOid, 0, NULL);
+
+	SetProcessingMode(NormalProcessing);
 
 	/*
 	 * Establish the connection to the primary server for slots
@@ -1010,26 +1167,27 @@ ReplSlotSyncWorkerMain(Datum main_arg)
 	 * cascading standby and validates primary_slot_name for
 	 * non-cascading-standbys.
 	 */
-	check_primary_info(wrconn, &am_cascading_standby);
+	check_primary_info(wrconn, &am_cascading_standby, &primary_slot_invalid);
 
 	/* Main wait loop */
 	for (;;)
 	{
 		bool		some_slot_updated = false;
+		bool		recheck_primary_info = am_cascading_standby || primary_slot_invalid;
 
 		ProcessSlotSyncInterrupts(wrconn);
 
-		if (!am_cascading_standby)
+		if (!recheck_primary_info)
 			some_slot_updated = synchronize_slots(wrconn);
 
-		wait_for_slot_activity(some_slot_updated, am_cascading_standby);
+		wait_for_slot_activity(some_slot_updated, recheck_primary_info);
 
 		/*
 		 * If the standby was promoted then what was previously a cascading
 		 * standby might no longer be one, so recheck each time.
 		 */
-		if (am_cascading_standby)
-			check_primary_info(wrconn, &am_cascading_standby);
+		if (recheck_primary_info)
+			check_primary_info(wrconn, &am_cascading_standby, &primary_slot_invalid);
 	}
 
 	/*
@@ -1046,7 +1204,7 @@ ReplSlotSyncWorkerMain(Datum main_arg)
 bool
 IsLogicalSlotSyncWorker(void)
 {
-	return SlotSyncWorker->pid == MyProcPid;
+	return am_slotsync_worker;
 }
 
 /*
@@ -1062,6 +1220,7 @@ ShutDownSlotSync(void)
 		return;
 	}
 
+	SlotSyncWorker->stopSignaled = true;
 	kill(SlotSyncWorker->pid, SIGINT);
 
 	SpinLockRelease(&SlotSyncWorker->mutex);
@@ -1117,42 +1276,64 @@ SlotSyncWorkerShmemInit(void)
 	}
 }
 
+#ifdef EXEC_BACKEND
 /*
- * Register the background worker for slots synchronization provided
- * enable_syncslot is ON.
+ * The forkexec routine for the slot sync worker process.
+ *
+ * Format up the arglist, then fork and exec.
  */
-void
-SlotSyncWorkerRegister(void)
+static pid_t
+slotsyncworker_forkexec(void)
 {
-	BackgroundWorker bgw;
+	char	   *av[10];
+	int			ac = 0;
 
-	if (!enable_syncslot)
-	{
-		ereport(LOG,
-				errmsg("skipping slot synchronization"),
-				errdetail("enable_syncslot is disabled."));
-		return;
-	}
+	av[ac++] = "postgres";
+	av[ac++] = "--forkssworker";
+	av[ac++] = NULL;			/* filled in by postmaster_forkexec */
+	av[ac] = NULL;
+
+	Assert(ac < lengthof(av));
+
+	return postmaster_forkexec(ac, av);
+}
+#endif
 
-	memset(&bgw, 0, sizeof(bgw));
+/*
+ * Main entry point for slot sync worker process, to be called from the
+ * postmaster.
+ */
+int
+StartSlotSyncWorker(void)
+{
+	pid_t		pid;
 
-	/* We need database connection which needs shared-memory access as well */
-	bgw.bgw_flags = BGWORKER_SHMEM_ACCESS |
-		BGWORKER_BACKEND_DATABASE_CONNECTION;
+#ifdef EXEC_BACKEND
+	switch ((pid = slotsyncworker_forkexec()))
+#else
+	switch ((pid = fork_process()))
+#endif
+	{
+		case -1:
+			ereport(LOG,
+					(errmsg("could not fork slot sync worker process: %m")));
+			return 0;
 
-	/* Start as soon as a consistent state has been reached in a hot standby */
-	bgw.bgw_start_time = BgWorkerStart_ConsistentState_HotStandby;
+#ifndef EXEC_BACKEND
+		case 0:
+			/* in postmaster child ... */
+			InitPostmasterChild();
 
-	snprintf(bgw.bgw_library_name, MAXPGPATH, "postgres");
-	snprintf(bgw.bgw_function_name, BGW_MAXLEN, "ReplSlotSyncWorkerMain");
-	snprintf(bgw.bgw_name, BGW_MAXLEN,
-			 "replication slot sync worker");
-	snprintf(bgw.bgw_type, BGW_MAXLEN,
-			 "slot sync worker");
+			/* Close the postmaster's sockets */
+			ClosePostmasterPorts(false);
 
