Re: Deep integration of PostgreSQL with Apache

Wouldn't it just be cheaper to buy a second machine than do all of that?

Alex Turner
netEconomist

On 5/3/05, Robin Boerdijk <robin_boerdijk(at)yahoo(dot)com> wrote:
> --- Thomas Hallgren <thhal(at)mailblocks(dot)com> wrote:
> > Robin Boerdijk wrote:
> > > Hi,
> > >
> > > Apologies if this has been discussed before, but I was wondering if
> > > there have been any efforts in the past to provide a deep
> > integration
> > > of PostgreSQL with Apache. What I mean by deep integration is that
> > the
> > > PostgreSQL server logic runs inside the Apache server processes,
> > rather
> > > than separate processes. In particular, the postmaster server logic
> > > would run inside the Apache master process and the postgres server
> > > logic would run inside Apache child processes.
> > >
> > > The main advantage of this approach would be that it avoids the
> > > Apache/PostgreSQL context switch when executing SQL requests from
> > the
> > > web server. It looks like the Apache server and PostgreSQL server
> > > architectures are quite similar to make this feasible. Any
> > thoughts?
> > >
> > The PostgreSQL backend is inherently single-threaded and a new
> > process
> > is forked each time you establish a new connection (session) so the
> > integration you ask for is not in anyway possible unless you are
> > content
> > with one single database connection.
>
> I agree that it is not trivial, but is it feasible? Specifically, I'm
> thinking about the following approach:
>
> 1. Strip all networking logic and the logic that manages the postgres
> child servers from the postmaster server. The logic that remains is
> code that manages the auxiliary processes such as the bgwriter and
> statistics collector. Integrate this remaining logic in the the Apache
> master server.
>
> 2. Strip all networking logic from the postgres server. The logic that
> remains is logic for executing queries against the database. Integrate
> this remaining logic in the Apache child server.
>
> The result of this is an integrated web/database server where all
> networking is handled by Apache instead of postmaster/postgres. Other
> than that, I see no difference with the way PostgreSQL works out of the
> box. The Apache master server functions as the postmaster (i.e.
> managing the child server processes) and the Apache child servers
> function as the postgres servers (i.e. access the database). Why would
> this web/database server be limited to using only one connection?
>
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