Re: [HACKERS] win32 performance - fsync question

2005-02-27 Thread Michael Paesold
Magnus Hagander wrote: Magnus Hagander wrote: > Magnus prepared a trivial patch which added the O_SYNC flag > for windows and mapped it to FILE_FLAG_WRITE_THROUGH in > win32_open.c. [snip] Michael Paesold wrote: The original patch did not have any documentation. Have you added some? Since this has

Re: [HACKERS] win32 performance - fsync question

2005-02-27 Thread Michael Paesold
Bruce Momjian wrote: Patch applied. Thanks. I assume this is not approprate for 8.0.X. --- Magnus Hagander wrote: > Magnus prepared a trivial patch which added the O_SYNC flag > for windows and mapped it to FILE_FLAG_WRITE_THROUGH in > wi

Re: [HACKERS] win32 performance - fsync question

2005-02-27 Thread Magnus Hagander
>> Patch applied. Thanks. >> >> I assume this is not approprate for 8.0.X. >> >> --- >> >> >> Magnus Hagander wrote: >>> > Magnus prepared a trivial patch which added the O_SYNC flag >>> > for windows and mapped it to FILE_FLAG_WRITE_THRO

Re: [HACKERS] win32 performance - fsync question

2005-02-26 Thread Bruce Momjian
Patch applied. Thanks. I assume this is not approprate for 8.0.X. --- Magnus Hagander wrote: > > Magnus prepared a trivial patch which added the O_SYNC flag > > for windows and mapped it to FILE_FLAG_WRITE_THROUGH in >

Re: [HACKERS] win32 performance - fsync question

2005-02-21 Thread Merlin Moncure
> > On win32 (which started this discussion, fsync will sync the directory > > entry as well, which will lead to *at least* two seeks on the disk. > > Writing two blocks after each other to an O_SYNC opened file should give > > exactly two seeks. > > I think you are making the following not mainta

Re: [HACKERS] win32 performance - fsync question

2005-02-21 Thread Zeugswetter Andreas DAZ SD
> >> One point that I no longer recall the reasoning behind is that xlog.c > >> doesn't think O_SYNC is a preferable default over fsync. > > > >For larger (>8k) transactions O_SYNC|O_DIRECT is only good with the recent > >pending patch to group WAL writes together. The fsync method gives the OS

Re: [HACKERS] win32 performance - fsync question

2005-02-20 Thread Magnus Hagander
>> One point that I no longer recall the reasoning behind is that xlog.c >> doesn't think O_SYNC is a preferable default over fsync. > >For larger (>8k) transactions O_SYNC|O_DIRECT is only good >with the recent >pending patch to group WAL writes together. The fsync method >gives the OS a >cha

Re: [HACKERS] win32 performance - fsync question

2005-02-20 Thread Magnus Hagander
>> Portability, or rather the complete lack of it. Stuff that >isn't in the >> Single Unix Spec is a hard sell. > >O_DIRECT is reasonably common among modern Unixen (it is supported by >Linux, FreeBSD, and probably a couple of the commercial variants like >AIX or IRIX); it should also be reason

Re: [HACKERS] win32 performance - fsync question

2005-02-18 Thread Magnus Hagander
> Magnus prepared a trivial patch which added the O_SYNC flag > for windows and mapped it to FILE_FLAG_WRITE_THROUGH in > win32_open.c. Attached is this trivial patch. As Merlin says, it needs some more reliability testing. But the numbers are at least reasonable - it *seems* like it's doing th

Re: [HACKERS] win32 performance - fsync question

2005-02-18 Thread Merlin Moncure
Magnus prepared a trivial patch which added the O_SYNC flag for windows and mapped it to FILE_FLAG_WRITE_THROUGH in win32_open.c. We pg_benched it and here are the results of our test on my WinXP workstation on a 10k raptor: Settings were pgbench -t 100 -c 10. fsync = off: ~ 280 tps fsync on,

