@@ -641,29 +641,79 @@ HINT: To avoid a database shutdown, execute a database-wide VACUUM in that data
641641</programlisting>
642642
643643 (A manual <command>VACUUM</command> should fix the problem, as suggested by the
644- hint; but note that the <command>VACUUM</command> must be performed by a
645- superuser, else it will fail to process system catalogs and thus not
646- be able to advance the database's <structfield>datfrozenxid</structfield>.)
647- If these warnings are
648- ignored, the system will shut down and refuse to start any new
649- transactions once there are fewer than three million transactions left
650- until wraparound:
644+ hint; but note that the <command>VACUUM</command> should be performed by a
645+ superuser, else it will fail to process system catalogs, which prevent it from
646+ being able to advance the database's <structfield>datfrozenxid</structfield>.)
647+ If these warnings are ignored, the system will refuse to assign new XIDs once
648+ there are fewer than three million transactions left until wraparound:
651649
652650<programlisting>
653651ERROR: database is not accepting commands to avoid wraparound data loss in database "mydb"
654652HINT: Stop the postmaster and vacuum that database in single-user mode.
655653</programlisting>
656654
657- The three-million-transaction safety margin exists to let the
658- administrator recover without data loss, by manually executing the
659- required <command>VACUUM</command> commands. However, since the system will not
660- execute commands once it has gone into the safety shutdown mode,
661- the only way to do this is to stop the server and start the server in single-user
662- mode to execute <command>VACUUM</command>. The shutdown mode is not enforced
663- in single-user mode. See the <xref linkend="app-postgres"/> reference
664- page for details about using single-user mode.
655+ In this condition any transactions already in progress can continue,
656+ but only read-only transactions can be started. Operations that
657+ modify database records or truncate relations will fail.
658+ The <command>VACUUM</command> command can still be run normally.
659+ Contrary to what the hint states, it is not necessary or desirable to stop the
660+ postmaster or enter single user-mode in order to restore normal operation.
661+ Instead, follow these steps:
662+
663+ <orderedlist>
664+ <listitem>
665+ <simpara>Resolve old prepared transactions. You can find these by checking
666+ <link linkend="view-pg-prepared-xacts">pg_prepared_xacts</link> for rows where
667+ <literal>age(transactionid)</literal> is large. Such transactions should be
668+ committed or rolled back.</simpara>
669+ </listitem>
670+ <listitem>
671+ <simpara>End long-running open transactions. You can find these by checking
672+ <link linkend="monitoring-pg-stat-activity-view">pg_stat_activity</link> for rows where
673+ <literal>age(backend_xid)</literal> or <literal>age(backend_xmin)</literal> is
674+ large. Such transactions should be committed or rolled back, or the session
675+ can be terminated using <literal>pg_terminate_backend</literal>.</simpara>
676+ </listitem>
677+ <listitem>
678+ <simpara>Drop any old replication slots. Use
679+ <link linkend="monitoring-pg-stat-replication-view">pg_stat_replication</link> to
680+ find slots where <literal>age(xmin)</literal> or <literal>age(catalog_xmin)</literal>
681+ is large. In many cases, such slots were created for replication to servers that no
682+ longer exist, or that have been down for a long time. If you drop a slot for a server
683+ that still exists and might still try to connect to that slot, that replica may
684+ need to be rebuilt.</simpara>
685+ </listitem>
686+ <listitem>
687+ <simpara>Execute <command>VACUUM</command> in the target database. A database-wide
688+ <literal>VACUUM</literal> is simplest; to reduce the time required, it as also possible
689+ to issue manual <command>VACUUM</command> commands on the tables where
690+ <structfield>relminxid</structfield> is oldest. Do not use <literal>VACUUM FULL</literal>
691+ in this scenario, because it requires an XID and will therefore fail, except in super-user
692+ mode, where it will instead consume an XID and thus increase the risk of transaction ID
693+ wraparound. Do not use <literal>VACUUM FREEZE</literal> either, because it will do
694+ more than the minimum amount of work required to restore normal operation.</simpara>
695+ </listitem>
696+ <listitem>
697+ <simpara>Once normal operation is restored, ensure that autovacuum is properly configured
698+ in the target database in order to avoid future problems.</simpara>
699+ </listitem>
700+ </orderedlist>
665701 </para>
666702
703+ <note>
704+ <para>
705+ In earlier versions, it was sometimes necessary to stop the postmaster and
706+ <command>VACUUM</command> the database in a single-user mode. In typical scenarios, this
707+ is no longer necessary, and should be avoided whenever possible, since it involves taking
708+ the system down. It is also riskier, since it disables transaction ID wraparound safeguards
709+ that are designed to prevent data loss. The only reason to use single-user mode in this
710+ scenario is if you wish to <command>TRUNCATE</command> or <command>DROP</command> unneeded
711+ tables to avoid needing to <command>VACUUM</command> them. The three-million-transaction
712+ safety margin exists to let the administrator do this. See the
713+ <xref linkend="app-postgres"/> reference page for details about using single-user mode.
714+ </para>
715+ </note>
716+
667717 <sect3 id="vacuum-for-multixact-wraparound">
668718 <title>Multixacts and Wraparound</title>
669719
@@ -727,6 +777,38 @@ HINT: Stop the postmaster and vacuum that database in single-user mode.
727777 have the oldest multixact-age. Both of these kinds of aggressive
728778 scans will occur even if autovacuum is nominally disabled.
729779 </para>
780+
781+ <para>
782+ Similar to the XID case, if autovacuum fails to clear old MXIDs from a table, the
783+ system will begin to emit warning messages when the database's oldest MXIDs reach forty
784+ million transactions from the wraparound point. And, just as an the XID case, if these
785+ warnings are ignored, the system will refuse to generate new MXIDs once there are fewer
786+ than three million left until wraparound.
787+ </para>
788+
789+ <para>
790+ Normal operation when MXIDs are exhausted can be restored in much the same way as
791+ when XIDs are exhausted. Follow the same steps in the previous section, but with the
792+ following differences:
793+
794+ <orderedlist>
795+ <listitem>
796+ <simpara>Running transactions and prepared transactions can be ignored if there
797+ is no chance that they might appear in a multixact.</simpara>
798+ </listitem>
799+ <listitem>
800+ <simpara>MXID information is not directly visible in system views such as
801+ <literal>pg_stat_activity</literal>; however, looking for old XIDs is still a good
802+ way of determining which transactions are causing MXID wraparound problems.</simpara>
803+ </listitem>
804+ <listitem>
805+ <simpara>XID exhaustion will block all write transactions, but MXID exhaustion will
806+ only block a subset of write transactions, specifically those that involve
807+ row locks that require an MXID.</simpara>
808+ </listitem>
809+ </orderedlist>
810+ </para>
811+
730812 </sect3>
731813 </sect2>
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