X-Original-To: pgsql-performance-postgresql.org@localhost.postgresql.org Received: from localhost (mx1.hub.org [200.46.208.251]) by postgresql.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 233769FB1CC for ; Fri, 5 May 2006 11:24:02 -0300 (ADT) Received: from postgresql.org ([200.46.204.71]) by localhost (mx1.hub.org [200.46.208.251]) (amavisd-new, port 10024) with ESMTP id 46867-04 for ; Fri, 5 May 2006 11:23:51 -0300 (ADT) X-Greylist: from auto-whitelisted by SQLgrey- Received: from vms040pub.verizon.net (vms040pub.verizon.net [206.46.252.40]) by postgresql.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id D5EB79FA372 for ; Fri, 5 May 2006 11:23:51 -0300 (ADT) Received: from osgiliath.mathom.us ([70.108.51.88]) by vms040.mailsrvcs.net (Sun Java System Messaging Server 6.2-4.02 (built Sep 9 2005)) with ESMTPA id <0IYS00JWIQNPVTI4@vms040.mailsrvcs.net> for pgsql-performance@postgresql.org; Fri, 05 May 2006 09:23:49 -0500 (CDT) Received: from localhost (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by osgiliath.mathom.us (Postfix) with ESMTP id ACB9A6EC9D for ; Fri, 05 May 2006 10:23:47 -0400 (EDT) Received: from osgiliath.mathom.us ([127.0.0.1]) by localhost (osgiliath.home.mathom.us [127.0.0.1]) (amavisd-new, port 10024) with LMTP id pRo0-5RG-1st for ; Fri, 05 May 2006 10:23:45 -0400 (EDT) Received: by osgiliath.mathom.us (Postfix, from userid 1000) id E16376ECA6; Fri, 05 May 2006 10:23:44 -0400 (EDT) Date: Fri, 05 May 2006 10:23:44 -0400 From: Michael Stone Subject: Re: Memory and/or cache issues? In-reply-to: <0C4841B42F87D51195BD00B0D020F5CB044B260D@MORPHEUS> To: pgsql-performance@postgresql.org Mail-followup-to: pgsql-performance@postgresql.org Message-id: <20060505142342.GH16533@mathom.us> MIME-version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii; format=flowed Content-disposition: inline X-Virus-Scanned: Debian amavisd-new at mathom.us X-Pgp-Fingerprint: 53 FF 38 00 E7 DD 0A 9C 84 52 84 C5 EE DF 7C 88 References: <0C4841B42F87D51195BD00B0D020F5CB044B260D@MORPHEUS> User-Agent: Mutt/1.5.11+cvs20060403 X-Virus-Scanned: Maia Mailguard 1.0.1 X-Archive-Number: 200605/110 X-Sequence-Number: 18897 On Fri, May 05, 2006 at 09:57:58AM -0400, mcelroy, tim wrote: >Are you saying the kernel's disc cache may be getting whacked? No, I >understand that PG should use as much memory as it can and the system as >well. The main problem here is that with almost all the 8GB of RAM 'in use' >when I try to do a pg_dump or vacuumdb I run out of memory and the system >crashes.... You need to be way more specific about what "in use" means. Try pasting the output of actual commands like "free". The main problem here according to the output you sent is that your process is trying to allocate 10billion terabytes of RAM (which ain't gonna work) and dies. That is not a memory issue. Mike Stone