Prevent WAL logging when COPY is done in the same transation that

created it.

Simon Riggs

doc/src/sgml/perform.sgml

-<!-- $PostgreSQL: pgsql/doc/src/sgml/perform.sgml,v 1.59 2006/10/07 20:59:03 petere Exp $ -->
+<!-- $PostgreSQL: pgsql/doc/src/sgml/perform.sgml,v 1.60 2007/01/25 02:17:25 momjian Exp $ -->
 
  <chapter id="performance-tips">
   <title>Performance Tips</title>
@@ -800,7 +800,9 @@ SELECT * FROM x, y, a, b, c WHERE something AND somethingelse;
     prepared <command>INSERT</command> statement, and then use
     <command>EXECUTE</command> as many times as required.  This avoids
     some of the overhead of repeatedly parsing and planning
-    <command>INSERT</command>.
+    <command>INSERT</command>. Different interfaces provide this facility
+    in different ways; look for Prepared Statements in the interface
+    documentation.
    </para>
 
    <para>
@@ -809,6 +811,20 @@ SELECT * FROM x, y, a, b, c WHERE something AND somethingelse;
     <command>INSERT</command>, even if <command>PREPARE</> is used and
     multiple insertions are batched into a single transaction.
    </para>
+
+   <para>
+    <command>COPY</command> is fastest when used within the same
+    transaction as an earlier <command>CREATE TABLE</command> or
+    <command>TRUNCATE</command> command. In those cases, no WAL
+    needs to be written because in case of an error, the files
+    containing the newly loaded data will be removed automatically.
+    <command>CREATE TABLE AS SELECT</command> is also optimized 
+    to avoid writing WAL. <command>COPY</command> and
+    <command>CREATE TABLE AS SELECT</command> will write WAL 
+    when <xref linkend="guc-archive-command"> is set and will not
+    therefore be optimized in that case.
+   </para>
+
   </sect2>
 
   <sect2 id="populate-rm-indexes">
@@ -877,6 +893,29 @@ SELECT * FROM x, y, a, b, c WHERE something AND somethingelse;
    </para>
   </sect2>
 
+  <sect2 id="populate-pitr">
+   <title>Turn off <varname>archive_command</varname></title>
+
+   <para>
+    When loading large amounts of data you may want to unset the
+    <xref linkend="guc-archive-command"> before loading. It may be
+    faster to take a new base backup once the load has completed
+    than to allow a large archive to accumulate.
+   </para>
+
+   <para>
+    This is particularly important advice because certain commands 
+    will perform more slowly when <varname>archive_command</varname>
+    is set, as a result of their needing to write large amounts of WAL.
+    This applies to the following commands: 
+    <command>CREATE TABLE AS SELECT</command>, 
+    <command>CREATE INDEX</command> and also <command>COPY</command>, when
+    it is executed in the same transaction as a prior 
+    <command>CREATE TABLE</command> or <command>TRUNCATE</command> command.
+   </para>
+
+  </sect2>
+
   <sect2 id="populate-analyze">
    <title>Run <command>ANALYZE</command> Afterwards</title>
 
@@ -914,8 +953,12 @@ SELECT * FROM x, y, a, b, c WHERE something AND somethingelse;
     the first several guidelines are handled automatically.  What is left
     for you to do is to set appropriate (i.e., larger than normal) values
     for <varname>maintenance_work_mem</varname> and
-    <varname>checkpoint_segments</varname> before loading the dump script,
-    and then to run <command>ANALYZE</> afterwards.
+    <varname>checkpoint_segments</varname>, as well as unsetting 
+    <varname>archive_command</varname> before loading the dump script,
+    and then to run <command>ANALYZE</> afterwards and resetting
+    <varname>archive_command</varname> if required. All of the 
+    parameters can be reset once the load has completed without needing
+    to restart the server, as described in <xref linkend="config-setting">.
    </para>
 
