Re: How to make a REALLY FAST db server?

bpalmer <bpalmer@crimelabs.net> writes:

> I'm looking to make a DB server for a project I'm working on (using pgsql)
> and am wondering if people have suggestions?
>
> Thoughts:
>
> - Hardware:  dual / quad Intel class

Athlon gives more bang for the buck - the dual Athlons are _really_
nice, and have proven stable as well.

> - Disk:  SCSI Raid 1+0

I'd probably go for a 3ware RAID instead... IDE disks are so much
cheaper nowadays than SCSI, and the premium isn't really justifiable
anymore.

> - OS:  Prolly FreeBSD (FFS is your friend (what with syncs and all) and it
> can do multi proc support

I'd recommend Linux, which has more mature MP support and scales
better, but I'm obviously biased :). It's of course very important to
keep what you are familiar with - a good sysadmin makes a world of
difference no matter what you're using.

> - Ram:  Not really sure here.  Is there math somewhere for ram needs for
> pgsql? I imagine is has something to do with # connections,  db size,
> etc.

"More is better. RAM is cheap. Avoid RAMBUS".

--
Trond Eivind Glomsrød
Red Hat, Inc.