Make large sequential scans and VACUUMs work in a limited-size "ring" of

buffers, rather than blowing out the whole shared-buffer arena.  Aside from
avoiding cache spoliation, this fixes the problem that VACUUM formerly tended
to cause a WAL flush for every page it modified, because we had it hacked to
use only a single buffer.  Those flushes will now occur only once per
ring-ful.  The exact ring size, and the threshold for seqscans to switch into
the ring usage pattern, remain under debate; but the infrastructure seems
done.  The key bit of infrastructure is a new optional BufferAccessStrategy
object that can be passed to ReadBuffer operations; this replaces the former
StrategyHintVacuum API.

This patch also changes the buffer usage-count methodology a bit: we now
advance usage_count when first pinning a buffer, rather than when last
unpinning it.  To preserve the behavior that a buffer's lifetime starts to
decrease when it's released, the clock sweep code is modified to not decrement
usage_count of pinned buffers.

Work not done in this commit: teach GiST and GIN indexes to use the vacuum
BufferAccessStrategy for vacuum-driven fetches.

Original patch by Simon, reworked by Heikki and again by Tom.

24 files changed, 723 insertions, 263 deletions

diff --git a/src/backend/access/hash/hash.c b/src/backend/access/hash/hash.c
index 3d9b8064fc1..57c54224719 100644
--- a/src/backend/access/hash/hash.c
+++ b/src/backend/access/hash/hash.c
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@
  *
  *
  * IDENTIFICATION
- *	  $PostgreSQL: pgsql/src/backend/access/hash/hash.c,v 1.94 2007/05/03 16:45:58 tgl Exp $
+ *	  $PostgreSQL: pgsql/src/backend/access/hash/hash.c,v 1.95 2007/05/30 20:11:51 tgl Exp $
  *
  * NOTES
  *	  This file contains only the public interface routines.
@@ -547,8 +547,9 @@ loop_top:
 
 			vacuum_delay_point();
 
-			buf = _hash_getbuf(rel, blkno, HASH_WRITE,
-							   LH_BUCKET_PAGE | LH_OVERFLOW_PAGE);
+			buf = _hash_getbuf_with_strategy(rel, blkno, HASH_WRITE,
+											 LH_BUCKET_PAGE | LH_OVERFLOW_PAGE,
+											 info->strategy);
 			page = BufferGetPage(buf);
 			opaque = (HashPageOpaque) PageGetSpecialPointer(page);
 			Assert(opaque->hasho_bucket == cur_bucket);
@@ -596,7 +597,8 @@ loop_top:
 
 		/* If we deleted anything, try to compact free space */
 		if (bucket_dirty)
-			_hash_squeezebucket(rel, cur_bucket, bucket_blkno);
+			_hash_squeezebucket(rel, cur_bucket, bucket_blkno,
+								info->strategy);
 
 		/* Release bucket lock */
 		_hash_droplock(rel, bucket_blkno, HASH_EXCLUSIVE);
diff --git a/src/backend/access/hash/hashovfl.c b/src/backend/access/hash/hashovfl.c
index 1f71f18b7c6..889bbcdb1a9 100644
--- a/src/backend/access/hash/hashovfl.c
+++ b/src/backend/access/hash/hashovfl.c
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@
  *
  *
  * IDENTIFICATION
- *	  $PostgreSQL: pgsql/src/backend/access/hash/hashovfl.c,v 1.57 2007/05/03 16:45:58 tgl Exp $
+ *	  $PostgreSQL: pgsql/src/backend/access/hash/hashovfl.c,v 1.58 2007/05/30 20:11:51 tgl Exp $
  *
  * NOTES
  *	  Overflow pages look like ordinary relation pages.
@@ -362,6 +362,9 @@ _hash_firstfreebit(uint32 map)
  *	Remove this overflow page from its bucket's chain, and mark the page as
  *	free.  On entry, ovflbuf is write-locked; it is released before exiting.
  *
+ *	Since this function is invoked in VACUUM, we provide an access strategy
+ *	parameter that controls fetches of the bucket pages.
+ *
  *	Returns the block number of the page that followed the given page
  *	in the bucket, or InvalidBlockNumber if no following page.
  *
@@ -370,7 +373,8 @@ _hash_firstfreebit(uint32 map)
  *	on the bucket, too.
  */
 BlockNumber
-_hash_freeovflpage(Relation rel, Buffer ovflbuf)
+_hash_freeovflpage(Relation rel, Buffer ovflbuf,
+				   BufferAccessStrategy bstrategy)
 {
 	HashMetaPage metap;
 	Buffer		metabuf;
@@ -413,8 +417,11 @@ _hash_freeovflpage(Relation rel, Buffer ovflbuf)
 	 */
 	if (BlockNumberIsValid(prevblkno))
 	{
-		Buffer		prevbuf = _hash_getbuf(rel, prevblkno, HASH_WRITE,
-										   LH_BUCKET_PAGE | LH_OVERFLOW_PAGE);
+		Buffer		prevbuf = _hash_getbuf_with_strategy(rel,
+														 prevblkno,
+														 HASH_WRITE,
+														 LH_BUCKET_PAGE | LH_OVERFLOW_PAGE,
+														 bstrategy);
 		Page		prevpage = BufferGetPage(prevbuf);
 		HashPageOpaque prevopaque = (HashPageOpaque) PageGetSpecialPointer(prevpage);
 
@@ -424,8 +431,11 @@ _hash_freeovflpage(Relation rel, Buffer ovflbuf)
 	}
 	if (BlockNumberIsValid(nextblkno))
 	{
-		Buffer		nextbuf = _hash_getbuf(rel, nextblkno, HASH_WRITE,
-										   LH_OVERFLOW_PAGE);
+		Buffer		nextbuf = _hash_getbuf_with_strategy(rel,
+														 nextblkno,
+														 HASH_WRITE,
+														 LH_OVERFLOW_PAGE,
+														 bstrategy);
 		Page		nextpage = BufferGetPage(nextbuf);
 		HashPageOpaque nextopaque = (HashPageOpaque) PageGetSpecialPointer(nextpage);
 
@@ -434,6 +444,8 @@ _hash_freeovflpage(Relation rel, Buffer ovflbuf)
 		_hash_wrtbuf(rel, nextbuf);
 	}
 
+	/* Note: bstrategy is intentionally not used for metapage and bitmap */
+
 	/* Read the metapage so we can determine which bitmap page to use */
 	metabuf = _hash_getbuf(rel, HASH_METAPAGE, HASH_READ, LH_META_PAGE);
 	metap = (HashMetaPage) BufferGetPage(metabuf);
@@ -558,11 +570,15 @@ _hash_initbitmap(Relation rel, HashMetaPage metap, BlockNumber blkno)
  *
  *	Caller must hold exclusive lock on the target bucket.  This allows
  *	us to safely lock multiple pages in the bucket.
+ *
+ *	Since this function is invoked in VACUUM, we provide an access strategy
+ *	parameter that controls fetches of the bucket pages.
  */
 void
 _hash_squeezebucket(Relation rel,
 					Bucket bucket,
-					BlockNumber bucket_blkno)
+					BlockNumber bucket_blkno,
+					BufferAccessStrategy bstrategy)
 {
 	Buffer		wbuf;
 	Buffer		rbuf = 0;
@@ -581,7 +597,11 @@ _hash_squeezebucket(Relation rel,
 	 * start squeezing into the base bucket page.
 	 */
 	wblkno = bucket_blkno;
-	wbuf = _hash_getbuf(rel, wblkno, HASH_WRITE, LH_BUCKET_PAGE);
+	wbuf = _hash_getbuf_with_strategy(rel,
+									  wblkno,
+									  HASH_WRITE,
+									  LH_BUCKET_PAGE,
+									  bstrategy);
 	wpage = BufferGetPage(wbuf);
 	wopaque = (HashPageOpaque) PageGetSpecialPointer(wpage);
 
