Re: database file size bloat

Matthew Arnison wrote:
>
> three times now this week (on two different servers) the raw database on
> disk has ballooned in size, from about 10 megs to 50 megs in two cases,
> and from about 10 megs to 250 megs in another case.
>
> a VACUUM VERBOSE ANALYZE; cleans it back down to the proper size, but
> meanwhile all the queries take half a minute, instead of less than a
> second. and our load average skyrockets.

Hi Matthew,

I have no explanation for the bloat, but it is a well-known "postgresqlism"
that you should consider running vacuum analyze at least nightly, possibly
more frequently.  [I run it hourly.]

Also, there are about 300 reasons to consider upgrading to 7.0, most having
to do with bug fixes and performance improvements.  Unfortunately, there
may be a few incompatibilities (particularly in some pl/pgsql
incantations), so don't assume a seamless upgrade.

Regards,
Ed Loehr