[postgis-users] Hardware requirements for a server

[Rémi Cura]

Hey,
nice project =)

If you use something like qgis, each user can easily have a dozen
connection open to server, so with 10 users, you may need to use something
like pgpool.

About hardware dimension, it is more  a question for postgres list.

You may stress that your usage is probably mostly read, and that usage will
be spread on a lot of table.
Your storage being external, you may need some good network.
You didn't talk about backup, it is essential (raid, replication, backup
script?).

In my experience (research), it is totally unpractical to use a ms based
server, because all good stuff need to be compiled (sfcgal, geos, gdal,
postgis, plr ...), and it is much more easier on linux.
I solved it by using a virtualbox with ubuntu.

We used a NAS server to store postgres files, although it is was not
recommended. It worked very well over the gigabit ethernet.

About pl/r or pl/python, I used both (tough much more plpython).
For my settings the best is small function in pl language (by small I mean
not much memory and not too long (like max few minutes)) , big function
(like controlling your whole process, 60 hour computing, etc) in R or
python with postgres connector.
Or , another rule of thumb : if it fit naturally into a transaction, in pl
language, if it is bigger, python or R.

Having a dedicated R server would enable to use something like Shiny (R web
applet).

Cheers,
Rémi-C



2015-02-10 5:07 GMT+01:00 Mathieu Basille <basille.web at ase-research.org>:

> Dear PostGIS users,
>
> I am currently planning to set up a PostGIS instance for my lab. Turns out
> I believe this would be useful for the whole center, so that I'm now
> considering setting up a PostGIS server for everyone—if interest is shared
> of course. At the moment, I am however struggling with what would be
> required in terms of hardware, and of course, the cost will depend on
> that—at the end of the day, it's really a matter of money well spent. I
> have then a series of questions/remarks, and I would welcome any feedback
> from people with existing experience on setting up a multi-user PostGIS
> server.
>
> * My own experience is rather limited: I used PostGIS quite a bit, but
> only on a desktop, with 2 users. The desktop was quite good (quad-core
> Xeon, 12 Go RAM, 500 GB hd), running Debian, and we never had any
> performance issue (although some queries were rather long, but still
> acceptable).
>
> * The use case I'm envisioning would be (at least in the foreseeable
> future):
> - About 10 faculty users (which means potentially a little bit more
> students using it); I would have hard time considering more than 4
> concurrent users;
> - Data would primarily involve a lot (hundreds/thousands) of high
> resolution (spatial and temporal) raster and vector maps, possibly over
> large areas (Florida / USA / continental), as well as potentially millions
> of GPS records (animals individually monitored);
> - Queries will primarily involve retrieving points/maps over given
> areas/time, as well as intersecting points over environmental layers; other
> use cases will involve working with steps, i.e. the straight line segment
> connecting two successive locations, and intersecting them with
> environmental layers;
>
> * I couldn't find comprehensive or detailed guidelines on-line about
> hardware, but from what I could see, it seems that memory wouldn't be the
> main issue, but the number of cores would be (one core per database
> connection if I'm not mistaken). At the same time, we want to make sure
> that the experience is smooth for everyone...
>
> * Is there a difference in terms of performance and usability between a
> Linux-based and a MS-based server? My center is unfortunately MS-centered,
> and existing equipment runs with MS systems... It would thus be easier for
> them to set up a MS-based server.
>
> * Does anyone have worked with a server running the DB engine, while the
> DB itself was stored on another box/server? That would likely be the case
> here since we already have a dedicated box for file storage. Along these
> lines, does the system of the file storage box matter (Linux vs. MS)?
>
> * We may also use the server as a workstation to streamline PostGIS
> processing with further R analyses/modeling (or even use R from within the
> database using PL/R). Again, does anyone have experience doing it? Is a
> single workstation the recommended way to work with such workflow? Or would
> it be better (but more costly) to have one server dedicated to PostGIS and
> another one, with different specs, dedicated to analyses (R)?
>
> I realize my questions and comments may be a confusing, likely because of
> the lack of experience about these issues on my side. I really welcome any
> feedback of people working with PostGIS servers in a small unit, or any
> similar setting that could be informative!
>
> In advance, thank you very much!
>
> Sincerely,
> Mathieu Basille.
>
>
> --
>
> ~$ whoami
> Mathieu Basille
> http://ase-research.org/basille
>
> ~$ locate --details
> University of Florida \\
> Fort Lauderdale Research and Education Center
> (+1) 954-577-6314
>
> ~$ fortune
> « Le tout est de tout dire, et je manque de mots
> Et je manque de temps, et je manque d'audace. »
>  -- Paul Éluard
>
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