Message-ID: <48CE7076.1040309@emolecules.com>
Date: Mon, 15 Sep 2008 07:25:58 -0700
From: Craig James <craig_james@emolecules.com>
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To: Florian Weimer <fweimer@bfk.de>
CC: PostgreSQL Performance <pgsql-performance@postgresql.org>,
	Matthew Wakeling <matthew@flymine.org>
Subject: Re: select on 22 GB table causes "An I/O error occured
	while sending to the backend." exception
References: <BAY124-W57D3654AF1159CAF8EAC19F5660@phx.gbl>
	<82bpze3ou8.fsf@mid.bfk.de>
	<alpine.DEB.1.10.0808271436210.907@asgard.lang.hm>
	<alpine.DEB.1.10.0808281411220.4454@aragorn.flymine.org>
	<EADBB336-A14E-492C-A8CA-105C8F77A43A@blighty.com>
	<alpine.DEB.1.10.0808281702450.4454@aragorn.flymine.org>
	<48B6EA7E.2090707@emolecules.com>
	<82d4j5ls9z.fsf@mid.bfk.de>	<48CE6D0D.80509@emolecules.com>
	<82ej3ljy0l.fsf@mid.bfk.de>
In-Reply-To: <82ej3ljy0l.fsf@mid.bfk.de>
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Florian Weimer wrote:
> * Craig James:
> 
>>> There are some run-time environments which allocate huge chunks of
>>> memory on startup, without marking them as not yet in use.  SBCL is in
>>> this category, and also the Hotspot VM (at least some extent).
>> I stand by my assertion: It never makes sense.  Do these
>> applications allocate a terrabyte of memory?  I doubt it.
> 
> SBCL sizes its allocated memory region based on the total amount of
> RAM and swap space.  In this case, buying larger disks does not
> help. 8-P

SBCL, as Steel Bank Common Lisp? Why would you run that on a server machine alongside Postgres? If I had to use SBLC and Postgres, I'd put SBLC on a separate machine all its own, so that it couldn't corrupt Postgres or other servers that had to be reliable.

Are you saying that if I bought a terrabyte of swap disk, SBLC would allocate a terrabyte of space?

Craig