BUG #5465: dblink TCP connection hangs blocking translation from being terminated

Hi

In our setup, we make use extensively of dblink.
Due to the fact that some queries take some time to complete and that the link
is over the internet, sometime the server process (the transaction that runs
the dblink queries) hangs when the link goes down, keeping locks on several
records plus some advisory locks and thus freezing the whole (most of) the
database.

What I have found is this bug, that is remarkably similar (if not identical)
with what we are experiencing.

http://postgresql.1045698.n5.nabble.com/BUG-5465-dblink-TCP-connection-hangs-blocking-translation-from-being-terminated-td2132419.html#a2132420

The bug dates from may 2010 and no update since.

One of the comments states that there is work done for version 9.0 ...but I
haven't seen anything in the changelog related to this in any version starting
with the one we are using (9.1.12).

<quote>
I believe this is a known issue in dblink, where it's not possible to
cancel it when it's waiting in the TCP layer in the kernel.
Unfortunately, there is no fix ATM - there was some work towards it
for 9.0 at one point, but I think this is actually the first real
bug-report on the issue...
</quote>

Has there been any progress in this direction?

Thank you!

--
Robert Voinea
Software Engineer
+4 0740 467 262

Don't take life too seriously. You'll never get out of it alive.
(Elbert Hubbard)