@@ -595,8 +615,10 @@ _hash_squeezebucket(Relation rel,
 	}
 
 	/*
-	 * find the last page in the bucket chain by starting at the base bucket
-	 * page and working forward.
+	 * Find the last page in the bucket chain by starting at the base bucket
+	 * page and working forward.  Note: we assume that a hash bucket chain is
+	 * usually smaller than the buffer ring being used by VACUUM, else using
+	 * the access strategy here would be counterproductive.
 	 */
 	ropaque = wopaque;
 	do
@@ -604,7 +626,11 @@ _hash_squeezebucket(Relation rel,
 		rblkno = ropaque->hasho_nextblkno;
 		if (ropaque != wopaque)
 			_hash_relbuf(rel, rbuf);
-		rbuf = _hash_getbuf(rel, rblkno, HASH_WRITE, LH_OVERFLOW_PAGE);
+		rbuf = _hash_getbuf_with_strategy(rel,
+										  rblkno,
+										  HASH_WRITE,
+										  LH_OVERFLOW_PAGE,
+										  bstrategy);
 		rpage = BufferGetPage(rbuf);
 		ropaque = (HashPageOpaque) PageGetSpecialPointer(rpage);
 		Assert(ropaque->hasho_bucket == bucket);
@@ -644,7 +670,11 @@ _hash_squeezebucket(Relation rel,
 					return;
 				}
 
-				wbuf = _hash_getbuf(rel, wblkno, HASH_WRITE, LH_OVERFLOW_PAGE);
+				wbuf = _hash_getbuf_with_strategy(rel,
+												  wblkno,
+												  HASH_WRITE,
+												  LH_OVERFLOW_PAGE,
+												  bstrategy);
 				wpage = BufferGetPage(wbuf);
 				wopaque = (HashPageOpaque) PageGetSpecialPointer(wpage);
 				Assert(wopaque->hasho_bucket == bucket);
@@ -688,15 +718,19 @@ _hash_squeezebucket(Relation rel,
 				/* yes, so release wbuf lock first */
 				_hash_wrtbuf(rel, wbuf);
 				/* free this overflow page (releases rbuf) */
-				_hash_freeovflpage(rel, rbuf);
+				_hash_freeovflpage(rel, rbuf, bstrategy);
 				/* done */
 				return;
 			}
 
 			/* free this overflow page, then get the previous one */
-			_hash_freeovflpage(rel, rbuf);
+			_hash_freeovflpage(rel, rbuf, bstrategy);
 
-			rbuf = _hash_getbuf(rel, rblkno, HASH_WRITE, LH_OVERFLOW_PAGE);
+			rbuf = _hash_getbuf_with_strategy(rel,
+											  rblkno,
+											  HASH_WRITE,
+											  LH_OVERFLOW_PAGE,
+											  bstrategy);
 			rpage = BufferGetPage(rbuf);
 			ropaque = (HashPageOpaque) PageGetSpecialPointer(rpage);
 			Assert(ropaque->hasho_bucket == bucket);
diff --git a/src/backend/access/hash/hashpage.c b/src/backend/access/hash/hashpage.c
index a27d83d4fff..29d861efb86 100644
--- a/src/backend/access/hash/hashpage.c
+++ b/src/backend/access/hash/hashpage.c
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@
  *
  *
  * IDENTIFICATION
- *	  $PostgreSQL: pgsql/src/backend/access/hash/hashpage.c,v 1.67 2007/05/03 16:45:58 tgl Exp $
+ *	  $PostgreSQL: pgsql/src/backend/access/hash/hashpage.c,v 1.68 2007/05/30 20:11:51 tgl Exp $
  *
  * NOTES
  *	  Postgres hash pages look like ordinary relation pages.  The opaque
@@ -215,6 +215,34 @@ _hash_getnewbuf(Relation rel, BlockNumber blkno)
 }
 
 /*
+ *	_hash_getbuf_with_strategy() -- Get a buffer with nondefault strategy.
+ *
+ *		This is identical to _hash_getbuf() but also allows a buffer access
+ *		strategy to be specified.  We use this for VACUUM operations.
+ */
+Buffer
+_hash_getbuf_with_strategy(Relation rel, BlockNumber blkno,
+						   int access, int flags,
+						   BufferAccessStrategy bstrategy)
+{
+	Buffer		buf;
+
+	if (blkno == P_NEW)
+		elog(ERROR, "hash AM does not use P_NEW");
+
+	buf = ReadBufferWithStrategy(rel, blkno, bstrategy);
+
+	if (access != HASH_NOLOCK)
+		LockBuffer(buf, access);
+
+	/* ref count and lock type are correct */
+
+	_hash_checkpage(rel, buf, flags);
+
+	return buf;
+}
+
+/*
  *	_hash_relbuf() -- release a locked buffer.
  *
  * Lock and pin (refcount) are both dropped.
@@ -840,5 +868,5 @@ _hash_splitbucket(Relation rel,
 	_hash_wrtbuf(rel, obuf);
 	_hash_wrtbuf(rel, nbuf);
 
-	_hash_squeezebucket(rel, obucket, start_oblkno);
+	_hash_squeezebucket(rel, obucket, start_oblkno, NULL);
 }
diff --git a/src/backend/access/heap/heapam.c b/src/backend/access/heap/heapam.c
index 9edeaff1306..0b20e5e9a8d 100644
--- a/src/backend/access/heap/heapam.c
+++ b/src/backend/access/heap/heapam.c
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@
  *
  *
  * IDENTIFICATION
- *	  $PostgreSQL: pgsql/src/backend/access/heap/heapam.c,v 1.233 2007/05/27 03:50:38 tgl Exp $
+ *	  $PostgreSQL: pgsql/src/backend/access/heap/heapam.c,v 1.234 2007/05/30 20:11:53 tgl Exp $
  *
  *
  * INTERFACE ROUTINES
@@ -83,6 +83,24 @@ initscan(HeapScanDesc scan, ScanKey key)
 	 */
 	scan->rs_nblocks = RelationGetNumberOfBlocks(scan->rs_rd);
 
+	/*
+	 * If the table is large relative to NBuffers, use a bulk-read access
+	 * strategy, else use the default random-access strategy.  During a
+	 * rescan, don't make a new strategy object if we don't have to.
+	 */
+	if (scan->rs_nblocks > NBuffers / 4 &&
+		!scan->rs_rd->rd_istemp)
+	{
+		if (scan->rs_strategy == NULL)
+			scan->rs_strategy = GetAccessStrategy(BAS_BULKREAD);
+	}
+	else
+	{
+		if (scan->rs_strategy != NULL)
+			FreeAccessStrategy(scan->rs_strategy);
+		scan->rs_strategy = NULL;
+	}
+
 	scan->rs_inited = false;
 	scan->rs_ctup.t_data = NULL;
 	ItemPointerSetInvalid(&scan->rs_ctup.t_self);
@@ -123,9 +141,17 @@ heapgetpage(HeapScanDesc scan, BlockNumber page)
 
 	Assert(page < scan->rs_nblocks);
 
-	scan->rs_cbuf = ReleaseAndReadBuffer(scan->rs_cbuf,
-										 scan->rs_rd,
-										 page);
+	/* release previous scan buffer, if any */
+	if (BufferIsValid(scan->rs_cbuf))
+	{
+		ReleaseBuffer(scan->rs_cbuf);
+		scan->rs_cbuf = InvalidBuffer;
+	}
+
+	/* read page using selected strategy */
+	scan->rs_cbuf = ReadBufferWithStrategy(scan->rs_rd,
+										   page,
+										   scan->rs_strategy);
 	scan->rs_cblock = page;
 
 	if (!scan->rs_pageatatime)
@@ -938,6 +964,7 @@ heap_beginscan(Relation relation, Snapshot snapshot,
 	scan->rs_rd = relation;
 	scan->rs_snapshot = snapshot;
 	scan->rs_nkeys = nkeys;
+	scan->rs_strategy = NULL;	/* set in initscan */
 
 	/*
 	 * we can use page-at-a-time mode if it's an MVCC-safe snapshot
@@ -1007,6 +1034,9 @@ heap_endscan(HeapScanDesc scan)
 	if (scan->rs_key)
 		pfree(scan->rs_key);
 
