WAL segment has already been removed error when running database backup on CloudForms

Solution In Progress - Updated -

Environment

  • CloudForms 5.0

Issue

  • Getting requested WAL segment 00000001000000140000004F has already been removed when running pg_basebackup on CloudForms.

Resolution

  • Adjust the wal_keep_segments setting in the postgresql.conf file.

Instructions:

  • SSL into your DB server CloudForms appliance
  • Set wal_keep_segments to (<pg-volume-free-space>/4)/16MB
  • Run: psql -c "ALTER SYSTEM SET wal_keep_segments = '<DESIRED_NUMBER>'; -d vmdb_production ##This is going to make the change
  • Run: psql -c "SELECT pg_reload_conf();" -d vmdb_production ## To reload the conf file
  • Run: psql -c "show wal_keep_segments;" -d vmdb_production ## Show what the current setting is (should show )

Please note that when calculating the that you want to keep it as low as possible, as this will take up space on the database

Root Cause

  • The server recycles old WAL segments before the backup can finish.
  • Depending on how long the pg_basebackup is taking it is common knowledge that the segments are generated about every 5 minutes, so if the backup takes an hour, you need at least 12 segments stored.

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