Re: Continuing issues... Can't vacuum!

On Fri, 2008-05-23 at 13:54 -0400, Carol Walter wrote:
> Hello,

> vacuumdb: vacuuming database "km"
> NOTICE: number of page slots needed (2275712) exceeds max_fsm_pages
> (200000)
> HINT: Consider increasing the configuration parameter
> "max_fsm_pages" to a value over 2275712.
>
> The problem is I've found the max_fsm_pages parameter in the
> postgresql.conf file, but changing it doesn't seem to be having any
> effect.

You have to restart the database.

> So I'm going to ask some questions that are probably pretty
> silly, but I hope you'll help me. First of all, perhaps the
> postgresql.conf file that I am editing may not be the one that is
> being read when the database server starts. There are several
> postgresql.conf files on this system. How do I tell which one is the
> one being read?

Woah... :)

>From psql: show config_file;

> The max_fsm_pages parameter says what the minimum setting is in the
> file. Is there also a maximum?
>

It is limited by your shared memory but consider that is not your
problem. Your problem is you don't vacuum enough. My suggestion is to do
the following:

Up the max_fsm_pages a considerable amount
Restart
Vacuum the entire database
backup
reinitialize with backup
make sure you are vacuuming properly.

Sincerely,

Joshua D. Drake