Re: Vaccuum Failure w/7.1beta4 on Linux/Sparc

Ryan Kirkpatrick <pgsql(at)rkirkpat(dot)net> writes:
> While testing some existing database applications on 7.1beta4 on
> my Sparc 20 running Debian GNU/Linux 2.2, I got the following error on
> attempting to do a vacuum of a table:

> NOTICE: FlushRelationBuffers(jobs, 1399): block 953 is referenced (private 0, global 1)
> ERROR! Can't vacuum table Jobs! ERROR: VACUUM (repair_frag): FlushRelationBuffers returned -2

This is undoubtedly a backend bug. Can you generate a reproducible test
case?

> So, is this a problem with pgsql in general, specific to
> Linux/Sparc, or a bug in Pg causing it to be too paranoid? Thanks.

Pg did get an ERROR from the vacuum command (note second line). Yes,
there is paranoia right up the line here, but I think that's a good
thing. Somewhere someone is failing to release a buffer refcount,
and we don't know what other consequences that bug might have. Better
to err on the side of caution.

regards, tom lane