[postgis-users] PostGIS on an old NAS drive or a new rendering machine

[Jerry Carter]

I don't have hard numbers, but I was able to get a factor of 100x in my queries by a combination of a processor upgrade, additional DRAM, and shifting to SSDs.  I attribute about 10-15x to the processor and another 3-5x from the SSD with about 2x from the DRAM, but as I upgraded everything at once, I can't provide any solid breakdown.  My task is different with more complex joins but the dataset is equivalent in size.

If you go with the first option, find out if upgrading the DRAM is an option.  Even 2 GB would be a significant improvement.  Get an SSD if there is any budget for such; the improvements in random access reads are very useful for database applications.

If you go with the second option, rendering is typically a background activity.  Find out if PostGIS/PostgreSQL/Middleware can be run at a higher priority.  Even then you may see some latency in practice as the associated memory needs to be run from swap.


On Feb 15, 2012, at 4:57 AM, James Stott wrote:

> I am being offered a choice at work to move my PostGIS to a new server.
> I am being offered two choices. I do not do particularly large queries
> on QGIS, and the database are mainly used within the business. Some of
> my tables are quite large (9,000,000 rows of polygon data) but there
> isn't too much in the way of complex joins or complex spatial queries.
> The machine will also have apache and probably GeoServer as well.
> 
> 1) Use an old NAS drive (about 4 or 5 years old). 
> 
> Windows Storage Server 2003 R2
> Intel Xeon CPU 5150 at 2.66GHz
> 1GB RAM
> 1TB HD
> 
> This machine would only be used for PostGIS and storing Raster files for
> access on the file server.
> 
> 2) Run PostGIS on a brand new rendering machine
> 
> Intel 3960x Extreme edition 6 core processor
> LGA2011 motherboard
> 16gb Quad Channel ram
> ATI FirePro V5900 2Gb
> 1.5TB 6Gb/s HD
> DVD/CD
> Windows 7 64bit
> 
> This machine will be also used to render 3D Max work, so I would be
> sharing this machine with others.
> 
> Can anyone comment on which of these would be better for me to use? I am
> concerned that whilst rendering is taking place on the render machine it
> will slow PostGIS down a lot. Is this the case?
> 
> Regards,
> 
> James
> 
> James Stott BSc (Hons) MSc | Senior Professional
> Nicholas Pearson Associates | 30 Brock Street | Bath | BA1 2LN
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