ipcclean(1)

IPCCLEAN(1)      PostgreSQL Server Applications       IPCCLEAN(1)

NAME

     ipcclean - remove shared memory and semaphores from a failed
     PostgreSQL server

SYNOPSIS

     ipcclean

DESCRIPTION

     ipcclean removes all shared memory  segments  and  semaphore
     sets  owned  by  the current user. It is intended to be used
     for  cleaning  up  after   a   crashed   PostgreSQL   server
     (postgres(1)).  Note  that immediately restarting the server
     will also clean up shared memory  and  semaphores,  so  this
     command is of little real utility.

     Only the database administrator should execute this  program
     as it can cause bizarre behavior (i.e., crashes) if run dur-
     ing multiuser execution. If this command is executed while a
     server  is  running,  the shared memory and semaphores allo-
     cated by that server  will  be  deleted,  which  would  have
     rather severe consequences for that server.

NOTES

     This script is a hack, but in the many years  since  it  was
     written,  no  one  has come up with an equally effective and
     portable solution.  Since  postgres  can  now  clean  up  by
     itself,  it  is unlikely that ipcclean will be improved upon
     in the future.

     The script makes assumptions about the output format of  the
     ipcs  utility which may not be true across different operat-
     ing systems.  Therefore, it may not work on your  particular
     OS. It's wise to look at the script before trying it.

Application          Last change: 2008-01-03                    1