    <para>

src/backend/access/heap/heapam.c

@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@
  *
  *
  * IDENTIFICATION
- *	  $PostgreSQL: pgsql/src/backend/access/heap/heapam.c,v 1.224 2007/01/09 22:00:59 momjian Exp $
+ *	  $PostgreSQL: pgsql/src/backend/access/heap/heapam.c,v 1.225 2007/01/25 02:17:25 momjian Exp $
  *
  *
  * INTERFACE ROUTINES
@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@
  *		heap_update		- replace a tuple in a relation with another tuple
  *		heap_markpos	- mark scan position
  *		heap_restrpos	- restore position to marked location
+ *		heap_sync		- sync heap, for when no WAL has been written
  *
  * NOTES
  *	  This file contains the heap_ routines which implement
@@ -50,6 +51,7 @@
 #include "miscadmin.h"
 #include "pgstat.h"
 #include "storage/procarray.h"
+#include "storage/smgr.h"
 #include "utils/inval.h"
 #include "utils/lsyscache.h"
 #include "utils/relcache.h"
@@ -1358,7 +1360,7 @@ heap_get_latest_tid(Relation relation,
  * that all new tuples go into new pages not containing any tuples from other
  * transactions, that the relation gets fsync'd before commit, and that the
  * transaction emits at least one WAL record to ensure RecordTransactionCommit
- * will decide to WAL-log the commit.
+ * will decide to WAL-log the commit. (see heap_sync() comments also)
  *
  * use_fsm is passed directly to RelationGetBufferForTuple, which see for
  * more info.
@@ -1418,7 +1420,7 @@ heap_insert(Relation relation, HeapTuple tup, CommandId cid,
 	 */
 	if (HeapTupleHasExternal(tup) ||
 		(MAXALIGN(tup->t_len) > TOAST_TUPLE_THRESHOLD))
-		heaptup = toast_insert_or_update(relation, tup, NULL);
+		heaptup = toast_insert_or_update(relation, tup, NULL, use_wal);
 	else
 		heaptup = tup;
 
@@ -1535,6 +1537,18 @@ simple_heap_insert(Relation relation, HeapTuple tup)
 	return heap_insert(relation, tup, GetCurrentCommandId(), true, true);
 }
 
+/*
+ *	fast_heap_insert - insert a tuple with options to improve speed
+ *
+ * Currently, this routine allows specifying additional options for speed
+ * in certain cases, such as WAL-avoiding COPY command
+ */
+Oid
+fast_heap_insert(Relation relation, HeapTuple tup, bool use_wal)
+{
+	return heap_insert(relation, tup, GetCurrentCommandId(), use_wal, use_wal);
+}
+
 /*
  *	heap_delete - delete a tuple
  *
@@ -2086,11 +2100,11 @@ l2:
 		 *
 		 * Note: below this point, heaptup is the data we actually intend to
 		 * store into the relation; newtup is the caller's original untoasted
-		 * data.
+		 * data. (We always use WAL for toast table updates.)
 		 */
 		if (need_toast)
 		{
-			heaptup = toast_insert_or_update(relation, newtup, &oldtup);
+			heaptup = toast_insert_or_update(relation, newtup, &oldtup, true);
 			newtupsize = MAXALIGN(heaptup->t_len);
 		}
 		else
@@ -3966,3 +3980,24 @@ heap2_desc(StringInfo buf, uint8 xl_info, char *rec)
 	else
 		appendStringInfo(buf, "UNKNOWN");
 }
+
+/* ----------------
+ *		heap_sync - sync a heap, for use when no WAL has been written
+ *
+ * ----------------
+ */
+void
+heap_sync(Relation rel)
+{
+	if (!rel->rd_istemp)
+	{
+		/*
+		 * If we skipped using WAL, and it's not a temp relation,
+		 * we must force the relation down to disk before it's
+		 * safe to commit the transaction.  This requires forcing
+		 * out any dirty buffers and then doing a forced fsync.
+		 */
+		FlushRelationBuffers(rel);
+		smgrimmedsync(rel->rd_smgr);
+	}
+}

src/backend/access/heap/tuptoaster.c

@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@
  *
  *
  * IDENTIFICATION
- *	  $PostgreSQL: pgsql/src/backend/access/heap/tuptoaster.c,v 1.68 2007/01/05 22:19:22 momjian Exp $
+ *	  $PostgreSQL: pgsql/src/backend/access/heap/tuptoaster.c,v 1.69 2007/01/25 02:17:26 momjian Exp $
  *
  *
  * INTERFACE ROUTINES
@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@
 #undef TOAST_DEBUG
 
