Re: Allowing WAL fsync to be done via O_SYNC

Bruce Momjian <pgman@candle.pha.pa.us>

From: Bruce Momjian <pgman@candle.pha.pa.us>
To: Justin Clift <aa2@bigpond.net.au>
Cc: Tom Lane <tgl@sss.pgh.pa.us>, Peter Eisentraut <peter_e@gmx.net>, pgsql-hackers@postgresql.org
Date: 2001-03-16T00:56:34Z
Lists: pgsql-hackers
> Bruce Momjian wrote:
> > 
> <snip>
> > No one will ever do the proper timing tests to know which is better except us.
> 
> Hi Bruce,
> 
> I believe in the future that anyone doing serious benchmark tests before
> large-scale implementation will indeed be testing things like this. 
> There will also be people/companies out there who will specialize in
> "tuning" PostgreSQL systems and they will definitely test stuff like
> this... different variations, different database structures, different
> OS's, etc.

But I don't want to go the Informix/Oracle way where we have so many
tuning options that no one understands them all.  I would like us to
find the best options and only give users choices when there is a real
tradeoff.

For example, Tom had a nice fsync test program.  Why can't we run that
on various platforms and collect the results, then make a decision on
the best default.

Trying to test the affects of fsync() with a database wrapped around it
really makes for difficult measurement anyway.

-- 
  Bruce Momjian                        |  http://candle.pha.pa.us
  pgman@candle.pha.pa.us               |  (610) 853-3000
  +  If your life is a hard drive,     |  830 Blythe Avenue
  +  Christ can be your backup.        |  Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania 19026