[Cialug] Multicore and multiproc Postgres

[Daniel A. Ramaley]

I've been maintaining a PostgreSQL database on a Sun v40z for nearly a 
year. The machine is a dual Opteron box running RedHat EL AS 4. We are 
using PostgreSQL 7.4.13 (included as part of RedHat, we installed it 
with up2date and then made a few performance tweaks to the config 
file), though i note that on the PostgreSQL website they say that 
version 8.1 features improved SMP performance. So far i've been quite 
impressed with the performance of the database even without the new 
version. It serves as the backend for a web application (Horde/Imp 
webmail serving several thousand users) running on the same machine. 
Even when the machine is under high load, i can connect to PostgreSQL 
and it will respond to queries as fast as i can hit enter.

If you are setting up a large high-performance database, i'd strongly 
recommend reading all you can about tuning PostgreSQL. There are lots 
of things you can tweak to improve performance on large machines, such 
as the Linux' shared memory segment, and PostgreSQL's buffers and 
caches. You'll also want to set up the autovacuum process; vacuuming is 
something which seems to be unique to PostgreSQL, but keeps it 
performing nicely.

On Tuesday 22 August 2006 07:36, Daniel.Juliano at wellsfargo.com wrote:
>Anyone here familiar with running multicore and/or multiproc Postgres?
>If so, how many cores/procs, what OS, and how pesky was the install?
>And how did the performance compare to other db's considered?
>
>I heard my dept is looking at an 8 dualcore proc installation for MS
> SQL Server 2K5, and the licensing fee for unlimited connections is
> just below a cool $100K.  I'd like to at least offer management some
> info on a free-as-in-beer solution.

-- 
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Dan Ramaley                            Dial Center 118, Drake University
Network Programmer/Analyst             2407 Carpenter Ave
+1 515 271-4540                        Des Moines IA 50311 USA