Re: pg_stop_backup does not complete

> In an ideal world it would be best if pg_stop_backup could actually
> print the error status of the archiving command. 

Agreed.

> And do we have closure on whether a "fast" shutdown is hanging? Or was
> that actually a smart shutdown?

No, I need to retest and verify 100% that the issue wasn't something
other than stop_backup.

> Perhaps "smart" shutdown needs to print out what it's waiting on
> periodically as well, and suggest a fast shutdown to abort those
> transactions.

That would be a good thing to have for PostgreSQL in general.  Given
that any number of things can stop a smart shutdown, it's more than a
little baffling to users why one hangs forever.

BUT ... since most users run smart shutdown via a services script,
output on what shutdown is waiting on would need to be written to the
log rather than given interactively.

--Josh Berkus