-	bgw.bgw_restart_time = BGW_DEFAULT_RESTART_INTERVAL;
-	bgw.bgw_notify_pid = 0;
-	bgw.bgw_main_arg = (Datum) 0;
+			ReplSlotSyncWorkerMain(0, NULL);
+			break;
+#endif
+		default:
+			return (int) pid;
+	}
 
-	RegisterBackgroundWorker(&bgw);
+	/* shouldn't get here */
+	return 0;
 }
diff --git a/src/backend/storage/lmgr/proc.c b/src/backend/storage/lmgr/proc.c
index 4ad96beb87..ad1352bf76 100644
--- a/src/backend/storage/lmgr/proc.c
+++ b/src/backend/storage/lmgr/proc.c
@@ -42,6 +42,7 @@
 #include "replication/slot.h"
 #include "replication/syncrep.h"
 #include "replication/walsender.h"
+#include "replication/logicalworker.h"
 #include "storage/condition_variable.h"
 #include "storage/ipc.h"
 #include "storage/lmgr.h"
@@ -364,8 +365,11 @@ InitProcess(void)
 	 * child; this is so that the postmaster can detect it if we exit without
 	 * cleaning up.  (XXX autovac launcher currently doesn't participate in
 	 * this; it probably should.)
+	 *
+	 * Slot sync worker does not participate in it, see comments atop Backend.
 	 */
-	if (IsUnderPostmaster && !IsAutoVacuumLauncherProcess())
+	if (IsUnderPostmaster && !IsAutoVacuumLauncherProcess() &&
+		!IsLogicalSlotSyncWorker())
 		MarkPostmasterChildActive();
 
 	/*
@@ -935,7 +939,8 @@ ProcKill(int code, Datum arg)
 	 * way, so tell the postmaster we've cleaned up acceptably well. (XXX
 	 * autovac launcher should be included here someday)
 	 */
-	if (IsUnderPostmaster && !IsAutoVacuumLauncherProcess())
+	if (IsUnderPostmaster && !IsAutoVacuumLauncherProcess() &&
+		!IsLogicalSlotSyncWorker())
 		MarkPostmasterChildInactive();
 
 	/* wake autovac launcher if needed -- see comments in FreeWorkerInfo */
diff --git a/src/backend/tcop/postgres.c b/src/backend/tcop/postgres.c
index 19b08c1b5f..1eaaf3c6c5 100644
--- a/src/backend/tcop/postgres.c
+++ b/src/backend/tcop/postgres.c
@@ -3286,17 +3286,6 @@ ProcessInterrupts(void)
 			 */
 			proc_exit(1);
 		}
-		else if (IsLogicalSlotSyncWorker())
-		{
-			elog(DEBUG1,
-				 "replication slot sync worker is shutting down due to administrator command");
-
-			/*
-			 * Slot sync worker can be stopped at any time. Use exit status 1
-			 * so the background worker is restarted.
-			 */
-			proc_exit(1);
-		}
 		else if (IsBackgroundWorker)
 			ereport(FATAL,
 					(errcode(ERRCODE_ADMIN_SHUTDOWN),
diff --git a/src/backend/utils/activity/pgstat_io.c b/src/backend/utils/activity/pgstat_io.c
index 43c393d6fe..c5de528b34 100644
--- a/src/backend/utils/activity/pgstat_io.c
+++ b/src/backend/utils/activity/pgstat_io.c
@@ -341,6 +341,7 @@ pgstat_tracks_io_bktype(BackendType bktype)
 		case B_STANDALONE_BACKEND:
 		case B_STARTUP:
 		case B_WAL_SENDER:
+		case B_SLOTSYNC_WORKER:
 			return true;
 	}
 
diff --git a/src/backend/utils/init/miscinit.c b/src/backend/utils/init/miscinit.c
index 23f77a59e5..d5e16f1df4 100644
--- a/src/backend/utils/init/miscinit.c
+++ b/src/backend/utils/init/miscinit.c
@@ -40,6 +40,7 @@
 #include "postmaster/interrupt.h"
 #include "postmaster/pgarch.h"
 #include "postmaster/postmaster.h"
+#include "replication/logicalworker.h"
 #include "storage/fd.h"
 #include "storage/ipc.h"
 #include "storage/latch.h"
@@ -311,6 +312,9 @@ GetBackendTypeDesc(BackendType backendType)
 		case B_WAL_WRITER:
 			backendDesc = "walwriter";
 			break;
+		case B_SLOTSYNC_WORKER:
+			backendDesc = "slotsyncworker";
+			break;
 	}
 
 	return backendDesc;
@@ -837,7 +841,8 @@ InitializeSessionUserIdStandalone(void)
 	 * This function should only be called in single-user mode, in autovacuum
 	 * workers, and in background workers.
 	 */
-	Assert(!IsUnderPostmaster || IsAutoVacuumWorkerProcess() || IsBackgroundWorker);
+	Assert(!IsUnderPostmaster || IsAutoVacuumWorkerProcess() ||
+		   IsLogicalSlotSyncWorker() || IsBackgroundWorker);
 
