Jon Brisbin wrote:[color=blue]
> We're trying to figure out how we can implement a reasonably simple cluster
> of postgres servers on a private network at our store locations. The idea
> is to have a group of 2-6 PCs each be able to share data in a replicated
> manner. Having a separate database server is not an option due to the
> immense cost and logistics (we have over 800 stores), so we need to find a
> way to mirror or replicate data between all the nodes currently up and on
> the network. Some nodes might be not always be up, so we need a failover
> system. I'm testing to see if the dbmirror that comes with Postgres will
> work, but I haven't got it completely figured out yet.[/color]
I'm talking well out of my experience here, having never tried to set up
800 sets of desktop PCs as replicated shared DB servers, but I can't
believe it's more expensive to put servers in. In my experience, even a
cheap white-box dedicated server is more reliable than a PC being used
for desktop apps.
Assume each user kicks the power cable out of their PC once a year, that
means you'll be dealing with several failovers a day on average.
Assuming you can't get a server for each store (that'd be a minimum of
£400 * 800 = £320,000 in the UK), is there any networking between them?
--
Richard Huxton
Archonet Ltd
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Clustering, mirroriing, or replication? 