+	if (scan->rs_strategy != NULL)
+		FreeAccessStrategy(scan->rs_strategy);
+
 	pfree(scan);
 }
 
diff --git a/src/backend/access/nbtree/nbtree.c b/src/backend/access/nbtree/nbtree.c
index 87f84855055..a4ba3d3cdf4 100644
--- a/src/backend/access/nbtree/nbtree.c
+++ b/src/backend/access/nbtree/nbtree.c
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@
  * Portions Copyright (c) 1994, Regents of the University of California
  *
  * IDENTIFICATION
- *	  $PostgreSQL: pgsql/src/backend/access/nbtree/nbtree.c,v 1.154 2007/01/05 22:19:23 momjian Exp $
+ *	  $PostgreSQL: pgsql/src/backend/access/nbtree/nbtree.c,v 1.155 2007/05/30 20:11:53 tgl Exp $
  *
  *-------------------------------------------------------------------------
  */
@@ -786,9 +786,10 @@ restart:
 	/*
 	 * We can't use _bt_getbuf() here because it always applies
 	 * _bt_checkpage(), which will barf on an all-zero page. We want to
-	 * recycle all-zero pages, not fail.
+	 * recycle all-zero pages, not fail.  Also, we want to use a nondefault
+	 * buffer access strategy.
 	 */
-	buf = ReadBuffer(rel, blkno);
+	buf = ReadBufferWithStrategy(rel, blkno, info->strategy);
 	LockBuffer(buf, BT_READ);
 	page = BufferGetPage(buf);
 	opaque = (BTPageOpaque) PageGetSpecialPointer(page);
diff --git a/src/backend/access/transam/xlog.c b/src/backend/access/transam/xlog.c
index 3dc00499bfb..4ca4aa754c6 100644
--- a/src/backend/access/transam/xlog.c
+++ b/src/backend/access/transam/xlog.c
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@
  * Portions Copyright (c) 1996-2007, PostgreSQL Global Development Group
  * Portions Copyright (c) 1994, Regents of the University of California
  *
- * $PostgreSQL: pgsql/src/backend/access/transam/xlog.c,v 1.269 2007/05/20 21:08:19 tgl Exp $
+ * $PostgreSQL: pgsql/src/backend/access/transam/xlog.c,v 1.270 2007/05/30 20:11:55 tgl Exp $
  *
  *-------------------------------------------------------------------------
  */
@@ -1800,6 +1800,36 @@ XLogFlush(XLogRecPtr record)
 }
 
 /*
+ * Test whether XLOG data has been flushed up to (at least) the given position.
+ *
+ * Returns true if a flush is still needed.  (It may be that someone else
+ * is already in process of flushing that far, however.)
+ */
+bool
+XLogNeedsFlush(XLogRecPtr record)
+{
+	/* Quick exit if already known flushed */
+	if (XLByteLE(record, LogwrtResult.Flush))
+		return false;
+
+	/* read LogwrtResult and update local state */
+	{
+		/* use volatile pointer to prevent code rearrangement */
+		volatile XLogCtlData *xlogctl = XLogCtl;
+
+		SpinLockAcquire(&xlogctl->info_lck);
+		LogwrtResult = xlogctl->LogwrtResult;
+		SpinLockRelease(&xlogctl->info_lck);
+	}
+
+	/* check again */
+	if (XLByteLE(record, LogwrtResult.Flush))
+		return false;
+
+	return true;
+}
+
+/*
  * Create a new XLOG file segment, or open a pre-existing one.
  *
  * log, seg: identify segment to be created/opened.
diff --git a/src/backend/catalog/index.c b/src/backend/catalog/index.c
index bd3ae31b076..9aa58e35f9a 100644
--- a/src/backend/catalog/index.c
+++ b/src/backend/catalog/index.c
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@
  *
  *
  * IDENTIFICATION
- *	  $PostgreSQL: pgsql/src/backend/catalog/index.c,v 1.283 2007/05/16 17:28:20 alvherre Exp $
+ *	  $PostgreSQL: pgsql/src/backend/catalog/index.c,v 1.284 2007/05/30 20:11:55 tgl Exp $
  *
  *
  * INTERFACE ROUTINES
@@ -1658,6 +1658,7 @@ validate_index(Oid heapId, Oid indexId, Snapshot snapshot)
 	ivinfo.vacuum_full = false;
 	ivinfo.message_level = DEBUG2;
 	ivinfo.num_heap_tuples = -1;
+	ivinfo.strategy = NULL;
 
 	state.tuplesort = tuplesort_begin_datum(TIDOID,
 											TIDLessOperator, false,
diff --git a/src/backend/commands/analyze.c b/src/backend/commands/analyze.c
index 2754a6db6a2..d77aec2dd74 100644
--- a/src/backend/commands/analyze.c
+++ b/src/backend/commands/analyze.c
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@
  *
  *
  * IDENTIFICATION
- *	  $PostgreSQL: pgsql/src/backend/commands/analyze.c,v 1.107 2007/04/30 03:23:48 tgl Exp $
+ *	  $PostgreSQL: pgsql/src/backend/commands/analyze.c,v 1.108 2007/05/30 20:11:56 tgl Exp $
  *
  *-------------------------------------------------------------------------
  */
@@ -63,10 +63,13 @@ typedef struct AnlIndexData
 /* Default statistics target (GUC parameter) */
 int			default_statistics_target = 10;
 
+/* A few variables that don't seem worth passing around as parameters */
 static int	elevel = -1;
 
 static MemoryContext anl_context = NULL;
 
+static BufferAccessStrategy vac_strategy;
+
 
 static void BlockSampler_Init(BlockSampler bs, BlockNumber nblocks,
 				  int samplesize);
@@ -94,7 +97,8 @@ static bool std_typanalyze(VacAttrStats *stats);
  *	analyze_rel() -- analyze one relation
  */
 void
-analyze_rel(Oid relid, VacuumStmt *vacstmt)
+analyze_rel(Oid relid, VacuumStmt *vacstmt,
+			BufferAccessStrategy bstrategy)
 {
 	Relation	onerel;
 	int			attr_cnt,
@@ -120,6 +124,8 @@ analyze_rel(Oid relid, VacuumStmt *vacstmt)
 	else
 		elevel = DEBUG2;
 
+	vac_strategy = bstrategy;
+
 	/*
 	 * Use the current context for storing analysis info.  vacuum.c ensures
 	 * that this context will be cleared when I return, thus releasing the
@@ -845,7 +851,7 @@ acquire_sample_rows(Relation onerel, HeapTuple *rows, int targrows,
 		 * looking at it.  We don't maintain a lock on the page, so tuples
 		 * could get added to it, but we ignore such tuples.
 		 */
-		targbuffer = ReadBuffer(onerel, targblock);
+		targbuffer = ReadBufferWithStrategy(onerel, targblock, vac_strategy);
 		LockBuffer(targbuffer, BUFFER_LOCK_SHARE);
 		targpage = BufferGetPage(targbuffer);
 		maxoffset = PageGetMaxOffsetNumber(targpage);
diff --git a/src/backend/commands/vacuum.c b/src/backend/commands/vacuum.c
index 93885579cbb..cf4c3414129 100644
--- a/src/backend/commands/vacuum.c
+++ b/src/backend/commands/vacuum.c
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@
  *
  *
  * IDENTIFICATION
- *	  $PostgreSQL: pgsql/src/backend/commands/vacuum.c,v 1.351 2007/05/17 15:28:29 alvherre Exp $
+ *	  $PostgreSQL: pgsql/src/backend/commands/vacuum.c,v 1.352 2007/05/30 20:11:57 tgl Exp $
  *
  *-------------------------------------------------------------------------
  */
@@ -191,6 +191,7 @@ ExecContext_Finish(ExecContext ec)
  *----------------------------------------------------------------------
  */
 
+/* A few variables that don't seem worth passing around as parameters */
 static MemoryContext vac_context = NULL;
 
 static int	elevel = -1;
@@ -198,6 +199,8 @@ static int	elevel = -1;
 static TransactionId OldestXmin;
 static TransactionId FreezeLimit;
 
