Restore archive_command documentation

petere · petere · commit ba50834551f9 · 2022-09-22T07:35:00.000-04:00
Commit 5ef1eef, which added archive_library, purged most mentions of archive_command from the documentation. This is inappropriate, since archive_command is still a feature in use and users will want to see information about it. This restores all the removed mentions and rephrases things so that archive_command and archive_library are presented as alternatives of each other. Reviewed-by: Nathan Bossart <nathandbossart@gmail.com> Discussion: https://www.postgresql.org/message-id/9366d634-a917-85a9-4991-b2a4859edaf9@enterprisedb.com
diff --git a/doc/src/sgml/backup.sgml b/doc/src/sgml/backup.sgml
@@ -593,7 +593,7 @@ tar -cf backup.tar /usr/local/pgsql/data
     provide the database administrator with flexibility,
     <productname>PostgreSQL</productname> tries not to make any assumptions about how
     the archiving will be done.  Instead, <productname>PostgreSQL</productname> lets
-    the administrator specify an archive library to be executed to copy a
+    the administrator specify a shell command or an archive library to be executed to copy a
     completed segment file to wherever it needs to go.  This could be as simple
     as a shell command that uses <literal>cp</literal>, or it could invoke a
     complex C function &mdash; it's all up to you.
@@ -603,13 +603,15 @@ tar -cf backup.tar /usr/local/pgsql/data
     To enable WAL archiving, set the <xref linkend="guc-wal-level"/>
     configuration parameter to <literal>replica</literal> or higher,
     <xref linkend="guc-archive-mode"/> to <literal>on</literal>,
-    and specify the library to use in the <xref
+    specify the shell command to use in the <xref
+    linkend="guc-archive-command"/> configuration parameter
+    or specify the library to use in the <xref
     linkend="guc-archive-library"/> configuration parameter.  In practice
     these settings will always be placed in the
     <filename>postgresql.conf</filename> file.
-    One simple way to archive is to set <varname>archive_library</varname> to
-    an empty string and to specify a shell command in
-    <xref linkend="guc-archive-command"/>.
+   </para>
+
+   <para>
     In <varname>archive_command</varname>,
     <literal>%p</literal> is replaced by the path name of the file to
     archive, while <literal>%f</literal> is replaced by only the file name.
@@ -634,17 +636,7 @@ test ! -f /mnt/server/archivedir/00000001000000A900000065 &amp;&amp; cp pg_wal/0
    </para>
 
    <para>
-    Another way to archive is to use a custom archive module as the
-    <varname>archive_library</varname>.  Since such modules are written in
-    <literal>C</literal>, creating your own may require considerably more effort
-    than writing a shell command.  However, archive modules can be more
-    performant than archiving via shell, and they will have access to many
-    useful server resources.  For more information about archive modules, see
-    <xref linkend="archive-modules"/>.
-   </para>
-
-   <para>
-    The archive library will be executed under the ownership of the same
+    The archive command will be executed under the ownership of the same
     user that the <productname>PostgreSQL</productname> server is running as.  Since
     the series of WAL files being archived contains effectively everything
     in your database, you will want to be sure that the archived data is
@@ -653,32 +645,36 @@ test ! -f /mnt/server/archivedir/00000001000000A900000065 &amp;&amp; cp pg_wal/0
    </para>
 
    <para>
-    It is important that the archive function return <literal>true</literal> if
-    and only if it succeeds.  If <literal>true</literal> is returned,
+    It is important that the archive command return zero exit status if and
+    only if it succeeds.  Upon getting a zero result,
     <productname>PostgreSQL</productname> will assume that the file has been
-    successfully archived, and will remove or recycle it.  However, a return
-    value of <literal>false</literal> tells
-    <productname>PostgreSQL</productname> that the file was not archived; it
-    will try again periodically until it succeeds.  If you are archiving via a
-    shell command, the appropriate return values can be achieved by returning
-    <literal>0</literal> if the command succeeds and a nonzero value if it
-    fails.
+    successfully archived, and will remove or recycle it.  However, a nonzero
+    status tells <productname>PostgreSQL</productname> that the file was not archived;
+    it will try again periodically until it succeeds.
+   </para>
+
+   <para>
+    Another way to archive is to use a custom archive module as the
+    <varname>archive_library</varname>.  Since such modules are written in
+    <literal>C</literal>, creating your own may require considerably more effort
+    than writing a shell command.  However, archive modules can be more
+    performant than archiving via shell, and they will have access to many
+    useful server resources.  For more information about archive modules, see
+    <xref linkend="archive-modules"/>.
    </para>
 
