Re: random backend crashes - how to debug ( Is crash dump handler released ? )

On 06/14/2011 10:26 PM, BangarRaju Vadapalli wrote:
> Hi Everybody,
>
> We are using PostGRE 8.4 version and experiencing random backend
> crashes. We have enabled logging and are able to see some logging
> happening in pg_log directory but not of much use. Here are the logs.

Thankyou for collecting the logs and including your version. A little
more information would be helpful, like the exact version, your OS and
architecture, etc. See this link for a list of suggested information:

http://wiki.postgresql.org/wiki/Guide_to_reporting_problems

> I searched online and found crash dump handler idea has been proposed
> and patch for that has already been released if I am not wrong.

It is integrated into PostgreSQL 9.0 as a core part of the server.

There's no reason it can't be compiled for PostgreSQL 8.4, though I
never tested that. It shouldn't take long so I'll give it a go and get
back to you.

> Could
> anyone please detail the steps to install crash dump handler in windows?
> Also could you please help me with the ways to debug the crashes
> happening as shown above.

The first thing to do is to try to figure out if they're really random,
or if they're related to a particular query or event. Enable more
detailed logging in PostgreSQL - at least query logging, possibly also
additional debug levels - and examine the logs to see if you can find a
pattern.

--
Craig Ringer