Thread: index xyz is not a btree
We are getting the "index xyz is not a btree" error pretty frequently in our build system (in which we build several databases). This is with 8.0.1 on Solaris 9/intel. During a database build we create the database, import metadata, import some application data, then finally run a vacuum on it.
The error only happens intermittently, but every occurrence is consistent:
1) always the same index - "attribute_pkey" on our "attirbute" table - one created implicitly by a primary key constraint
2) the error happens during a vacuum command
From what I have found in the archives the consensus is that this error comes from a bad disk or a bad build of postgres, but I don't know what exactly I would have to screw up in configure to get a "bad build" of postgres (everything seems to be working fine with it, otherwise).
When this occurs we can generally just re-run the build, and it finishes fine, so maybe it is some kind of disk weirdness, but I have not seen this with any of our 7.4.5 builds (which may or may not mean anything....)
Any suggestions about where to look in the source code for clues or specific debugging I can turn on would be appreciated. Thanks!
- DAP
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David Parker Tazz Networks (401) 709-5130
"David Parker" <dparker@tazznetworks.com> writes:
> The error only happens intermittently, but every occurrence is
> consistent:
>
> 1) always the same index - "attribute_pkey" on our "attirbute" table
> - one created implicitly by a primary key constraint
> 2) the error happens during a vacuum command
Hmm ... that seems a bit too consistent for a hardware issue doesn't it?
Have you looked at the index file with pg_filedump, or even just od?
regards, tom lane
No, I haven't tried that - I wasn't aware of pg_filedump. What's tricky is that when the build detects a failure, it deletes the output directory (so we don't get left with a half-built db) so I'll have to fiddle with it.... I just downloaded pg_filedump from the redhat site, so I'll play around with it, and report back if/when I find anything. Thanks. - DAP >> 1) always the same index - "attribute_pkey" on our "attirbute" >> table >> - one created implicitly by a primary key constraint >> 2) the error happens during a vacuum command > >Hmm ... that seems a bit too consistent for a hardware issue >doesn't it? > >Have you looked at the index file with pg_filedump, or even just od? > > regards, tom lane >