+static BufferAccessStrategy vac_strategy;
+
 
 /* non-export function prototypes */
 static List *get_rel_oids(List *relids, const RangeVar *vacrel,
@@ -257,14 +260,18 @@ static Size PageGetFreeSpaceWithFillFactor(Relation relation, Page page);
  * relation OIDs to be processed, and vacstmt->relation is ignored.
  * (The non-NIL case is currently only used by autovacuum.)
  *
+ * bstrategy is normally given as NULL, but in autovacuum it can be passed
+ * in to use the same buffer strategy object across multiple vacuum() calls.
+ *
  * isTopLevel should be passed down from ProcessUtility.
  *
- * It is the caller's responsibility that both vacstmt and relids
+ * It is the caller's responsibility that vacstmt, relids, and bstrategy
  * (if given) be allocated in a memory context that won't disappear
  * at transaction commit.
  */
 void
-vacuum(VacuumStmt *vacstmt, List *relids, bool isTopLevel)
+vacuum(VacuumStmt *vacstmt, List *relids,
+	   BufferAccessStrategy bstrategy, bool isTopLevel)
 {
 	const char *stmttype = vacstmt->vacuum ? "VACUUM" : "ANALYZE";
 	volatile MemoryContext anl_context = NULL;
@@ -319,6 +326,19 @@ vacuum(VacuumStmt *vacstmt, List *relids, bool isTopLevel)
 										ALLOCSET_DEFAULT_INITSIZE,
 										ALLOCSET_DEFAULT_MAXSIZE);
 
+	/*
+	 * If caller didn't give us a buffer strategy object, make one in the
+	 * cross-transaction memory context.
+	 */
+	if (bstrategy == NULL)
+	{
+		MemoryContext old_context = MemoryContextSwitchTo(vac_context);
+
+		bstrategy = GetAccessStrategy(BAS_VACUUM);
+		MemoryContextSwitchTo(old_context);
+	}
+	vac_strategy = bstrategy;
+
 	/* Remember whether we are processing everything in the DB */
 	all_rels = (relids == NIL && vacstmt->relation == NULL);
 
@@ -417,15 +437,7 @@ vacuum(VacuumStmt *vacstmt, List *relids, bool isTopLevel)
 				else
 					old_context = MemoryContextSwitchTo(anl_context);
 
-				/*
-				 * Tell the buffer replacement strategy that vacuum is causing
-				 * the IO
-				 */
-				StrategyHintVacuum(true);
-
-				analyze_rel(relid, vacstmt);
-
-				StrategyHintVacuum(false);
+				analyze_rel(relid, vacstmt, vac_strategy);
 
 				if (use_own_xacts)
 					CommitTransactionCommand();
@@ -441,8 +453,6 @@ vacuum(VacuumStmt *vacstmt, List *relids, bool isTopLevel)
 	{
 		/* Make sure cost accounting is turned off after error */
 		VacuumCostActive = false;
-		/* And reset buffer replacement strategy, too */
-		StrategyHintVacuum(false);
 		PG_RE_THROW();
 	}
 	PG_END_TRY();
@@ -1085,20 +1095,12 @@ vacuum_rel(Oid relid, VacuumStmt *vacstmt, char expected_relkind)
 	toast_relid = onerel->rd_rel->reltoastrelid;
 
 	/*
-	 * Tell the cache replacement strategy that vacuum is causing all
-	 * following IO
-	 */
-	StrategyHintVacuum(true);
-
-	/*
 	 * Do the actual work --- either FULL or "lazy" vacuum
 	 */
 	if (vacstmt->full)
 		full_vacuum_rel(onerel, vacstmt);
 	else
-		lazy_vacuum_rel(onerel, vacstmt);
-
-	StrategyHintVacuum(false);
+		lazy_vacuum_rel(onerel, vacstmt, vac_strategy);
 
 	/* all done with this class, but hold lock until commit */
 	relation_close(onerel, NoLock);
@@ -1290,7 +1292,7 @@ scan_heap(VRelStats *vacrelstats, Relation onerel,
 
 		vacuum_delay_point();
 
-		buf = ReadBuffer(onerel, blkno);
+		buf = ReadBufferWithStrategy(onerel, blkno, vac_strategy);
 		page = BufferGetPage(buf);
 
 		/*
@@ -1730,7 +1732,7 @@ repair_frag(VRelStats *vacrelstats, Relation onerel,
 		/*
 		 * Process this page of relation.
 		 */
-		buf = ReadBuffer(onerel, blkno);
+		buf = ReadBufferWithStrategy(onerel, blkno, vac_strategy);
 		page = BufferGetPage(buf);
 
 		vacpage->offsets_free = 0;
@@ -1954,8 +1956,9 @@ repair_frag(VRelStats *vacrelstats, Relation onerel,
 					nextTid = tp.t_data->t_ctid;
 					priorXmax = HeapTupleHeaderGetXmax(tp.t_data);
 					/* assume block# is OK (see heap_fetch comments) */
-					nextBuf = ReadBuffer(onerel,
-										 ItemPointerGetBlockNumber(&nextTid));
+					nextBuf = ReadBufferWithStrategy(onerel,
+										 ItemPointerGetBlockNumber(&nextTid),
+													 vac_strategy);
 					nextPage = BufferGetPage(nextBuf);
 					/* If bogus or unused slot, assume tp is end of chain */
 					nextOffnum = ItemPointerGetOffsetNumber(&nextTid);
@@ -2091,8 +2094,9 @@ repair_frag(VRelStats *vacrelstats, Relation onerel,
 						break;	/* out of check-all-items loop */
 					}
 					tp.t_self = vtlp->this_tid;
-					Pbuf = ReadBuffer(onerel,
-									ItemPointerGetBlockNumber(&(tp.t_self)));
+					Pbuf = ReadBufferWithStrategy(onerel,
+									ItemPointerGetBlockNumber(&(tp.t_self)),
+												  vac_strategy);
 					Ppage = BufferGetPage(Pbuf);
 					Pitemid = PageGetItemId(Ppage,
 								   ItemPointerGetOffsetNumber(&(tp.t_self)));
@@ -2174,11 +2178,14 @@ repair_frag(VRelStats *vacrelstats, Relation onerel,
 
 					/* Get page to move from */
 					tuple.t_self = vtmove[ti].tid;
-					Cbuf = ReadBuffer(onerel,
-								 ItemPointerGetBlockNumber(&(tuple.t_self)));
+					Cbuf = ReadBufferWithStrategy(onerel,
+								 ItemPointerGetBlockNumber(&(tuple.t_self)),
+												  vac_strategy);
 
 					/* Get page to move to */
-					dst_buffer = ReadBuffer(onerel, destvacpage->blkno);
+					dst_buffer = ReadBufferWithStrategy(onerel,
+														destvacpage->blkno,
+														vac_strategy);
 
 					LockBuffer(dst_buffer, BUFFER_LOCK_EXCLUSIVE);
 					if (dst_buffer != Cbuf)
@@ -2239,7 +2246,9 @@ repair_frag(VRelStats *vacrelstats, Relation onerel,
 				if (i == num_fraged_pages)
 					break;		/* can't move item anywhere */
 				dst_vacpage = fraged_pages->pagedesc[i];
-				dst_buffer = ReadBuffer(onerel, dst_vacpage->blkno);
+				dst_buffer = ReadBufferWithStrategy(onerel,
+													dst_vacpage->blkno,
+													vac_strategy);
 				LockBuffer(dst_buffer, BUFFER_LOCK_EXCLUSIVE);
 				dst_page = BufferGetPage(dst_buffer);
 				/* if this page was not used before - clean it */
@@ -2386,7 +2395,9 @@ repair_frag(VRelStats *vacrelstats, Relation onerel,
 			Page		page;
 
