Volger,
> Since our current Postgres server, a quad Xeon system, finally can't keep
> up with our load anymore we're ready to take the next step.
There are a lot of reasons this could be happening; Quad Xeon is a problematic
platform, the more so if you're on Dell hardware.
I've run PostgreSQL on 8-ways, and I know there are a few Sunfire users around
the community (16-way). There are definitely specific performance issues
around specific query loads on multi-way systems; search this list archives
for "Context Switch Bug".
I will echo others in saying that moving to Opteron on premium hardware should
jump you at least 2x on performance, and it's a lot cheaper than DB2 or
Oracle.
And, of course, if you really want help from this list, you'll post more
specific problems.
--
Josh Berkus
Aglio Database Solutions
San Francisco