 static void toast_delete_datum(Relation rel, Datum value);
-static Datum toast_save_datum(Relation rel, Datum value);
+static Datum toast_save_datum(Relation rel, Datum value, bool use_wal);
 static varattrib *toast_fetch_datum(varattrib *attr);
 static varattrib *toast_fetch_datum_slice(varattrib *attr,
 						int32 sliceoffset, int32 length);
@@ -342,7 +342,7 @@ toast_delete(Relation rel, HeapTuple oldtup)
  * ----------
  */
 HeapTuple
-toast_insert_or_update(Relation rel, HeapTuple newtup, HeapTuple oldtup)
+toast_insert_or_update(Relation rel, HeapTuple newtup, HeapTuple oldtup, bool use_wal)
 {
 	HeapTuple	result_tuple;
 	TupleDesc	tupleDesc;
@@ -612,7 +612,7 @@ toast_insert_or_update(Relation rel, HeapTuple newtup, HeapTuple oldtup)
 		i = biggest_attno;
 		old_value = toast_values[i];
 		toast_action[i] = 'p';
-		toast_values[i] = toast_save_datum(rel, toast_values[i]);
+		toast_values[i] = toast_save_datum(rel, toast_values[i], use_wal);
 		if (toast_free[i])
 			pfree(DatumGetPointer(old_value));
 
@@ -724,7 +724,7 @@ toast_insert_or_update(Relation rel, HeapTuple newtup, HeapTuple oldtup)
 		i = biggest_attno;
 		old_value = toast_values[i];
 		toast_action[i] = 'p';
-		toast_values[i] = toast_save_datum(rel, toast_values[i]);
+		toast_values[i] = toast_save_datum(rel, toast_values[i], use_wal);
 		if (toast_free[i])
 			pfree(DatumGetPointer(old_value));
 
@@ -972,7 +972,7 @@ toast_compress_datum(Datum value)
  * ----------
  */
 static Datum
-toast_save_datum(Relation rel, Datum value)
+toast_save_datum(Relation rel, Datum value, bool use_wal)
 {
 	Relation	toastrel;
 	Relation	toastidx;
@@ -1057,7 +1057,7 @@ toast_save_datum(Relation rel, Datum value)
 		if (!HeapTupleIsValid(toasttup))
 			elog(ERROR, "failed to build TOAST tuple");
 
-		simple_heap_insert(toastrel, toasttup);
+		fast_heap_insert(toastrel, toasttup, use_wal);
 
 		/*
 		 * Create the index entry.	We cheat a little here by not using

src/backend/catalog/index.c

@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@
  *
  *
  * IDENTIFICATION
- *	  $PostgreSQL: pgsql/src/backend/catalog/index.c,v 1.276 2007/01/09 02:14:11 tgl Exp $
+ *	  $PostgreSQL: pgsql/src/backend/catalog/index.c,v 1.277 2007/01/25 02:17:26 momjian Exp $
  *
  *
  * INTERFACE ROUTINES
@@ -1245,6 +1245,9 @@ setNewRelfilenode(Relation relation)
 
 	heap_close(pg_class, RowExclusiveLock);
 
+	/* Remember we did this in current transaction, to allow later optimisations */
+	relation->rd_newRelfilenodeSubid = GetCurrentSubTransactionId();
+
 	/* Make sure the relfilenode change is visible */
 	CommandCounterIncrement();
 }

src/backend/commands/copy.c

@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@
  *
  *
  * IDENTIFICATION
- *	  $PostgreSQL: pgsql/src/backend/commands/copy.c,v 1.274 2007/01/05 22:19:25 momjian Exp $
+ *	  $PostgreSQL: pgsql/src/backend/commands/copy.c,v 1.275 2007/01/25 02:17:26 momjian Exp $
  *
  *-------------------------------------------------------------------------
  */
@@ -1652,6 +1652,7 @@ CopyFrom(CopyState cstate)
 	ExprContext *econtext;		/* used for ExecEvalExpr for default atts */
 	MemoryContext oldcontext = CurrentMemoryContext;
 	ErrorContextCallback errcontext;
+	bool		use_wal = true; /* By default, we use WAL to log db changes */
 
