"Ed L." <pgsql@bluepolka.net> writes:
> In general, would it be true to say that if one does *not* anticipate
> contention for kernel disk cache space from non-DB processes (e.g., the
> dedicated db server), then you probably want to use theory (1)? If one
> *does* anticipate such contention (e.g. the all-on-one-box web-db app),
> then you probably want to use theory (2) in order to ensure an adequate
> cache?
If the box is doing other things then I think you definitely want to
keep shared_buffers pretty small, relying on the kernel to allocate the
available resources as best it can.
regards, tom lane