Date: Wed, 23 May 2007 00:11:35 -0400 (EDT)
From: Greg Smith <gsmith@gregsmith.com>
To: pgsql-performance@postgresql.org
Subject: Re: Tips & Tricks for validating hardware/os
In-Reply-To: <4652EBC5.3090802@gmail.com>
Message-ID: <Pine.GSO.4.64.0705222350580.6041@westnet.com>
References: <4652EBC5.3090802@gmail.com>
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On Tue, 22 May 2007, Stephane Bailliez wrote:

> Out of curiosity, can anyone share his tips & tricks to validate a machine 
> before labelling it as 'ready to use postgres - you probably won't trash my 
> data today' ?

Write a little script that runs pgbench in a loop forever.  Set your 
shared_buffer cache to use at least 50% of the memory in the machine, and 
adjust the database size and concurrent clients so it's generating a 
substantial amount of disk I/O and using a fair amount of the CPU.

Install the script so that it executes on system startup, like adding it 
to rc.local Put the machine close to your desk.  Every time you walk by 
it, kill the power and then start it back up.  This will give you a mix of 
long overnight runs with no interruption to stress the overall system, 
with a nice dose of recovery trauma.  Skim the Postgres and OS log files 
every day.  Do that for a week, if it's still running your data should be 
safe under real conditions.

--
* Greg Smith gsmith@gregsmith.com http://www.gregsmith.com Baltimore, MD