I'm reading the docs for 8.4.2, section 18.4.1 Memory. I'm trying to figure out what reasonable values for my usage would be. The doc says: shared_buffers (integer) Sets the amount of memory the database server uses for shared memory buffers. While circular definitions are always right, I'm kind of looking for some information like: "PostgreSQL uses shared memory buffers for ...." Could someone please explain what the role of shared buffers is? George Sexton MH Software, Inc. - Home of Connect Daily Web Calendar http://www.mhsoftware.com/ Voice: 303 438 9585 -- Sent via pgsql-performance mailing list (pgsql-performance@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx) To make changes to your subscription: http://www.postgresql.org/mailpref/pgsql-performance