Michael Kohl wrote:
HDD: 2x 120 GB OCZ Vertex 2 SSD; RAID 1
As a general warning here, as far as I know the regular Vertex 2 SSD doesn't cache writes properly for database use. It's possible to have a crash that leaves the database corrupted, if the drive has writes queued up in its cache. The Vertex 2 Pro resolves this issue with a supercap, you may have a model with concerns here. See http://wiki.postgresql.org/wiki/Reliable_Writes for more information.
In addition to the log_checkpoints suggestion already made, I'd also recommend turning on log_lock_waits and log_temp_files on your server. All three of those--checkpoints, locks, and unexpected temp file use--can cause the sort of issue you're seeing. Well, not locks so much given you're seeing heavy disk I/O, but it's good to start logging those issues before they get bad, too.
-- Greg Smith 2ndQuadrant US greg@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Baltimore, MD PostgreSQL Training, Services, and 24x7 Support www.2ndQuadrant.us "PostgreSQL 9.0 High Performance": http://www.2ndQuadrant.com/books -- Sent via pgsql-performance mailing list (pgsql-performance@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx) To make changes to your subscription: http://www.postgresql.org/mailpref/pgsql-performance
