Re: PostgreSQL Configuration Tool for Dummies

On Tue, 26 Jun 2007, Josh Berkus wrote:

> I find it extremely inconsistent that you want to select "middle-of-the-road"
> defaults for some values and ask users detailed questions for other values.
> Which are we trying to do, here?

I'd like to see people have a really simple set of questions to get them
past the completely undersized initial configuration phase, then ship them
toward resources to help educate about the parts that could be problematic
for them based on what they do or don't know. I don't see an
inconsistancy that I'd expect people to have a reasonable guess for
max_connections, while also telling them that setting sort_mem is
important, a middle value has been assigned, but a really correct setting
isn't something they can expect the simple config tool to figure out for
them; here's a pointer to the appropriate documentation to learn more.

> The fact that we can't expect an accurate answer on database size
> (except from the minority of users who already have a full production
> DB) will be a chronic stumbling block for any conf tool we build.

I'm still of the opinion that recommendations for settings like
max_fsm_pages and maintenance_work_mem should come out of a different type
of tool that connects to the database.

--
* Greg Smith gsmith(at)gregsmith(dot)com http://www.gregsmith.com Baltimore, MD