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doc: improve wal_level docs for the 'minimal' level
Reported-by: David G. Johnston Discussion: https://postgr.es/m/CAKFQuwZ24UcfkoyLLSW3PMGQATomOcw1nuYFRuMev-NoOF+mYw@mail.gmail.com Author: David G. Johnston Backpatch-through: 14, partial to 13
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doc/src/sgml/config.sgml

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@@ -2764,9 +2764,10 @@ include_dir 'conf.d'
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levels. This parameter can only be set at server start.
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</para>
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<para>
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In <literal>minimal</literal> level, no information is logged for
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permanent relations for the remainder of a transaction that creates or
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rewrites them. This can make operations much faster (see
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The <literal>minimal</literal> level generates the least WAL
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volume. It logs no row information for permanent relations
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in transactions that create or
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rewrite them. This can make operations much faster (see
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<xref linkend="populate-pitr"/>). Operations that initiate this
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optimization include:
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<simplelist>
@@ -2778,19 +2779,20 @@ include_dir 'conf.d'
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<member><command>REINDEX</command></member>
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<member><command>TRUNCATE</command></member>
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</simplelist>
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But minimal WAL does not contain enough information to reconstruct the
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data from a base backup and the WAL logs, so <literal>replica</literal> or
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higher must be used to enable WAL archiving
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(<xref linkend="guc-archive-mode"/>) and streaming replication.
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However, minimal WAL does not contain sufficient information for
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point-in-time recovery, so <literal>replica</literal> or
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higher must be used to enable continuous archiving
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(<xref linkend="guc-archive-mode"/>) and streaming binary replication.
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In fact, the server will not even start in this mode if
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<varname>max_wal_senders</varname> is non-zero.
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Note that changing <varname>wal_level</varname> to
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<literal>minimal</literal> makes any base backups taken before
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unavailable for archive recovery and standby server, which may
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lead to data loss.
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<literal>minimal</literal> makes previous base backups unusable
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for point-in-time recovery and standby servers.
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</para>
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<para>
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In <literal>logical</literal> level, the same information is logged as
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with <literal>replica</literal>, plus information needed to allow
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extracting logical change sets from the WAL. Using a level of
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with <literal>replica</literal>, plus information needed to
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extract logical change sets from the WAL. Using a level of
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<literal>logical</literal> will increase the WAL volume, particularly if many
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tables are configured for <literal>REPLICA IDENTITY FULL</literal> and
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many <command>UPDATE</command> and <command>DELETE</command> statements are

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