Re: [HACKERS] win32 performance - fsync question

2005-02-18 Thread Zeugswetter Andreas DAZ SD
> One point that I no longer recall the reasoning behind is that xlog.c > doesn't think O_SYNC is a preferable default over fsync. For larger (>8k) transactions O_SYNC|O_DIRECT is only good with the recent pending patch to group WAL writes together. The fsync method gives the OS a chance to do

Re: [HACKERS] win32 performance - fsync question

2005-02-18 Thread Neil Conway
Tom Lane wrote: Portability, or rather the complete lack of it. Stuff that isn't in the Single Unix Spec is a hard sell. O_DIRECT is reasonably common among modern Unixen (it is supported by Linux, FreeBSD, and probably a couple of the commercial variants like AIX or IRIX); it should also be rea

Re: [HACKERS] win32 performance - fsync question

2005-02-17 Thread Greg Stark
Evgeny Rodichev <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: > No, it does. Let's try the simplest test: > > for (i = 0; i < LEN; i++) { > write (fd, buf, 512); > if (sync) fsync (fd); > } > > with sync = 0 and 1, and you'll see the difference. Uh, I'm sure you'll see a difference, one will be limited

Re: [HACKERS] win32 performance - fsync question

2005-02-17 Thread Qingqing Zhou
""Magnus Hagander"" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> news:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > > This is what we have discovered. AFAIK, all other major databases or > other similar apps (like exchange or AD) all open files with > FILE_FLAG_WRITE_THROUGH and do *not* use fsync. It might give noticably > better performance with

Re: [HACKERS] win32 performance - fsync question

2005-02-17 Thread Evgeny Rodichev
On Fri, 17 Feb 2005, Greg Stark wrote: Oliver Jowett <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: So Linux is indeed doing a cache flush on fsync Actually I think the root of the problem was precisely that Linux does not issue any sort of cache flush commands to drives on fsync. No, it does. Let's try the simplest

Re: [HACKERS] win32 performance - fsync question

2005-02-17 Thread Evgeny Rodichev
On Fri, 18 Feb 2005, Oliver Jowett wrote: Evgeny Rodichev wrote: Write cache is enabled under Linux by default all the time I make deal with it (since 1993). It doesn't interfere with fsync(), as linux kernel uses cache flush for fsync. The problem is that most IDE drives lie (or perhaps you could

Re: [HACKERS] win32 performance - fsync question

2005-02-17 Thread Evgeny Rodichev
On Thu, 17 Feb 2005, Tom Lane wrote: Evgeny Rodichev <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: Any claimed TPS rate exceeding your disk drive's rotation rate is a red flag. Write cache is enabled under Linux by default all the time I make deal with it (since 1993). You're playing with fire. Yes. I'm lucky in th

Re: [HACKERS] win32 performance - fsync question

2005-02-17 Thread Oliver Jowett
Greg Stark wrote: Oliver Jowett <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: So Linux is indeed doing a cache flush on fsync Actually I think the root of the problem was precisely that Linux does not issue any sort of cache flush commands to drives on fsync. There was some talk on linux-kernel of what how they co

Re: [HACKERS] win32 performance - fsync question

2005-02-17 Thread Greg Stark
Oliver Jowett <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: > So Linux is indeed doing a cache flush on fsync Actually I think the root of the problem was precisely that Linux does not issue any sort of cache flush commands to drives on fsync. There was some talk on linux-kernel of what how they could take advant

Re: [HACKERS] win32 performance - fsync question

2005-02-17 Thread Merlin Moncure
> "Magnus Hagander" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: > > Is there actually a reason why we don't use O_DIRECT on Unix? > > Portability, or rather the complete lack of it. Stuff that isn't in the > Single Unix Spec is a hard sell. Well, how about this (ok, maybe I'm way out in left field): Change fsyn

