Re: on-line backup questions

Thanks for the prompt response!

On 22/12/2007, at 1:33 PM, Tom Lane wrote:

> Tom Davies  writes:
>>
>> 3. What's the best thing to do when I deliberately shut down
>> PostgreSQL (i.e. pg_ctl stop)? When I start again I will be restoring
>> from the most recent backup and rolling forward over the archived WAL
>> files. I believe that shutdown leaves me with unarchived WAL files in
>> pg_xlog.
>
> Yeah, you should archive the latest WAL file, but in 8.0 you'd have to
> do that manually.  (IIRC there isn't even a forced-xlog-switch  
> function
> in that version to help you.)

So in 8.2, when I do a backup I *don't* need to manually copy any WAL  
files?, and when I shut down I should:

1 call pg_switch_xlog()
2 wait for the WAL to be archived *if* pg_switch_xlog return a  
location after the end of the previously archived WAL
3 actually call pg_ctl stop

Do I need to do 2, above, or can postgres wait until the previous WAL  
archive is complete?

Thanks,
   Tom