pg_checksums 1.0 released

Version 1.0 of pg_checksums has been released and is available from
GitHub here: https://github.com/credativ/pg_checksums/releases/tag/1.0

pg_checksums verifies, activates or deactivates data checksums in
PostgreSQL instances.

It is based on the pg_checksums utility in PostgreSQL 12, with the
following additions:

1. Online verification of checksums

The pg_checksums utility in PostgreSQL 12 (or the pg_verify_checksums
utility in PostgreSQL 11) requires an offline PostgreSQL instance in
order to verify checksums, which is usually not an option for production
systems.  Furthermore, base backup directories cannot be verified
directly either but need to be started and stopped again before
verification.  pg_checksums 1.0 allows to verify checksums in online
instances as well, making checksum verification feasible in production
systems.

2. Compatibility with all supported PostgreSQL versions

pg_checksums is compatible with all versions of PostgreSQL since the
introduction of data checksums in PostgreSQL 9.3.  Debian and Ubuntu
packages for all supported versions of PostgreSQL are available from
https://apt.postgresql.org.

3. Activation of progress reporting during operation

Progress reporting (see below) can additionally be switched on or off
via the SIGUSR1 signal (not available on Windows).  This is useful when
checksums are activated on a large instance and progress reporting was
not requested at the start of the operation, allowing to estimate the
remaining time.

4. I/O rate limiting

When activating or verifying checksums, the I/O can be limited to a
particular rate of MB/s.  This is useful to limit resource usage when
verifying checksums of an online instance.


In addition, the following features have been first developed for
pg_checksums and have since been integrated into version 12 of
PostgreSQL:

1. Offline activation and deactivation of checksums

Up to and including PostgreSQL 11, data checksums could only be
activated during instance creation via a non-default initdb option.  In
PostgreSQL 12, the pg_verify_checksums utility (from which the
pg_checksums code was forked) was modified to allow for offline
(de)activation of checksums and renamed to pg_checksums.  This is a
major new feature of PostgreSQL 12.

2. Progress reporting

Checksum activation of large instances can take a long time while the
instance has to be offline.  In order to assess the remaining time of
the operation, this option displays the progress and I/O rate every
second.

pg_checksums is being developed by credativ GmbH and is under the
PostgreSQL license.  The source code is available on GitHub at
https://github.com/credativ/pg_checksums.

-- 
Michael Banck
Projektleiter / Senior Berater
Tel.: +49 2166 9901-171
Fax:  +49 2166 9901-100
Email: michael.banck@credativ.de

credativ GmbH, HRB Mönchengladbach 12080
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Geschäftsführung: Dr. Michael Meskes, Jörg Folz, Sascha Heuer

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