Re: Out of file-descriptors message

Tom Lane wrote:
> Geoffrey <esoteric@3times25.net> writes:
>> I work with the original poster and wanted to make sure the problem here
>> is clear.  The 'out of file descriptors' message is coming from
>> Postgresql, not the kernel.  Thus, it doesn't make sense to me that the
>> max_files_per_process setting is too high.  I would think we need to
>> increase it so that Postgresql will stop generating these errors.
>
> These are not "errors", they are only log messages.  It would be
> perfectly safe to ignore them.  However, as Alvaro says, if you want
> to get rid of them then the way to do that is to *decrease*
> max_files_per_process to something less than whatever per-process file
> limit the kernel is enforcing.

Understood, but we had one database that was generating these messages
continuously over a period of 4 days.  Eventually, the machine became
unresponsive.  Still, we did not have any file descriptor errors
generated by the kernel.  Thus we are considering whether we should
decrease max_files_per_process or increase the postgres id's 'ulimit -n'
value.

--
Until later, Geoffrey

Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little
temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.
  - Benjamin Franklin