Re: [HACKERS] win32 performance - fsync question

2005-02-17 Thread Oliver Jowett
Evgeny Rodichev wrote: Write cache is enabled under Linux by default all the time I make deal with it (since 1993). It doesn't interfere with fsync(), as linux kernel uses cache flush for fsync. The problem is that most IDE drives lie (or perhaps you could say the specification is ambiguous) about

Re: [HACKERS] win32 performance - fsync question

2005-02-17 Thread Tom Lane
"Magnus Hagander" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: > Is there actually a reason why we don't use O_DIRECT on Unix? Portability, or rather the complete lack of it. Stuff that isn't in the Single Unix Spec is a hard sell. regards, tom lane ---(end of bro

Re: [HACKERS] win32 performance - fsync question

2005-02-17 Thread Magnus Hagander
>After multiple runs on different blocksizes( a few anomalous results >aside), I didn't see a whole lot of difference between >FILE_FLAG_NO_BUFFERING being on or off for writing performance. >However, with NO_BUFFERING set, the file is not *read* cached at all. >While the performance is on not terr

Re: [HACKERS] win32 performance - fsync question

2005-02-17 Thread Tom Lane
Evgeny Rodichev <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: >> Any claimed TPS rate exceeding your disk drive's rotation rate is a >> red flag. > Write cache is enabled under Linux by default all the time I make deal > with it (since 1993). You're playing with fire. > fsync() really works fine as I switch off m

Re: [HACKERS] win32 performance - fsync question

2005-02-17 Thread Merlin Moncure
> "Magnus Hagander" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: > > Tom, if you look at all the requirements of FILE_FLAG_NO_BUFFERING on > > http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/fileio/ > > base/createfile.asp, can you say offhand if the WAL code fulfills them? > > If I'm reading it r

Re: [HACKERS] win32 performance - fsync question

2005-02-17 Thread Evgeny Rodichev
On Thu, 17 Feb 2005, Tom Lane wrote: Christopher Kings-Lynne <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: WinXP fsync = true 20-28 tps WinXP fsync = false 600 tps Linux fsync = true 800 tps Linux fsync = false 980 tps Wow, that's terrible on Windows. If there's a solution, it'd be nice to

Re: [HACKERS] win32 performance - fsync question

2005-02-17 Thread Tom Lane
"Magnus Hagander" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: > Tom, if you look at all the requirements of FILE_FLAG_NO_BUFFERING on > http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/fileio/ > base/createfile.asp, can you say offhand if the WAL code fulfills them? If I'm reading it right, you ar

Re: [HACKERS] win32 performance - fsync question

2005-02-17 Thread Merlin Moncure
> One point that I no longer recall the reasoning behind is that xlog.c > doesn't think O_SYNC is a preferable default over fsync. We'd certainly > want to hack xlog.c to change its mind about that, at least on Windows; > assuming that the FILE_FLAG way is indeed faster. I also confirmed that the

Re: [HACKERS] win32 performance - fsync question

2005-02-17 Thread Magnus Hagander
>> > WinXP fsync = true 20-28 tps >> > WinXP fsync = false 600 tps >> > Linux fsync = true 800 tps >> > Linux fsync = false 980 tps >> >> Wow, that's terrible on Windows. If there's a solution, it'd be nice >to >> backport it... >> > >there is. I just rigged up a test be

Re: [HACKERS] win32 performance - fsync question

2005-02-17 Thread Richard Huxton
Evgeny Rodichev wrote: There are two different concerns here. 1. transactions loss because of unexpected power loss and/or system failure 2. inconsistent database state For many application (1) is fairly acceptable, and (2) is not. So I'd like to formulate my questions by another way. - if PostgeSQ

Re: [HACKERS] win32 performance - fsync question

2005-02-17 Thread Tom Lane
Christopher Kings-Lynne <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: >> WinXP fsync = true 20-28 tps >> WinXP fsync = false 600 tps >> Linux fsync = true 800 tps >> Linux fsync = false 980 tps > Wow, that's terrible on Windows. If there's a solution, it'd be nice to > backport it... Actu