 	Assert(cstate->rel);
 
@@ -1843,6 +1844,28 @@ CopyFrom(CopyState cstate)
 	nfields = file_has_oids ? (attr_count + 1) : attr_count;
 	field_strings = (char **) palloc(nfields * sizeof(char *));
 
+	/*
+	 * Check for performance optimization by avoiding WAL writes
+	 *
+	 * If archive logging is not be enabled *and* either
+	 * - table is created in same transaction as this COPY
+	 * - table data is now being written to new relfilenode
+	 * then we can safely avoid writing WAL. Why? 
+	 * The data files for the table plus toast table/index, plus any indexes
+	 * will all be dropped at the end of the transaction if it fails, so we
+	 * do not need to worry about inconsistent states.
+	 * As mentioned in comments in utils/rel.h, the in-same-transaction test is
+	 * not completely reliable, since rd_createSubId can be reset to zero in
+	 * certain cases before the end of the creating transaction. 
+	 * We are doing this for performance only, so we only need to know: 
+	 * if rd_createSubid != InvalidSubTransactionId then it is *always* just 
+	 * created. If we have PITR enabled, then we *must* use_wal
+	 */
+	if ((cstate->rel->rd_createSubid		 != InvalidSubTransactionId ||
+	     cstate->rel->rd_newRelfilenodeSubid != InvalidSubTransactionId)
+		&& !XLogArchivingActive())
+		use_wal = false;
+
 	/* Initialize state variables */
 	cstate->fe_eof = false;
 	cstate->eol_type = EOL_UNKNOWN;
@@ -2076,7 +2099,7 @@ CopyFrom(CopyState cstate)
 				ExecConstraints(resultRelInfo, slot, estate);
 
 			/* OK, store the tuple and create index entries for it */
-			simple_heap_insert(cstate->rel, tuple);
+			fast_heap_insert(cstate->rel, tuple, use_wal);
 
 			if (resultRelInfo->ri_NumIndices > 0)
 				ExecInsertIndexTuples(slot, &(tuple->t_self), estate, false);
@@ -2093,6 +2116,32 @@ CopyFrom(CopyState cstate)
 		}
 	}
 
+	/* 
+	 * If we skipped writing WAL for heaps, then we need to sync
+	 */
+	if (!use_wal)
+	{
+		/* main heap */
+		heap_sync(cstate->rel);
+
+		/* main heap indexes, if any */
+		/* we always use WAL for index inserts, so no need to sync */
+
+		/* toast heap, if any */
+		if (OidIsValid(cstate->rel->rd_rel->reltoastrelid))
+		{
+			 Relation		toastrel;
+
+			 toastrel = heap_open(cstate->rel->rd_rel->reltoastrelid,
+								  AccessShareLock);
+			 heap_sync(toastrel);
+			 heap_close(toastrel, AccessShareLock);
+		}
+
+		/* toast index, if toast heap */
+		/* we always use WAL for index inserts, so no need to sync */
+	}
+
 	/* Done, clean up */
 	error_context_stack = errcontext.previous;
 

src/backend/executor/execMain.c

@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@
  *
  *
  * IDENTIFICATION
- *	  $PostgreSQL: pgsql/src/backend/executor/execMain.c,v 1.283 2007/01/05 22:19:27 momjian Exp $
+ *	  $PostgreSQL: pgsql/src/backend/executor/execMain.c,v 1.284 2007/01/25 02:17:26 momjian Exp $
  *
  *-------------------------------------------------------------------------
  */
@@ -2516,11 +2516,7 @@ CloseIntoRel(QueryDesc *queryDesc)
 		 */
 		if (!estate->es_into_relation_use_wal &&
 			!estate->es_into_relation_descriptor->rd_istemp)
-		{
-			FlushRelationBuffers(estate->es_into_relation_descriptor);
-			/* FlushRelationBuffers will have opened rd_smgr */
-			smgrimmedsync(estate->es_into_relation_descriptor->rd_smgr);
-		}
+			heap_sync(estate->es_into_relation_descriptor);
 
