Mike Goldner <mgoldner@xxxxxxxxxxxx> writes: > First of all, my max_fsm_pages is obviously way off. However, every > time I increase my max_fsm_pages the next vacuum says that it requires > more. Will there every be a plateau in the requested pages? We realized recently that this can happen if you have a single relation that all by itself needs more FSM space than you've got; any per-table space beyond max_fsm_pages is disregarded in the calculation of the total system-wide space needed, and so you get this inflationary effect where the reported requirement keeps going up when you increase the setting. There's a fix in for 8.2. > So, all indications point to postgres blocking all access during the > entire vacuum. You haven't said anything I consider credible evidence of that. But try looking in pg_locks next time. regards, tom lane
