To: Lou Picciano <loupicciano@comcast.net>
cc: jd@commandprompt.com, pgsql-admin <pgsql-admin@postgresql.org>
Subject: Re: binary logs: a location other than pg_xlog?? 
In-reply-to: 
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Comments: In-reply-to Lou Picciano <loupicciano@comcast.net>
	message dated "Mon, 22 Nov 2010 03:37:14 +0000"
Date: Mon, 22 Nov 2010 00:11:47 -0500
Message-ID: <4788.1290402707@sss.pgh.pa.us>
From: Tom Lane <tgl@sss.pgh.pa.us>

Lou Picciano <loupicciano@comcast.net> writes:
> Sure - of course - performance, too! It just seems like such an obvious candidate for a configurable option; I'm a bit surprised it isn't in there... L 

It *is* configurable: make pg_xlog a symlink.  The reason we don't
handle this via postgresql.conf is that you could too easily shoot
yourself in the foot by breaking the link between a data directory
and its xlogs.  There are no postgresql.conf entries that say
destroy_all_my_data_immediately_please = on
but that's more or less what an easily changeable pg_xlog pointer
would be.

In short: this is not something to change if you don't know what
you're doing.  If you do, you should be able to handle it using
the mechanism provided.

			regards, tom lane