 		/* close rel, but keep lock until commit */
 		heap_close(estate->es_into_relation_descriptor, NoLock);

src/backend/utils/cache/relcache.c

@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@
  *
  *
  * IDENTIFICATION
- *	  $PostgreSQL: pgsql/src/backend/utils/cache/relcache.c,v 1.254 2007/01/09 02:14:15 tgl Exp $
+ *	  $PostgreSQL: pgsql/src/backend/utils/cache/relcache.c,v 1.255 2007/01/25 02:17:26 momjian Exp $
  *
  *-------------------------------------------------------------------------
  */
@@ -836,6 +836,7 @@ RelationBuildDesc(Oid targetRelId, Relation oldrelation)
 	relation->rd_refcnt = 0;
 	relation->rd_isnailed = false;
 	relation->rd_createSubid = InvalidSubTransactionId;
+	relation->rd_newRelfilenodeSubid = InvalidSubTransactionId;
 	relation->rd_istemp = isTempNamespace(relation->rd_rel->relnamespace);
 
 	/*
@@ -1358,6 +1359,7 @@ formrdesc(const char *relationName, Oid relationReltype,
 	 */
 	relation->rd_isnailed = true;
 	relation->rd_createSubid = InvalidSubTransactionId;
+	relation->rd_newRelfilenodeSubid = InvalidSubTransactionId;
 	relation->rd_istemp = false;
 
 	/*
@@ -1769,6 +1771,7 @@ RelationClearRelation(Relation relation, bool rebuild)
 		Oid			save_relid = RelationGetRelid(relation);
 		int			old_refcnt = relation->rd_refcnt;
 		SubTransactionId old_createSubid = relation->rd_createSubid;
+		SubTransactionId old_newRelfilenodeSubid = relation->rd_newRelfilenodeSubid;
 		TupleDesc	old_att = relation->rd_att;
 		RuleLock   *old_rules = relation->rd_rules;
 		MemoryContext old_rulescxt = relation->rd_rulescxt;
@@ -1787,6 +1790,8 @@ RelationClearRelation(Relation relation, bool rebuild)
 		}
 		relation->rd_refcnt = old_refcnt;
 		relation->rd_createSubid = old_createSubid;
+		relation->rd_newRelfilenodeSubid = old_newRelfilenodeSubid;
+
 		if (equalTupleDescs(old_att, relation->rd_att))
 		{
 			/* needn't flush typcache here */
@@ -1827,7 +1832,8 @@ RelationFlushRelation(Relation relation)
 {
 	bool		rebuild;
 
-	if (relation->rd_createSubid != InvalidSubTransactionId)
+	if (relation->rd_createSubid != InvalidSubTransactionId ||
+		relation->rd_newRelfilenodeSubid != InvalidSubTransactionId)
 	{
 		/*
 		 * New relcache entries are always rebuilt, not flushed; else we'd
@@ -1909,6 +1915,9 @@ RelationCacheInvalidateEntry(Oid relationId)
  *	 so we do not touch new-in-transaction relations; they cannot be targets
  *	 of cross-backend SI updates (and our own updates now go through a
  *	 separate linked list that isn't limited by the SI message buffer size).
+ *	 We don't do anything special for newRelfilenode-in-transaction relations, 
+ *	 though since we have a lock on the relation nobody else should be 
+ *	 generating cache invalidation messages for it anyhow.
  *
  *	 We do this in two phases: the first pass deletes deletable items, and
  *	 the second one rebuilds the rebuildable items.  This is essential for
@@ -2085,6 +2094,7 @@ AtEOXact_RelationCache(bool isCommit)
 				continue;
 			}
 		}
+		relation->rd_newRelfilenodeSubid = InvalidSubTransactionId;
 
 		/*
 		 * Flush any temporary index list.
@@ -2146,6 +2156,13 @@ AtEOSubXact_RelationCache(bool isCommit, SubTransactionId mySubid,
 				continue;
 			}
 		}
+		if (relation->rd_newRelfilenodeSubid == mySubid)
+		{
+			if (isCommit)
+				relation->rd_newRelfilenodeSubid = parentSubid;
+			else
+			 relation->rd_newRelfilenodeSubid = InvalidSubTransactionId;
+		}
 
