Re: PostgreSQL and Windows 2003 DFS Replication

On 7/27/06, Arnaud Lesauvage <thewild(at)freesurf(dot)fr> wrote:
> Hi list !
>
> I am currently deploying two servers (Windows 2003 R2) that will
> be used as file servers as well as PostgreSQL servers.
>
> One of the server will be the main server, the other one a backup
> server (no load-balancing, only an easy-recoverage solution).
> The goal is to be able to start working quickly after one of the
> server fails (after the main server fails actually, since the
> backup server is not used).
>
> I already configured a high-availability solution for the file
> server part by using the built-in DFS Replication service.

I am very suspicious about DFS for this. File based replication
usually doesn't work for sql servers because of the complex
interdependencies in the files. It sounds like a fancy rsync and is
very unlikely to be able to guarantee consistent backup unless all
writes are synchronous.

for a cold/warm standby postgresql backup, I'd suggest using pitr.
It's easy to set up and administer. for hot read only backup, bite the
bullet and use slony.

merlin