Applications Systems

DPA always shows 0 for the PostgreSQL metrics "Blocks read time" and "Blocks write time"

To enable DPA to collect data for the "Blocks read time" and "Blocks write time" metrics, you must turn on the track_io_timing parameter.

First published date

4/3/2020 4:45 AM

Last published date

6/4/2020 5:36 PM

Overview

When you are monitoring a PostgreSQL database instance, DPA always displays a value of 0 for the "Blocks read time" and "Blocks write time" metrics. 

Product section

Database Performance Analyzer

Cause

If the track_io_timing parameter is off, PostgreSQL does not collect the data that DPA needs to calculate these metric values.

  • In on-premises deployments, this parameter is off by default.
  • In Amazon RDS and Azure deployments, the parameter is on by default.

Resolution

To determine if the track_io_timing parameter is turned on, run the following query on the monitored PostgreSQL instance:

show track_io_timing on;

To turn this parameter on in an on-premises deployment:

  1. Open the postgresql.conf file in a text editor. (The postgresql.conf file is normally stored in the data directory.)
  2. Change the value of the following entry:
    track_io_timing = on
  3. Restart the PostgreSQL server.
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