    <para>
-    If the archive function emits an <literal>ERROR</literal> or
-    <literal>FATAL</literal>, the archiver process aborts and gets restarted by
-    the postmaster.  If you are archiving via shell command,
-    <literal>FATAL</literal> is emitted if the command is terminated by a signal
-    (other than <systemitem>SIGTERM</systemitem>
-    that is used as part of a server shutdown)
-    or an error by the shell with an exit status greater than 125 (such as
-    command not found).  In such cases, the failure is not reported in
-    <xref linkend="pg-stat-archiver-view"/>.
+    When the archive command is terminated by a signal (other than
+    <systemitem>SIGTERM</systemitem> that is used as part of a server
+    shutdown) or an error by the shell with an exit status greater than
+    125 (such as command not found), or if the archive function emits an
+    <literal>ERROR</literal> or <literal>FATAL</literal>, the archiver process
+    aborts and gets restarted by the postmaster. In such cases, the failure is
+    not reported in <xref linkend="pg-stat-archiver-view"/>.
    </para>
 
    <para>
-    The archive library should generally be designed to refuse to overwrite
+    Archive commands and libraries should generally be designed to refuse to overwrite
     any pre-existing archive file.  This is an important safety feature to
     preserve the integrity of your archive in case of administrator error
     (such as sending the output of two different servers to the same archive
@@ -691,13 +687,13 @@ test ! -f /mnt/server/archivedir/00000001000000A900000065 &amp;&amp; cp pg_wal/0
     re-archive a WAL file that was previously archived.  For example, if the
     system crashes before the server makes a durable record of archival
     success, the server will attempt to archive the file again after
-    restarting (provided archiving is still enabled).  When an archive library
-    encounters a pre-existing file, it should return <literal>true</literal>
+    restarting (provided archiving is still enabled).  When an archive command or library
+    encounters a pre-existing file, it should return a zero status or <literal>true</literal>, respectively,
     if the WAL file has identical contents to the pre-existing archive and the
     pre-existing archive is fully persisted to storage.  If a pre-existing
     file contains different contents than the WAL file being archived, the
-    archive library <emphasis>must</emphasis> return
-    <literal>false</literal>.
+    archive command or library <emphasis>must</emphasis> return a nonzero status or
+    <literal>false</literal>, respectively.
    </para>
 
    <para>
@@ -713,7 +709,7 @@ test ! -f /mnt/server/archivedir/00000001000000A900000065 &amp;&amp; cp pg_wal/0
 
    <para>
     While designing your archiving setup, consider what will happen if
-    the archive library fails repeatedly because some aspect requires
+    the archive command or library fails repeatedly because some aspect requires
     operator intervention or the archive runs out of space. For example, this
     could occur if you write to tape without an autochanger; when the tape
     fills, nothing further can be archived until the tape is swapped.
@@ -728,7 +724,7 @@ test ! -f /mnt/server/archivedir/00000001000000A900000065 &amp;&amp; cp pg_wal/0
    </para>
 
    <para>
-    The speed of the archive library is unimportant as long as it can keep up
+    The speed of the archive command or library is unimportant as long as it can keep up
     with the average rate at which your server generates WAL data.  Normal
     operation continues even if the archiving process falls a little behind.
     If archiving falls significantly behind, this will increase the amount of
@@ -740,11 +736,11 @@ test ! -f /mnt/server/archivedir/00000001000000A900000065 &amp;&amp; cp pg_wal/0
    </para>
 
    <para>
-    In writing your archive library, you should assume that the file names to
+    In writing your archive command or library, you should assume that the file names to
     be archived can be up to 64 characters long and can contain any
     combination of ASCII letters, digits, and dots.  It is not necessary to
-    preserve the original relative path but it is necessary to preserve the file
-    name.
+    preserve the original relative path (<literal>%p</literal>) but it is necessary to
+    preserve the file name (<literal>%f</literal>).
    </para>
 
    <para>
@@ -761,7 +757,7 @@ test ! -f /mnt/server/archivedir/00000001000000A900000065 &amp;&amp; cp pg_wal/0
    </para>
 
