If I restore all the postgresql databases from pg_dumpall and use the -c to drop databases before restoring them the
sizeof the base directory dramatically increases with each restore (193MB to 355MB to 624MB). If I run vacuumdb, it
onlydrops by a few MB.
If I do the long process by:
1. stopping the postmaster
2. deleting all contents in the data folder
3. run initdb -D /var/lib/pgsql/data
4. start the postmaster
5. restore of all databases from the same pg_dumpall
the size of the base directory does not balloon.
I have searched online for optimized backup and restore procedures for postgresql, so far all I have found are the
postgresql.orgdocuments which are a little vague on the subject.
I must assume there is a better method than my long process that does not bloat the size of the base directory (the
databases)as the -c flag seems to do.
Marc