Re: linux standard layout

* Ben Kim <bkim(at)tamu(dot)edu> wrote:

Hi,

> I don't like the VMWare environment, but it's not my choice, and assuming
> the cpu load is ok, will there be any benefits if I put each database on
> separate partitions, vs. simply using the one data directory?

Depending on your underlying storage, it might be advisable to put
each instance on an separate spindle/enclosure, maybe even on an
different bus. But there's no universal answer to this.

You could start putting each instance on an separate partition or
lvm volume, record your real disk workload w/ blktrace and try it
out on different storage configurations w/ blkreplay.

> Also, how is using standard rpm, with its standard layout (/var/lib/pgsql,
> /usr/lib/pgsql, ...), generally regarded?

When working w/ some mainline distribution, always try to use that
distro's packages (not distro-independent binpkgs!), unless you've
got a valid reason for doing otherwise. When building your own
packages, use your distro's build machinery for that.

If your (virtual) box really only runs the server and you'd like to
do specific optimizations (eg. processor specific, etc), you could
create your own micro-distro. I've got some tools to ease that -
just mail me directly if you're interested.

> I have someone who opposes the use of standard rpms (even yums) for this
> reason. I thought I'd check out how it is received professionally.

Well, that depends on his specific reasons. For examples, several
distros tend to do strange things, you might not want in your
environment. Perhaps you need certain patches your distro doenst
provide. But even in this case you should try to use your distro's
build machinery for creating your own package.

Please ask your collegue for his concrete reasons and report back :)

> If I compile something from the source, sometimes I see a boundary
> condition - like, if I already have DBI from a standard rpm, it expects
> postgresql library at a certain location - making me wonder whether I
> should remove the DBI rpm and compile it also from the source, or whether
> I should use standard rpms for postgresql as well. (DBI may not be a good
> example.)

Pathes should be configurable, or you could use symlinks or bind mounts.

cu
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