[Bug 221009] Re: Firefox keeps forcing disk to spin up when browsing because its sqlite storage calls fsync() for every recorded entry

[Marius Gedminas]

Firefox 3.0b5 in hardy issues these fsyncs so often it starts blocking
on them for seconds, becoming completely nonresponsive in the UI with
compiz making the whole window grey).  It's not just a power-saving
issue, it's a painful usability problem.

Here's a short excerpt from strace taken while I was typing this
comment:

$ strace -p `pidof firefox` -e fsync -tT
Process 7187 attached - interrupt to quit
03:37:04 fsync(49)                      = 0 <7.587739>
03:37:11 fsync(49)                      = 0 <0.273196>
03:37:12 fsync(32)                      = 0 <0.229370>
03:37:33 fsync(49)                      = 0 <12.852950>
03:37:45 fsync(49)                      = 0 <0.184390>
03:37:46 fsync(32)                      = 0 <0.220538>
03:38:06 fsync(49)                      = 0 <5.217726>
03:38:11 fsync(49)                      = 0 <5.487585>
03:38:17 fsync(32)                      = 0 <0.464993>
03:38:37 fsync(49)                      = 0 <3.724943>
03:38:41 fsync(49)                      = 0 <5.732189>
03:38:47 fsync(32)                      = 0 <6.252349>
03:39:14 fsync(49)                      = 0 <8.729353>
03:39:22 fsync(49)                      = 0 <0.930190>
03:39:23 fsync(32)                      = 0 <0.173965>

As you can see, fsync calls block Firefox for several seconds, a few
times every minute.  The file handles point to places.sqlite

$ lsof -p `pidof firefox`
...
firefox 7187   mg   32uw  REG        8,3  8380416  8814778 /home/mg/.mozilla/firefox/default.a83/places.sqlite
...
firefox 7187   mg   49u   REG        8,3        0  1884617 /home/mg/.mozilla/firefox/default.a83/places.sqlite-journal

Note that firefox 3.0b4 (at least the one in gutsy-backports) did not
have this problem, or if it did, it wasn't as noticeable.


** Also affects: firefox via
   https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=421482
   Importance: Unknown
       Status: Unknown

-- 
Firefox keeps forcing disk to spin up when browsing because its sqlite storage calls fsync() for every recorded entry
https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/221009
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