 	/* call only once */
 	Assert(!OidIsValid(AuthenticatedUserId));
diff --git a/src/backend/utils/init/postinit.c b/src/backend/utils/init/postinit.c
index 1ad3367159..a5af0f410a 100644
--- a/src/backend/utils/init/postinit.c
+++ b/src/backend/utils/init/postinit.c
@@ -43,6 +43,7 @@
 #include "postmaster/autovacuum.h"
 #include "postmaster/postmaster.h"
 #include "replication/slot.h"
+#include "replication/logicalworker.h"
 #include "replication/walsender.h"
 #include "storage/bufmgr.h"
 #include "storage/fd.h"
@@ -874,10 +875,11 @@ InitPostgres(const char *in_dbname, Oid dboid,
 	 * Perform client authentication if necessary, then figure out our
 	 * postgres user ID, and see if we are a superuser.
 	 *
-	 * In standalone mode and in autovacuum worker processes, we use a fixed
-	 * ID, otherwise we figure it out from the authenticated user name.
+	 * In standalone mode, autovacuum worker processes and slot sync worker
+	 * process, we use a fixed ID, otherwise we figure it out from the
+	 * authenticated user name.
 	 */
-	if (bootstrap || IsAutoVacuumWorkerProcess())
+	if (bootstrap || IsAutoVacuumWorkerProcess() || IsLogicalSlotSyncWorker())
 	{
 		InitializeSessionUserIdStandalone();
 		am_superuser = true;
diff --git a/src/backend/utils/misc/guc_tables.c b/src/backend/utils/misc/guc_tables.c
index 0f5ec63de1..5763454336 100644
--- a/src/backend/utils/misc/guc_tables.c
+++ b/src/backend/utils/misc/guc_tables.c
@@ -2046,7 +2046,7 @@ struct config_bool ConfigureNamesBool[] =
 	},
 
 	{
-		{"enable_syncslot", PGC_POSTMASTER, REPLICATION_STANDBY,
+		{"enable_syncslot", PGC_SIGHUP, REPLICATION_STANDBY,
 			gettext_noop("Enables a physical standby to synchronize logical failover slots from the primary server."),
 		},
 		&enable_syncslot,
diff --git a/src/include/miscadmin.h b/src/include/miscadmin.h
index 0b01c1f093..e89b8121f3 100644
--- a/src/include/miscadmin.h
+++ b/src/include/miscadmin.h
@@ -337,6 +337,7 @@ typedef enum BackendType
 	B_WAL_RECEIVER,
 	B_WAL_SENDER,
 	B_WAL_SUMMARIZER,
+	B_SLOTSYNC_WORKER,
 	B_WAL_WRITER,
 } BackendType;
 
diff --git a/src/include/postmaster/bgworker.h b/src/include/postmaster/bgworker.h
index 7092fc72c6..22fc49ec27 100644
--- a/src/include/postmaster/bgworker.h
+++ b/src/include/postmaster/bgworker.h
@@ -79,7 +79,6 @@ typedef enum
 	BgWorkerStart_PostmasterStart,
 	BgWorkerStart_ConsistentState,
 	BgWorkerStart_RecoveryFinished,
-	BgWorkerStart_ConsistentState_HotStandby,
 } BgWorkerStartTime;
 
 #define BGW_DEFAULT_RESTART_INTERVAL	60
diff --git a/src/include/replication/worker_internal.h b/src/include/replication/worker_internal.h
index 2167720971..cd530d3d40 100644
--- a/src/include/replication/worker_internal.h
+++ b/src/include/replication/worker_internal.h
@@ -329,9 +329,10 @@ extern void pa_decr_and_wait_stream_block(void);
 
 extern void pa_xact_finish(ParallelApplyWorkerInfo *winfo,
 						   XLogRecPtr remote_lsn);
-
-extern void ReplSlotSyncWorkerMain(Datum main_arg);
-extern void SlotSyncWorkerRegister(void);
+#ifdef EXEC_BACKEND
+extern void ReplSlotSyncWorkerMain(int argc, char *argv[]) pg_attribute_noreturn();
+#endif
+extern int StartSlotSyncWorker(void);
 extern void ShutDownSlotSync(void);
 extern void SlotSyncWorkerShmemInit(void);
 
-- 
2.34.1