Re: Why database is corrupted after re-booting

Gregory Youngblood <pgcluster(at)netio(dot)org> writes:
> Is corruption a problem? I don't think so - but I want to make sure I
> haven't had my head in the sand for a while. :) I realize this instance
> appears to be on Windows, which is relatively new as a native Windows
> program. I'm really after the answer on more mature platforms (including
> Linux).

It's been quite some time since I've seen an instance of data corruption
that appeared to be due to a Postgres bug. (At least, not corruption in
tables ... we've had some index bugs, but those you can always fix with
REINDEX.) I have seen lots of cases that seemed to be due to hardware
or OS misfeasance, eg, disk sectors filled with data that didn't come
from Postgres at all.

You can reduce your exposure by making sure things are correctly
configured (eg, disable write caching, or better yet don't use
consumer-grade drives at all). In the end there's no substitute
for a good backup policy ;-)

AFAICS mysql will have exactly the same problems. So will oracle or
any other DB. Oracle may have a better looking track record, but
that's probably because people don't try to run it on cheap junk PCs.

regards, tom lane