 		/*
 		 * Flush any temporary index list.
@@ -2235,6 +2252,7 @@ RelationBuildLocalRelation(const char *relname,
 
 	/* it's being created in this transaction */
 	rel->rd_createSubid = GetCurrentSubTransactionId();
+	rel->rd_newRelfilenodeSubid = InvalidSubTransactionId;
 
 	/* must flag that we have rels created in this transaction */
 	need_eoxact_work = true;
@@ -3392,6 +3410,7 @@ load_relcache_init_file(void)
 		rel->rd_indexlist = NIL;
 		rel->rd_oidindex = InvalidOid;
 		rel->rd_createSubid = InvalidSubTransactionId;
+		rel->rd_newRelfilenodeSubid = InvalidSubTransactionId;
 		rel->rd_amcache = NULL;
 		MemSet(&rel->pgstat_info, 0, sizeof(rel->pgstat_info));
 

src/include/access/heapam.h

@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@
  * Portions Copyright (c) 1996-2007, PostgreSQL Global Development Group
  * Portions Copyright (c) 1994, Regents of the University of California
  *
- * $PostgreSQL: pgsql/src/include/access/heapam.h,v 1.119 2007/01/09 22:01:00 momjian Exp $
+ * $PostgreSQL: pgsql/src/include/access/heapam.h,v 1.120 2007/01/25 02:17:26 momjian Exp $
  *
  *-------------------------------------------------------------------------
  */
@@ -178,6 +178,9 @@ extern void simple_heap_delete(Relation relation, ItemPointer tid);
 extern void simple_heap_update(Relation relation, ItemPointer otid,
 				   HeapTuple tup);
 
+extern Oid fast_heap_insert(Relation relation, HeapTuple tup, bool use_wal);
+		
+
 extern void heap_markpos(HeapScanDesc scan);
 extern void heap_restrpos(HeapScanDesc scan);
 
@@ -236,4 +239,6 @@ extern MinimalTuple minimal_tuple_from_heap_tuple(HeapTuple htup);
 extern HeapTuple heap_addheader(int natts, bool withoid,
 			   Size structlen, void *structure);
 
+extern void heap_sync(Relation relation);
+
 #endif   /* HEAPAM_H */

src/include/access/tuptoaster.h

@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
  *
  * Copyright (c) 2000-2007, PostgreSQL Global Development Group
  *
- * $PostgreSQL: pgsql/src/include/access/tuptoaster.h,v 1.29 2007/01/05 22:19:51 momjian Exp $
+ * $PostgreSQL: pgsql/src/include/access/tuptoaster.h,v 1.30 2007/01/25 02:17:26 momjian Exp $
  *
  *-------------------------------------------------------------------------
  */
@@ -69,7 +69,7 @@
  * ----------
  */
 extern HeapTuple toast_insert_or_update(Relation rel,
-					   HeapTuple newtup, HeapTuple oldtup);
+					   HeapTuple newtup, HeapTuple oldtup, bool use_wal);
 
 /* ----------
  * toast_delete -

src/include/utils/rel.h

@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@
  * Portions Copyright (c) 1996-2007, PostgreSQL Global Development Group
  * Portions Copyright (c) 1994, Regents of the University of California
  *
- * $PostgreSQL: pgsql/src/include/utils/rel.h,v 1.95 2007/01/09 02:14:16 tgl Exp $
+ * $PostgreSQL: pgsql/src/include/utils/rel.h,v 1.96 2007/01/25 02:17:26 momjian Exp $
  *
  *-------------------------------------------------------------------------
  */
@@ -137,6 +137,7 @@ typedef struct RelationData
 	char		rd_indexvalid;	/* state of rd_indexlist: 0 = not valid, 1 =
 								 * valid, 2 = temporarily forced */
 	SubTransactionId rd_createSubid;	/* rel was created in current xact */
+	SubTransactionId rd_newRelfilenodeSubid;	/* rel had new relfilenode in current xact */
 
 	/*
 	 * rd_createSubid is the ID of the highest subtransaction the rel has