 			/* this page was not used as a move target, so must clean it */
-			buf = ReadBuffer(onerel, (*curpage)->blkno);
+			buf = ReadBufferWithStrategy(onerel,
+										 (*curpage)->blkno,
+										 vac_strategy);
 			LockBuffer(buf, BUFFER_LOCK_EXCLUSIVE);
 			page = BufferGetPage(buf);
 			if (!PageIsEmpty(page))
@@ -2470,7 +2481,7 @@ repair_frag(VRelStats *vacrelstats, Relation onerel,
 			int			uncnt;
 			int			num_tuples = 0;
 
-			buf = ReadBuffer(onerel, vacpage->blkno);
+			buf = ReadBufferWithStrategy(onerel, vacpage->blkno, vac_strategy);
 			LockBuffer(buf, BUFFER_LOCK_EXCLUSIVE);
 			page = BufferGetPage(buf);
 			maxoff = PageGetMaxOffsetNumber(page);
@@ -2859,7 +2870,7 @@ update_hint_bits(Relation rel, VacPageList fraged_pages, int num_fraged_pages,
 			break;				/* no need to scan any further */
 		if ((*curpage)->offsets_used == 0)
 			continue;			/* this page was never used as a move dest */
-		buf = ReadBuffer(rel, (*curpage)->blkno);
+		buf = ReadBufferWithStrategy(rel, (*curpage)->blkno, vac_strategy);
 		LockBuffer(buf, BUFFER_LOCK_EXCLUSIVE);
 		page = BufferGetPage(buf);
 		max_offset = PageGetMaxOffsetNumber(page);
@@ -2925,7 +2936,9 @@ vacuum_heap(VRelStats *vacrelstats, Relation onerel, VacPageList vacuum_pages)
 
 		if ((*vacpage)->offsets_free > 0)
 		{
-			buf = ReadBuffer(onerel, (*vacpage)->blkno);
+			buf = ReadBufferWithStrategy(onerel,
+										 (*vacpage)->blkno,
+										 vac_strategy);
 			LockBuffer(buf, BUFFER_LOCK_EXCLUSIVE);
 			vacuum_page(onerel, buf, *vacpage);
 			UnlockReleaseBuffer(buf);
@@ -3012,6 +3025,7 @@ scan_index(Relation indrel, double num_tuples)
 	ivinfo.vacuum_full = true;
 	ivinfo.message_level = elevel;
 	ivinfo.num_heap_tuples = num_tuples;
+	ivinfo.strategy = vac_strategy;
 
 	stats = index_vacuum_cleanup(&ivinfo, NULL);
 
@@ -3077,6 +3091,7 @@ vacuum_index(VacPageList vacpagelist, Relation indrel,
 	ivinfo.vacuum_full = true;
 	ivinfo.message_level = elevel;
 	ivinfo.num_heap_tuples = num_tuples + keep_tuples;
+	ivinfo.strategy = vac_strategy;
 
 	/* Do bulk deletion */
 	stats = index_bulk_delete(&ivinfo, NULL, tid_reaped, (void *) vacpagelist);
diff --git a/src/backend/commands/vacuumlazy.c b/src/backend/commands/vacuumlazy.c
index 2c9a80540c3..3ac097388b2 100644
--- a/src/backend/commands/vacuumlazy.c
+++ b/src/backend/commands/vacuumlazy.c
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@
  *
  *
  * IDENTIFICATION
- *	  $PostgreSQL: pgsql/src/backend/commands/vacuumlazy.c,v 1.89 2007/05/17 15:28:29 alvherre Exp $
+ *	  $PostgreSQL: pgsql/src/backend/commands/vacuumlazy.c,v 1.90 2007/05/30 20:11:57 tgl Exp $
  *
  *-------------------------------------------------------------------------
  */
@@ -96,11 +96,14 @@ typedef struct LVRelStats
 } LVRelStats;
 
 
+/* A few variables that don't seem worth passing around as parameters */
 static int	elevel = -1;
 
 static TransactionId OldestXmin;
 static TransactionId FreezeLimit;
 
+static BufferAccessStrategy vac_strategy;
+
 
 /* non-export function prototypes */
 static void lazy_scan_heap(Relation onerel, LVRelStats *vacrelstats,
@@ -138,7 +141,8 @@ static int	vac_cmp_page_spaces(const void *left, const void *right);
  *		and locked the relation.
  */
 void
-lazy_vacuum_rel(Relation onerel, VacuumStmt *vacstmt)
+lazy_vacuum_rel(Relation onerel, VacuumStmt *vacstmt,
+				BufferAccessStrategy bstrategy)
 {
 	LVRelStats *vacrelstats;
 	Relation   *Irel;
@@ -158,6 +162,8 @@ lazy_vacuum_rel(Relation onerel, VacuumStmt *vacstmt)
 	else
 		elevel = DEBUG2;
 
+	vac_strategy = bstrategy;
+
 	vacuum_set_xid_limits(vacstmt->freeze_min_age, onerel->rd_rel->relisshared,
 						  &OldestXmin, &FreezeLimit);
 
@@ -318,7 +324,7 @@ lazy_scan_heap(Relation onerel, LVRelStats *vacrelstats,
 			vacrelstats->num_index_scans++;
 		}
 
-		buf = ReadBuffer(onerel, blkno);
+		buf = ReadBufferWithStrategy(onerel, blkno, vac_strategy);
 
 		/* Initially, we only need shared access to the buffer */
 		LockBuffer(buf, BUFFER_LOCK_SHARE);
@@ -586,7 +592,7 @@ lazy_vacuum_heap(Relation onerel, LVRelStats *vacrelstats)
 		vacuum_delay_point();
 
 		tblk = ItemPointerGetBlockNumber(&vacrelstats->dead_tuples[tupindex]);
-		buf = ReadBuffer(onerel, tblk);
+		buf = ReadBufferWithStrategy(onerel, tblk, vac_strategy);
 		LockBufferForCleanup(buf);
 		tupindex = lazy_vacuum_page(onerel, tblk, buf, tupindex, vacrelstats);
 		/* Now that we've compacted the page, record its available space */
@@ -684,6 +690,7 @@ lazy_vacuum_index(Relation indrel,
 	ivinfo.message_level = elevel;
 	/* We don't yet know rel_tuples, so pass -1 */
 	ivinfo.num_heap_tuples = -1;
+	ivinfo.strategy = vac_strategy;
 
 	/* Do bulk deletion */
 	*stats = index_bulk_delete(&ivinfo, *stats,
@@ -713,6 +720,7 @@ lazy_cleanup_index(Relation indrel,
 	ivinfo.vacuum_full = false;
 	ivinfo.message_level = elevel;
 	ivinfo.num_heap_tuples = vacrelstats->rel_tuples;
+	ivinfo.strategy = vac_strategy;
 
 	stats = index_vacuum_cleanup(&ivinfo, stats);
 
@@ -869,7 +877,7 @@ count_nondeletable_pages(Relation onerel, LVRelStats *vacrelstats)
 
 		blkno--;
 
-		buf = ReadBuffer(onerel, blkno);
+		buf = ReadBufferWithStrategy(onerel, blkno, vac_strategy);
 
 		/* In this phase we only need shared access to the buffer */
 		LockBuffer(buf, BUFFER_LOCK_SHARE);
diff --git a/src/backend/postmaster/autovacuum.c b/src/backend/postmaster/autovacuum.c
index 4d73c6c3f59..752af998313 100644
--- a/src/backend/postmaster/autovacuum.c
+++ b/src/backend/postmaster/autovacuum.c
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@
  *
  *
  * IDENTIFICATION
- *	  $PostgreSQL: pgsql/src/backend/postmaster/autovacuum.c,v 1.46 2007/05/07 20:41:24 alvherre Exp $
+ *	  $PostgreSQL: pgsql/src/backend/postmaster/autovacuum.c,v 1.47 2007/05/30 20:11:57 tgl Exp $
  *
  *-------------------------------------------------------------------------
  */
@@ -218,7 +218,8 @@ static void relation_needs_vacanalyze(Oid relid, Form_pg_autovacuum avForm,
 						  bool *doanalyze);
 
 static void autovacuum_do_vac_analyze(Oid relid, bool dovacuum,
-						  bool doanalyze, int freeze_min_age);
+						  bool doanalyze, int freeze_min_age,
+						  BufferAccessStrategy bstrategy);
 static HeapTuple get_pg_autovacuum_tuple_relid(Relation avRel, Oid relid);
 static PgStat_StatTabEntry *get_pgstat_tabentry_relid(Oid relid, bool isshared,
 						  PgStat_StatDBEntry *shared,
@@ -1673,6 +1674,7 @@ do_autovacuum(void)
 	ListCell   *cell;
 	PgStat_StatDBEntry *shared;
 	PgStat_StatDBEntry *dbentry;
+	BufferAccessStrategy bstrategy;
 