Re: [HACKERS] win32 performance - fsync question

2005-02-17 Thread Merlin Moncure
> > WinXP fsync = true 20-28 tps > > WinXP fsync = false 600 tps > > Linux fsync = true 800 tps > > Linux fsync = false 980 tps > > Wow, that's terrible on Windows. If there's a solution, it'd be nice to > backport it... > there is. I just rigged up a test benchmark com

Re: [HACKERS] win32 performance - fsync question

2005-02-17 Thread Evgeny Rodichev
There are two different concerns here. 1. transactions loss because of unexpected power loss and/or system failure 2. inconsistent database state For many application (1) is fairly acceptable, and (2) is not. So I'd like to formulate my questions by another way. - if PostgeSQL is running without fs

Re: [HACKERS] win32 performance - fsync question

2005-02-17 Thread Christopher Kings-Lynne
Some addition: WinXP fsync = true 20-28 tps WinXP fsync = false 600 tps Linux fsync = true 800 tps Linux fsync = false 980 tps Wow, that's terrible on Windows. If there's a solution, it'd be nice to backport it... Chris ---(end of broadcast)---

Re: [HACKERS] win32 performance - fsync question

2005-02-17 Thread Tom Lane
"Magnus Hagander" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: > Oh, and finally. The win32 commands have the following options: > FILE_FLAG_NO_BUFFERING. This disables the cache completely. It also has > lots of limits, like every read and write has to be on a sector boundary > etc. It gives great performance with

Re: [HACKERS] win32 performance - fsync question

2005-02-17 Thread Merlin Moncure
> >Doesn't Windows support O_SYNC (or even better O_DSYNC) flag to open()? > >That should be the Posixy spelling of FILE_FLAG_WRITE_THROUGH, if the > >latter means what I suppose it does. > > They should, but someone said it didn't work. I haven't followed up on > it, though, so it is quite possib

Re: [HACKERS] win32 performance - fsync question

2005-02-17 Thread Magnus Hagander
>>Doesn't Windows support O_SYNC (or even better O_DSYNC) flag >to open()? >>That should be the Posixy spelling of FILE_FLAG_WRITE_THROUGH, if the >>latter means what I suppose it does. > >They should, but someone said it didn't work. I haven't >followed up on it, though, so it is quite possible

Re: [HACKERS] win32 performance - fsync question

2005-02-17 Thread Evgeny Rodichev
On Thu, 17 Feb 2005, Andrew Dunstan wrote: (the results are interesting, though - with fsync off Windows and Linux are in the same performance ballpark.) Some addition: WinXP fsync = true 20-28 tps WinXP fsync = false 600 tps Linux fsync = true 800 tps Linux fsync = false 9

Re: [HACKERS] win32 performance - fsync question

2005-02-17 Thread Magnus Hagander
>> Things worth experimenting with (these are all untested, so please >> report any successes): >> 1) Try reformatting with a cluster size of 8Kb (the pg page size), if >> you can. >> 2) Disable the last access time (like noatime on linux). "fsutil >> behavior set disablelastaccess 1" >> 3) Disable

Re: [HACKERS] win32 performance - fsync question

2005-02-17 Thread Tom Lane
"Magnus Hagander" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: > This is what we have discovered. AFAIK, all other major databases or > other similar apps (like exchange or AD) all open files with > FILE_FLAG_WRITE_THROUGH and do *not* use fsync. It might give noticably > better performance with an O_DIRECT style W

Re: [HACKERS] win32 performance - fsync question

2005-02-17 Thread Magnus Hagander
>> This is what we have discovered. AFAIK, all other major databases or >> other similar apps (like exchange or AD) all open files with >> FILE_FLAG_WRITE_THROUGH and do *not* use fsync. It might >give noticably >> better performance with an O_DIRECT style WAL logging at >least. But I'm >> unsure

Re: [HACKERS] win32 performance - fsync question

2005-02-17 Thread Magnus Hagander
>>So by all means turn off fsync if you want the performance gain *and* >>you accept the risk. But if you do, don't come crying later that your >>data has been lost or corrupted. > >>(the results are interesting, though - with fsync off Windows >and Linux >>are in the same performance ballpark.

