Re: Optimal configuration to eliminate "out of file descriptors" error

On Thu, Apr 15, 2004 at 13:27:27 -0500,
Joe Lester <joe_lester(at)sweetwater(dot)com> wrote:
> I have not received a response yet on this. Should I try another
> postgres list or do I need to provide more information/clarity? Thanks.

The performance list would be the natural place for getting information
on optimal configurations. It sounds like what is really happening is that
you are hitting an OS limit on the number of open files. You should be
able to increase that limit. There have also been some discussions about
postgres doing a better job of telling when it has opened too many files
within the last several months. I don't remember much about the details
of the change or which version they were applied to.

>
> On Apr 14, 2004, at 12:48 PM, Joe Lester wrote:
>
> >I'm trying to figure out what the optimal Postgres configuration would
> >be for my server (with 200 connecting clients, even though I'd really
> >like to get it up to 500).
> >
> >I've got a 700 MHz eMac running Mac OS 10.3.2 (Panther) with 512 MB of
> >RAM. I've messed around with some settings but I'm still getting an
> >occasional "out of file descriptor" error, especially when performing
> >a VACUUM. Like so...
> >
> >2004-04-13 23:30:05 LOG: out of file descriptors: Too many open
> >files; release and retry
> >CONTEXT: writing block 1 of relation 67553/16604
> >
> >I'm going to do my best to provide my current system settings that
> >relate to Postgres. It would be great if someone could tell me where
> >I'm way off, and get me on the right track. I'm under the impression
> >that my machine should be able to handle 200 to 500 client
> >connections. If that's not the case, I'm fine with getting new
> >hardware, I just don't want to go to that step "willy nilly". Thanks!
> >
> >1. Snipped from postgresql.conf (the only three settings I've changed)
> >
> > max_connections = 200
> > ...
> > shared_buffers = 2000
> > ...
> > max_files_per_process = 100
> >
> >
> >2. Snipped from /etc/profile
> >
> > ulimit -u 512
> >
> >
> >3. Snipped from /etc/rc
> >
> > sysctl -w kern.sysv.shmmax=167772160
> > sysctl -w kern.sysv.shmmin=1
> > sysctl -w kern.sysv.shmmni=32
> > sysctl -w kern.sysv.shmseg=8
> > sysctl -w kern.sysv.shmall=65536
> >
> >
> >4. Snipped from etc/sysctl.conf
> >
> > # Turn up maxproc
> > kern.maxproc=2048
> >
> > # Turn up the maxproc per user
> >
> > kern.maxprocperuid=512