If you want to disable it only for some tables, you can put special
values into pg_autovacuum. This won't disable the autovacuum daemon, but
some of the tables won't be vacuumed.
Tomas
> Not quite a performance question, but I can't seem to find a simple
> answer to this. We're using 8.1.4 and the autovacuum daemon is
> running every 40 seconds cycling between 3 databases. What is the
> easiest way to disable the autovacuumer for a minute or two, do some
> other work, then re-enable it? Do I have to modify postgresql.conf
> and send a HUP signal to pick up the changes?
>
> I figured this would work but I can't find a reason why not:
>
> # show autovacuum;
> autovacuum
> ------------
> on
> (1 row)
>
> # set autovacuum to off;
> ERROR: parameter "autovacuum" cannot be changed now
>
> In postgresql.conf:
>
> autovacuum = on
>
> Thanks,
>
> Steve
>