Re: postmaster.pid

Thanks, you pointed out exactly what the problem was.  postgresql.conf had external_pid_file set to write to
$PGDATA/postmaster.pid,which was overwriting the "real" postmaster.pid with only a single line.  Maybe this was a
configurationholdover from an older version, since the comment above this setting was: " # If external_pid_file is not
explicitlyset, no extra PID file is written." 


-----Original Message-----
From: Tom Lane [mailto:tgl@sss.pgh.pa.us]
Sent: Friday, April 11, 2014 9:52 AM
To: Herr, Christian
Cc: pgsql-novice@postgresql.org
Subject: Re: [NOVICE] postmaster.pid

"Herr, Christian" <cherr@vt.edu> writes:
> We have a config-only setup (postgresql.conf exists not in $PGDATA).  In postgresql.conf, external_pid_file is set
andcreates postmaster.pid in $PGDATA.  Issuing "pg_ctl start", the contents of postmaster.pid only ever contains one
line,the process ID.  It never contains any other lines, but according to specs, it's supposed to have 7 lines.  Any
ideawhy postmaster.pid is only containing a single line, the process ID and no other lines? 

Only the "real" pid file (the one in the data directory) has extra lines.
A file created for external_pid_file contains the PID and nothing more.

If you specified external_pid_file as pointing to the data directory, then you broke things badly.  Do not do that.

            regards, tom lane