 	/*
 	 * may be NULL if we couldn't find an entry (only happens if we
@@ -1813,6 +1815,13 @@ do_autovacuum(void)
 	toast_oids = NIL;
 
 	/*
+	 * Create a buffer access strategy object for VACUUM to use.  We want
+	 * to use the same one across all the vacuum operations we perform,
+	 * since the point is for VACUUM not to blow out the shared cache.
+	 */
+	bstrategy = GetAccessStrategy(BAS_VACUUM);
+
+	/*
 	 * Perform operations on collected tables.
 	 */
 	foreach(cell, table_oids)
@@ -1910,7 +1919,8 @@ next_worker:
 		autovacuum_do_vac_analyze(tab->at_relid,
 								  tab->at_dovacuum,
 								  tab->at_doanalyze,
-								  tab->at_freeze_min_age);
+								  tab->at_freeze_min_age,
+								  bstrategy);
 		/* be tidy */
 		pfree(tab);
 	}
@@ -2328,7 +2338,8 @@ relation_needs_vacanalyze(Oid relid,
  */
 static void
 autovacuum_do_vac_analyze(Oid relid, bool dovacuum, bool doanalyze,
-						  int freeze_min_age)
+						  int freeze_min_age,
+						  BufferAccessStrategy bstrategy)
 {
 	VacuumStmt	vacstmt;
 	MemoryContext old_cxt;
@@ -2354,7 +2365,7 @@ autovacuum_do_vac_analyze(Oid relid, bool dovacuum, bool doanalyze,
 	/* Let pgstat know what we're doing */
 	autovac_report_activity(&vacstmt, relid);
 
-	vacuum(&vacstmt, list_make1_oid(relid), true);
+	vacuum(&vacstmt, list_make1_oid(relid), bstrategy, true);
 	MemoryContextSwitchTo(old_cxt);
 }
 
diff --git a/src/backend/storage/buffer/README b/src/backend/storage/buffer/README
index afdea2af747..f6327f875e6 100644
--- a/src/backend/storage/buffer/README
+++ b/src/backend/storage/buffer/README
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-$PostgreSQL: pgsql/src/backend/storage/buffer/README,v 1.11 2006/07/23 03:07:58 tgl Exp $
+$PostgreSQL: pgsql/src/backend/storage/buffer/README,v 1.12 2007/05/30 20:11:58 tgl Exp $
 
 Notes about shared buffer access rules
 --------------------------------------
@@ -152,20 +152,21 @@ we could use per-backend LWLocks instead (a buffer header would then contain
 a field to show which backend is doing its I/O).
 
 
-Buffer replacement strategy
----------------------------
+Normal buffer replacement strategy
+----------------------------------
 
 There is a "free list" of buffers that are prime candidates for replacement.
 In particular, buffers that are completely free (contain no valid page) are
-always in this list.  We may also throw buffers into this list if we
-consider their pages unlikely to be needed soon.  The list is singly-linked
-using fields in the buffer headers; we maintain head and tail pointers in
-global variables.  (Note: although the list links are in the buffer headers,
-they are considered to be protected by the BufFreelistLock, not the
-buffer-header spinlocks.)  To choose a victim buffer to recycle when there
-are no free buffers available, we use a simple clock-sweep algorithm, which
-avoids the need to take system-wide locks during common operations.  It
-works like this:
+always in this list.  We could also throw buffers into this list if we
+consider their pages unlikely to be needed soon; however, the current
+algorithm never does that.  The list is singly-linked using fields in the
+buffer headers; we maintain head and tail pointers in global variables.
+(Note: although the list links are in the buffer headers, they are
+considered to be protected by the BufFreelistLock, not the buffer-header
+spinlocks.)  To choose a victim buffer to recycle when there are no free
+buffers available, we use a simple clock-sweep algorithm, which avoids the
+need to take system-wide locks during common operations.  It works like
+this:
 
 Each buffer header contains a usage counter, which is incremented (up to a
 small limit value) whenever the buffer is unpinned.  (This requires only the
@@ -199,22 +200,40 @@ before we can recycle it; if someone else pins the buffer meanwhile we will
 have to give up and try another buffer.  This however is not a concern
 of the basic select-a-victim-buffer algorithm.)
 
-A special provision is that while running VACUUM, a backend does not
-increment the usage count on buffers it accesses.  In fact, if ReleaseBuffer
-sees that it is dropping the pin count to zero and the usage count is zero,
-then it appends the buffer to the tail of the free list.  (This implies that
-VACUUM, but only VACUUM, must take the BufFreelistLock during ReleaseBuffer;
-this shouldn't create much of a contention problem.)  This provision
-encourages VACUUM to work in a relatively small number of buffers rather
-than blowing out the entire buffer cache.  It is reasonable since a page
-that has been touched only by VACUUM is unlikely to be needed again soon.
-
-Since VACUUM usually requests many pages very fast, the effect of this is that
-it will get back the very buffers it filled and possibly modified on the next
-call and will therefore do its work in a few shared memory buffers, while
-being able to use whatever it finds in the cache already.  This also implies
-that most of the write traffic caused by a VACUUM will be done by the VACUUM
-itself and not pushed off onto other processes.
+
+Buffer ring replacement strategy
+---------------------------------
+
+When running a query that needs to access a large number of pages just once,
+such as VACUUM or a large sequential scan, a different strategy is used.
+A page that has been touched only by such a scan is unlikely to be needed
+again soon, so instead of running the normal clock sweep algorithm and
+blowing out the entire buffer cache, a small ring of buffers is allocated
+using the normal clock sweep algorithm and those buffers are reused for the
+whole scan.  This also implies that much of the write traffic caused by such
+a statement will be done by the backend itself and not pushed off onto other
+processes.
+
+For sequential scans, a 256KB ring is used. That's small enough to fit in L2
+cache, which makes transferring pages from OS cache to shared buffer cache
+efficient.  Even less would often be enough, but the ring must be big enough
+to accommodate all pages in the scan that are pinned concurrently.  256KB
+should also be enough to leave a small cache trail for other backends to
+join in a synchronized seq scan.  If a ring buffer is dirtied and its LSN
+updated, we would normally have to write and flush WAL before we could
+re-use the buffer; in this case we instead discard the buffer from the ring
+and (later) choose a replacement using the normal clock-sweep algorithm.
+Hence this strategy works best for scans that are read-only (or at worst
+update hint bits).  In a scan that modifies every page in the scan, like a
+bulk UPDATE or DELETE, the buffers in the ring will always be dirtied and
+the ring strategy effectively degrades to the normal strategy.
+
+VACUUM uses a 256KB ring like sequential scans, but dirty pages are not
+removed from the ring.  Instead, WAL is flushed if needed to allow reuse of
+the buffers.  Before introducing the buffer ring strategy in 8.3, VACUUM's
+buffers were sent to the freelist, which was effectively a buffer ring of 1
+buffer, resulting in excessive WAL flushing.  Allowing VACUUM to update
+256KB between WAL flushes should be more efficient.
 