Re: [HACKERS] win32 performance - fsync question

2005-02-17 Thread lsunley
In <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, on 02/17/05 at 10:21 AM, Andrew Dunstan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> said: >E.Rodichev wrote: >> >> This problem is addressed by file system (fsck, journalling etc.). >> Is it reasonable to handle it directly within application? >> >> >In the words of the Duke of Wellington,

Re: [HACKERS] win32 performance - fsync question

2005-02-17 Thread Andrew Dunstan
E.Rodichev wrote: This problem is addressed by file system (fsck, journalling etc.). Is it reasonable to handle it directly within application? In the words of the Duke of Wellington, "If you believe that you'll believe anything." Please review past discussions on the mailing lists on this poin

Re: [HACKERS] win32 performance - fsync question

2005-02-17 Thread Doug McNaught
"E.Rodichev" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: > On Thu, 17 Feb 2005, Christopher Kings-Lynne wrote: > >> Fsync is so that when your computer loses power without warning, you >> will have no data loss. >> >> If you turn it off, you run the risk of losing data if you lose power. >> >> Chris > > This prob

Re: [HACKERS] win32 performance - fsync question

2005-02-17 Thread D'Arcy J.M. Cain
On Thu, 17 Feb 2005 17:54:38 +0300 (MSK) "E.Rodichev" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > On Thu, 17 Feb 2005, Christopher Kings-Lynne wrote: > > >> The general question is - does PostgreSQL really need fsync? I > >suppose it> is a question for design, not platform-specific one. It > >sounds like only> o

Re: [HACKERS] win32 performance - fsync question

2005-02-17 Thread E.Rodichev
On Thu, 17 Feb 2005, Christopher Kings-Lynne wrote: The general question is - does PostgreSQL really need fsync? I suppose it is a question for design, not platform-specific one. It sounds like only one scenario, when fsync is useful, is to interprocess communication via open file. But PostgreSQL u

Re: [HACKERS] win32 performance - fsync question

2005-02-17 Thread E.Rodichev
On Thu, 17 Feb 2005, Magnus Hagander wrote: Hi, looking for the way how to increase performance at Windows XP box, I found the parameters #fsync = true # turns forced synchronization on or off #wal_sync_method = fsync# the default varies across platforms:

Re: [HACKERS] win32 performance - fsync question

2005-02-17 Thread Christopher Kings-Lynne
The general question is - does PostgreSQL really need fsync? I suppose it is a question for design, not platform-specific one. It sounds like only one scenario, when fsync is useful, is to interprocess communication via open file. But PostgreSQL utilize IPC for this, so does fsync is really require

Re: [HACKERS] win32 performance - fsync question

2005-02-17 Thread Merlin Moncure
> Things worth experimenting with (these are all untested, so please > report any successes): > 1) Try reformatting with a cluster size of 8Kb (the pg page size), if > you can. What about recompiling pg with a 4k block size. Win32 file cluster sizes and memory allocation units are both on 4k boun

Re: [HACKERS] win32 performance - fsync question

2005-02-17 Thread Magnus Hagander
> Hi, > > looking for the way how to increase performance at Windows XP > box, I found the parameters > > #fsync = true # turns forced > synchronization on or off > #wal_sync_method = fsync# the default varies across platforms: > # fsyn

Re: [HACKERS] win32 performance - fsync question

2005-02-16 Thread Merlin Moncure
> looking for the way how to increase performance at Windows XP box, I found > the parameters > > #fsync = true # turns forced synchronization on or off > #wal_sync_method = fsync# the default varies across platforms: > # fsync, fdatasync,