    <para>
-    The archive function is only invoked on completed WAL segments.  Hence,
+    The archive command or function is only invoked on completed WAL segments.  Hence,
     if your server generates only little WAL traffic (or has slack periods
     where it does so), there could be a long delay between the completion
     of a transaction and its safe recording in archive storage.  To put
@@ -790,7 +786,7 @@ test ! -f /mnt/server/archivedir/00000001000000A900000065 &amp;&amp; cp pg_wal/0
     turned on during execution of one of these statements, WAL would not
     contain enough information for archive recovery.  (Crash recovery is
     unaffected.)  For this reason, <varname>wal_level</varname> can only be changed at
-    server start.  However, <varname>archive_library</varname> can be changed with a
+    server start.  However, <varname>archive_command</varname> and <varname>archive_library</varname> can be changed with a
     configuration file reload.  If you are archiving via shell and wish to
     temporarily stop archiving,
     one way to do it is to set <varname>archive_command</varname> to the empty
@@ -960,12 +956,12 @@ SELECT * FROM pg_backup_stop(wait_for_archive => true);
      On a standby, <varname>archive_mode</varname> must be <literal>always</literal> in order
      for <function>pg_backup_stop</function> to wait.
      Archiving of these files happens automatically since you have
-     already configured <varname>archive_library</varname> or
+     already configured <varname>archive_command</varname> or <varname>archive_library</varname> or
      <varname>archive_command</varname>.
      In most cases this happens quickly, but you are advised to monitor your
      archive system to ensure there are no delays.
      If the archive process has fallen behind because of failures of the
-     archive library or archive command, it will keep retrying
+     archive command or library, it will keep retrying
      until the archive succeeds and the backup is complete.
      If you wish to place a time limit on the execution of
      <function>pg_backup_stop</function>, set an appropriate
diff --git a/doc/src/sgml/config.sgml b/doc/src/sgml/config.sgml
@@ -3503,7 +3503,7 @@ include_dir 'conf.d'
         Maximum size to let the WAL grow during automatic
         checkpoints. This is a soft limit; WAL size can exceed
         <varname>max_wal_size</varname> under special circumstances, such as
-        heavy load, a failing <varname>archive_library</varname>, or a high
+        heavy load, a failing <varname>archive_command</varname> or <varname>archive_library</varname>, or a high
         <varname>wal_keep_size</varname> setting.
         If this value is specified without units, it is taken as megabytes.
         The default is 1 GB.
@@ -3552,6 +3552,7 @@ include_dir 'conf.d'
        <para>
         When <varname>archive_mode</varname> is enabled, completed WAL segments
         are sent to archive storage by setting
+        <xref linkend="guc-archive-command"/> or
         <xref linkend="guc-archive-library"/>. In addition to <literal>off</literal>,
         to disable, there are two modes: <literal>on</literal>, and
         <literal>always</literal>. During normal operation, there is no
@@ -3562,35 +3563,19 @@ include_dir 'conf.d'
         <xref linkend="continuous-archiving-in-standby"/> for details.
        </para>
        <para>
+        <varname>archive_mode</varname> is a separate setting from
+        <varname>archive_command</varname> and
+        <varname>archive_library</varname> so that
+        <varname>archive_command</varname> and
+        <varname>archive_library</varname> can be changed without leaving
+        archiving mode.
         This parameter can only be set at server start.
         <varname>archive_mode</varname> cannot be enabled when
         <varname>wal_level</varname> is set to <literal>minimal</literal>.
        </para>
       </listitem>
      </varlistentry>
 
-     <varlistentry id="guc-archive-library" xreflabel="archive_library">
-      <term><varname>archive_library</varname> (<type>string</type>)
-      <indexterm>
-       <primary><varname>archive_library</varname> configuration parameter</primary>
-      </indexterm>
-      </term>
-      <listitem>
-       <para>
-        The library to use for archiving completed WAL file segments.  If set to
-        an empty string (the default), archiving via shell is enabled, and
-        <xref linkend="guc-archive-command"/> is used.  Otherwise, the specified
-        shared library is used for archiving.  For more information, see
-        <xref linkend="backup-archiving-wal"/> and
-        <xref linkend="archive-modules"/>.
-       </para>
-       <para>
-        This parameter can only be set in the
-        <filename>postgresql.conf</filename> file or on the server command line.
-       </para>
-      </listitem>
-     </varlistentry>
-
      <varlistentry id="guc-archive-command" xreflabel="archive_command">
       <term><varname>archive_command</varname> (<type>string</type>)
       <indexterm>
@@ -3614,10 +3599,10 @@ include_dir 'conf.d'
         This parameter can only be set in the <filename>postgresql.conf</filename>
         file or on the server command line.  It is ignored unless
         <varname>archive_mode</varname> was enabled at server start and
-        <varname>archive_library</varname> specifies to archive via shell command.
+        <varname>archive_library</varname> is set to an empty string.
         If <varname>archive_command</varname> is an empty string (the default) while
-        <varname>archive_mode</varname> is enabled and <varname>archive_library</varname>
-        specifies archiving via shell, WAL archiving is temporarily
+        <varname>archive_mode</varname> is enabled (and <varname>archive_library</varname>
+        is set to an empty string), WAL archiving is temporarily
         disabled, but the server continues to accumulate WAL segment files in
         the expectation that a command will soon be provided.  Setting
         <varname>archive_command</varname> to a command that does nothing but
@@ -3629,6 +3614,28 @@ include_dir 'conf.d'
       </listitem>
      </varlistentry>
 