 
 Background writer's processing
diff --git a/src/backend/storage/buffer/bufmgr.c b/src/backend/storage/buffer/bufmgr.c
index e2cfc870e2e..bbb6e0bc04a 100644
--- a/src/backend/storage/buffer/bufmgr.c
+++ b/src/backend/storage/buffer/bufmgr.c
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@
  *
  *
  * IDENTIFICATION
- *	  $PostgreSQL: pgsql/src/backend/storage/buffer/bufmgr.c,v 1.219 2007/05/27 03:50:39 tgl Exp $
+ *	  $PostgreSQL: pgsql/src/backend/storage/buffer/bufmgr.c,v 1.220 2007/05/30 20:11:58 tgl Exp $
  *
  *-------------------------------------------------------------------------
  */
@@ -90,11 +90,11 @@ static volatile BufferDesc *PinCountWaitBuf = NULL;
 
 
 static Buffer ReadBuffer_common(Relation reln, BlockNumber blockNum,
-								bool zeroPage);
-static bool PinBuffer(volatile BufferDesc *buf);
+								bool zeroPage,
+								BufferAccessStrategy strategy);
+static bool PinBuffer(volatile BufferDesc *buf, BufferAccessStrategy strategy);
 static void PinBuffer_Locked(volatile BufferDesc *buf);
-static void UnpinBuffer(volatile BufferDesc *buf,
-			bool fixOwner, bool normalAccess);
+static void UnpinBuffer(volatile BufferDesc *buf, bool fixOwner);
 static bool SyncOneBuffer(int buf_id, bool skip_pinned);
 static void WaitIO(volatile BufferDesc *buf);
 static bool StartBufferIO(volatile BufferDesc *buf, bool forInput);
@@ -102,7 +102,8 @@ static void TerminateBufferIO(volatile BufferDesc *buf, bool clear_dirty,
 				  int set_flag_bits);
 static void buffer_write_error_callback(void *arg);
 static volatile BufferDesc *BufferAlloc(Relation reln, BlockNumber blockNum,
-			bool *foundPtr);
+										BufferAccessStrategy strategy,
+										bool *foundPtr);
 static void FlushBuffer(volatile BufferDesc *buf, SMgrRelation reln);
 static void AtProcExit_Buffers(int code, Datum arg);
 
@@ -125,7 +126,18 @@ static void AtProcExit_Buffers(int code, Datum arg);
 Buffer
 ReadBuffer(Relation reln, BlockNumber blockNum)
 {
-	return ReadBuffer_common(reln, blockNum, false);
+	return ReadBuffer_common(reln, blockNum, false, NULL);
+}
+
+/*
+ * ReadBufferWithStrategy -- same as ReadBuffer, except caller can specify
+ *		a nondefault buffer access strategy.  See buffer/README for details.
+ */
+Buffer
+ReadBufferWithStrategy(Relation reln, BlockNumber blockNum,
+					   BufferAccessStrategy strategy)
+{
+	return ReadBuffer_common(reln, blockNum, false, strategy);
 }
 
 /*
@@ -140,14 +152,15 @@ ReadBuffer(Relation reln, BlockNumber blockNum)
 Buffer
 ReadOrZeroBuffer(Relation reln, BlockNumber blockNum)
 {
-	return ReadBuffer_common(reln, blockNum, true);
+	return ReadBuffer_common(reln, blockNum, true, NULL);
 }
 
 /*
- * ReadBuffer_common -- common logic for ReadBuffer and ReadOrZeroBuffer
+ * ReadBuffer_common -- common logic for ReadBuffer variants
  */
 static Buffer
-ReadBuffer_common(Relation reln, BlockNumber blockNum, bool zeroPage)
+ReadBuffer_common(Relation reln, BlockNumber blockNum, bool zeroPage,
+				  BufferAccessStrategy strategy)
 {
 	volatile BufferDesc *bufHdr;
 	Block		bufBlock;
@@ -185,7 +198,7 @@ ReadBuffer_common(Relation reln, BlockNumber blockNum, bool zeroPage)
 		 * lookup the buffer.  IO_IN_PROGRESS is set if the requested block is
 		 * not currently in memory.
 		 */
-		bufHdr = BufferAlloc(reln, blockNum, &found);
+		bufHdr = BufferAlloc(reln, blockNum, strategy, &found);
 		if (found)
 			BufferHitCount++;
 	}
@@ -330,6 +343,10 @@ ReadBuffer_common(Relation reln, BlockNumber blockNum, bool zeroPage)
  *		buffer.  If no buffer exists already, selects a replacement
  *		victim and evicts the old page, but does NOT read in new page.
  *
+ * "strategy" can be a buffer replacement strategy object, or NULL for
+ * the default strategy.  The selected buffer's usage_count is advanced when
+ * using the default strategy, but otherwise possibly not (see PinBuffer).
+ *
  * The returned buffer is pinned and is already marked as holding the
  * desired page.  If it already did have the desired page, *foundPtr is
  * set TRUE.  Otherwise, *foundPtr is set FALSE and the buffer is marked
@@ -343,6 +360,7 @@ ReadBuffer_common(Relation reln, BlockNumber blockNum, bool zeroPage)
 static volatile BufferDesc *
 BufferAlloc(Relation reln,
 			BlockNumber blockNum,
+			BufferAccessStrategy strategy,
 			bool *foundPtr)
 {
 	BufferTag	newTag;			/* identity of requested block */
@@ -375,7 +393,7 @@ BufferAlloc(Relation reln,
 		 */
 		buf = &BufferDescriptors[buf_id];
 
-		valid = PinBuffer(buf);
+		valid = PinBuffer(buf, strategy);
 
 		/* Can release the mapping lock as soon as we've pinned it */
 		LWLockRelease(newPartitionLock);
@@ -413,13 +431,15 @@ BufferAlloc(Relation reln,
 	/* Loop here in case we have to try another victim buffer */
 	for (;;)
 	{
+		bool lock_held;
+
 		/*
 		 * Select a victim buffer.	The buffer is returned with its header
-		 * spinlock still held!  Also the BufFreelistLock is still held, since
-		 * it would be bad to hold the spinlock while possibly waking up other
-		 * processes.
+		 * spinlock still held!  Also (in most cases) the BufFreelistLock is
+		 * still held, since it would be bad to hold the spinlock while
+		 * possibly waking up other processes.
 		 */
-		buf = StrategyGetBuffer();
+		buf = StrategyGetBuffer(strategy, &lock_held);
 
 		Assert(buf->refcount == 0);
 
@@ -430,7 +450,8 @@ BufferAlloc(Relation reln,
 		PinBuffer_Locked(buf);
 
 		/* Now it's safe to release the freelist lock */
-		LWLockRelease(BufFreelistLock);
+		if (lock_held)
+			LWLockRelease(BufFreelistLock);
 
 		/*
 		 * If the buffer was dirty, try to write it out.  There is a race
@@ -458,16 +479,34 @@ BufferAlloc(Relation reln,
 			 */
 			if (LWLockConditionalAcquire(buf->content_lock, LW_SHARED))
 			{
+				/*
+				 * If using a nondefault strategy, and writing the buffer
+				 * would require a WAL flush, let the strategy decide whether
+				 * to go ahead and write/reuse the buffer or to choose another
+				 * victim.  We need lock to inspect the page LSN, so this
+				 * can't be done inside StrategyGetBuffer.
+				 */
+				if (strategy != NULL &&
+					XLogNeedsFlush(BufferGetLSN(buf)) &&
+					StrategyRejectBuffer(strategy, buf))
+				{
+					/* Drop lock/pin and loop around for another buffer */
+					LWLockRelease(buf->content_lock);
+					UnpinBuffer(buf, true);
+					continue;
+				}
+
+				/* OK, do the I/O */
 				FlushBuffer(buf, NULL);
 				LWLockRelease(buf->content_lock);
 			}
 			else
 			{
 				/*
-				 * Someone else has pinned the buffer, so give it up and loop
+				 * Someone else has locked the buffer, so give it up and loop
 				 * back to get another one.
 				 */
-				UnpinBuffer(buf, true, false /* evidently recently used */ );
+				UnpinBuffer(buf, true);
 				continue;
 			}
 		}
@@ -531,10 +570,9 @@ BufferAlloc(Relation reln,
 			 * Got a collision. Someone has already done what we were about to
 			 * do. We'll just handle this as if it were found in the buffer
 			 * pool in the first place.  First, give up the buffer we were
-			 * planning to use.  Don't allow it to be thrown in the free list
-			 * (we don't want to hold freelist and mapping locks at once).
+			 * planning to use.
 			 */
-			UnpinBuffer(buf, true, false);
+			UnpinBuffer(buf, true);
 