+     <varlistentry id="guc-archive-library" xreflabel="archive_library">
+      <term><varname>archive_library</varname> (<type>string</type>)
+      <indexterm>
+       <primary><varname>archive_library</varname> configuration parameter</primary>
+      </indexterm>
+      </term>
+      <listitem>
+       <para>
+        The library to use for archiving completed WAL file segments.  If set to
+        an empty string (the default), archiving via shell is enabled, and
+        <xref linkend="guc-archive-command"/> is used.  Otherwise, the specified
+        shared library is used for archiving.  For more information, see
+        <xref linkend="backup-archiving-wal"/> and
+        <xref linkend="archive-modules"/>.
+       </para>
+       <para>
+        This parameter can only be set in the
+        <filename>postgresql.conf</filename> file or on the server command line.
+       </para>
+      </listitem>
+     </varlistentry>
+
      <varlistentry id="guc-archive-timeout" xreflabel="archive_timeout">
       <term><varname>archive_timeout</varname> (<type>integer</type>)
       <indexterm>
@@ -3637,7 +3644,7 @@ include_dir 'conf.d'
       </term>
       <listitem>
        <para>
-        The <xref linkend="guc-archive-library"/> is only invoked for
+        The <xref linkend="guc-archive-command"/> or <xref linkend="guc-archive-library"/> is only invoked for
         completed WAL segments. Hence, if your server generates little WAL
         traffic (or has slack periods where it does so), there could be a
         long delay between the completion of a transaction and its safe
diff --git a/doc/src/sgml/high-availability.sgml b/doc/src/sgml/high-availability.sgml
@@ -935,7 +935,7 @@ primary_conninfo = 'host=192.168.1.50 port=5432 user=foo password=foopass'
     In lieu of using replication slots, it is possible to prevent the removal
     of old WAL segments using <xref linkend="guc-wal-keep-size"/>, or by
     storing the segments in an archive using
-    <xref linkend="guc-archive-library"/>.
+    <xref linkend="guc-archive-command"/> or <xref linkend="guc-archive-library"/>.
     However, these methods often result in retaining more WAL segments than
     required, whereas replication slots retain only the number of segments
     known to be needed.  On the other hand, replication slots can retain so
@@ -1386,10 +1386,10 @@ synchronous_standby_names = 'ANY 2 (s1, s2, s3)'
      to <literal>always</literal>, and the standby will call the archive
      command for every WAL segment it receives, whether it's by restoring
      from the archive or by streaming replication. The shared archive can
-     be handled similarly, but the <varname>archive_library</varname> must
+     be handled similarly, but the <varname>archive_command</varname> or <varname>archive_library</varname> must
      test if the file being archived exists already, and if the existing file
      has identical contents. This requires more care in the
-     <varname>archive_library</varname>, as it must
+     <varname>archive_command</varname> or <varname>archive_library</varname>, as it must
      be careful to not overwrite an existing file with different contents,
      but return success if the exactly same file is archived twice. And
      all that must be done free of race conditions, if two servers attempt
diff --git a/doc/src/sgml/ref/pg_receivewal.sgml b/doc/src/sgml/ref/pg_receivewal.sgml
@@ -40,7 +40,8 @@ PostgreSQL documentation
   <para>
    <application>pg_receivewal</application> streams the write-ahead
    log in real time as it's being generated on the server, and does not wait
-   for segments to complete like <xref linkend="guc-archive-library"/> does.
+   for segments to complete like <xref linkend="guc-archive-command"/> and
+   <xref linkend="guc-archive-library"/> do.
    For this reason, it is not necessary to set
    <xref linkend="guc-archive-timeout"/> when using
     <application>pg_receivewal</application>.
@@ -488,11 +489,13 @@ PostgreSQL documentation
 
   <para>
    When using <application>pg_receivewal</application> instead of
+   <xref linkend="guc-archive-command"/> or
    <xref linkend="guc-archive-library"/> as the main WAL backup method, it is
    strongly recommended to use replication slots.  Otherwise, the server is
    free to recycle or remove write-ahead log files before they are backed up,
    because it does not have any information, either
-   from <xref linkend="guc-archive-library"/> or the replication slots, about
+   from <xref linkend="guc-archive-command"/> or
+   <xref linkend="guc-archive-library"/> or the replication slots, about
    how far the WAL stream has been archived.  Note, however, that a
    replication slot will fill up the server's disk space if the receiver does
    not keep up with fetching the WAL data.
diff --git a/doc/src/sgml/wal.sgml b/doc/src/sgml/wal.sgml