 			/* Can give up that buffer's mapping partition lock now */
 			if ((oldFlags & BM_TAG_VALID) &&
@@ -545,7 +583,7 @@ BufferAlloc(Relation reln,
 
 			buf = &BufferDescriptors[buf_id];
 
-			valid = PinBuffer(buf);
+			valid = PinBuffer(buf, strategy);
 
 			/* Can release the mapping lock as soon as we've pinned it */
 			LWLockRelease(newPartitionLock);
@@ -595,20 +633,21 @@ BufferAlloc(Relation reln,
 			oldPartitionLock != newPartitionLock)
 			LWLockRelease(oldPartitionLock);
 		LWLockRelease(newPartitionLock);
-		UnpinBuffer(buf, true, false /* evidently recently used */ );
+		UnpinBuffer(buf, true);
 	}
 
 	/*
 	 * Okay, it's finally safe to rename the buffer.
 	 *
 	 * Clearing BM_VALID here is necessary, clearing the dirtybits is just
-	 * paranoia.  We also clear the usage_count since any recency of use of
-	 * the old content is no longer relevant.
+	 * paranoia.  We also reset the usage_count since any recency of use of
+	 * the old content is no longer relevant.  (The usage_count starts out
+	 * at 1 so that the buffer can survive one clock-sweep pass.)
 	 */
 	buf->tag = newTag;
 	buf->flags &= ~(BM_VALID | BM_DIRTY | BM_JUST_DIRTIED | BM_IO_ERROR);
 	buf->flags |= BM_TAG_VALID;
-	buf->usage_count = 0;
+	buf->usage_count = 1;
 
 	UnlockBufHdr(buf);
 
@@ -736,7 +775,7 @@ retry:
 	/*
 	 * Insert the buffer at the head of the list of free buffers.
 	 */
-	StrategyFreeBuffer(buf, true);
+	StrategyFreeBuffer(buf);
 }
 
 /*
@@ -814,9 +853,6 @@ ReleaseAndReadBuffer(Buffer buffer,
 				return buffer;
 			ResourceOwnerForgetBuffer(CurrentResourceOwner, buffer);
 			LocalRefCount[-buffer - 1]--;
-			if (LocalRefCount[-buffer - 1] == 0 &&
-				bufHdr->usage_count < BM_MAX_USAGE_COUNT)
-				bufHdr->usage_count++;
 		}
 		else
 		{
@@ -826,7 +862,7 @@ ReleaseAndReadBuffer(Buffer buffer,
 			if (bufHdr->tag.blockNum == blockNum &&
 				RelFileNodeEquals(bufHdr->tag.rnode, relation->rd_node))
 				return buffer;
-			UnpinBuffer(bufHdr, true, true);
+			UnpinBuffer(bufHdr, true);
 		}
 	}
 
@@ -836,6 +872,14 @@ ReleaseAndReadBuffer(Buffer buffer,
 /*
  * PinBuffer -- make buffer unavailable for replacement.
  *
+ * For the default access strategy, the buffer's usage_count is incremented
+ * when we first pin it; for other strategies we just make sure the usage_count
+ * isn't zero.  (The idea of the latter is that we don't want synchronized
+ * heap scans to inflate the count, but we need it to not be zero to discourage
+ * other backends from stealing buffers from our ring.  As long as we cycle
+ * through the ring faster than the global clock-sweep cycles, buffers in
+ * our ring won't be chosen as victims for replacement by other backends.)
+ *
  * This should be applied only to shared buffers, never local ones.
  *
  * Note that ResourceOwnerEnlargeBuffers must have been done already.
@@ -844,7 +888,7 @@ ReleaseAndReadBuffer(Buffer buffer,
  * some callers to avoid an extra spinlock cycle.
  */
 static bool
-PinBuffer(volatile BufferDesc *buf)
+PinBuffer(volatile BufferDesc *buf, BufferAccessStrategy strategy)
 {
 	int			b = buf->buf_id;
 	bool		result;
@@ -853,6 +897,16 @@ PinBuffer(volatile BufferDesc *buf)
 	{
 		LockBufHdr(buf);
 		buf->refcount++;
+		if (strategy == NULL)
+		{
+			if (buf->usage_count < BM_MAX_USAGE_COUNT)
+				buf->usage_count++;
+		}
+		else
+		{
+			if (buf->usage_count == 0)
+				buf->usage_count = 1;
+		}
 		result = (buf->flags & BM_VALID) != 0;
 		UnlockBufHdr(buf);
 	}
@@ -872,6 +926,11 @@ PinBuffer(volatile BufferDesc *buf)
  * PinBuffer_Locked -- as above, but caller already locked the buffer header.
  * The spinlock is released before return.
  *
+ * Currently, no callers of this function want to modify the buffer's
+ * usage_count at all, so there's no need for a strategy parameter.
+ * Also we don't bother with a BM_VALID test (the caller could check that for
+ * itself).
+ *
  * Note: use of this routine is frequently mandatory, not just an optimization
  * to save a spin lock/unlock cycle, because we need to pin a buffer before
  * its state can change under us.
@@ -897,17 +956,9 @@ PinBuffer_Locked(volatile BufferDesc *buf)
  *
  * Most but not all callers want CurrentResourceOwner to be adjusted.
  * Those that don't should pass fixOwner = FALSE.
- *
- * normalAccess indicates that we are finishing a "normal" page access,
- * that is, one requested by something outside the buffer subsystem.
- * Passing FALSE means it's an internal access that should not update the
- * buffer's usage count nor cause a change in the freelist.
- *
- * If we are releasing a buffer during VACUUM, and it's not been otherwise
- * used recently, and normalAccess is true, we send the buffer to the freelist.
  */
 static void
-UnpinBuffer(volatile BufferDesc *buf, bool fixOwner, bool normalAccess)
+UnpinBuffer(volatile BufferDesc *buf, bool fixOwner)
 {
 	int			b = buf->buf_id;
 
@@ -919,8 +970,6 @@ UnpinBuffer(volatile BufferDesc *buf, bool fixOwner, bool normalAccess)
 	PrivateRefCount[b]--;
 	if (PrivateRefCount[b] == 0)
 	{
-		bool		immed_free_buffer = false;
-
 		/* I'd better not still hold any locks on the buffer */
 		Assert(!LWLockHeldByMe(buf->content_lock));
 		Assert(!LWLockHeldByMe(buf->io_in_progress_lock));
@@ -931,22 +980,7 @@ UnpinBuffer(volatile BufferDesc *buf, bool fixOwner, bool normalAccess)
 		Assert(buf->refcount > 0);
 		buf->refcount--;
 
-		/* Update buffer usage info, unless this is an internal access */
-		if (normalAccess)
-		{
-			if (!strategy_hint_vacuum)
-			{
-				if (buf->usage_count < BM_MAX_USAGE_COUNT)
-					buf->usage_count++;
-			}
-			else
-			{
-				/* VACUUM accesses don't bump usage count, instead... */
-				if (buf->refcount == 0 && buf->usage_count == 0)
-					immed_free_buffer = true;
-			}
-		}
-
+		/* Support LockBufferForCleanup() */
 		if ((buf->flags & BM_PIN_COUNT_WAITER) &&
 			buf->refcount == 1)
 		{
@@ -959,14 +993,6 @@ UnpinBuffer(volatile BufferDesc *buf, bool fixOwner, bool normalAccess)
 		}
 		else
 			UnlockBufHdr(buf);
-
-		/*
-		 * If VACUUM is releasing an otherwise-unused buffer, send it to the
-		 * freelist for near-term reuse.  We put it at the tail so that it
-		 * won't be used before any invalid buffers that may exist.
-		 */
-		if (immed_free_buffer)
-			StrategyFreeBuffer(buf, false);
 	}
 }
 
@@ -1150,7 +1176,7 @@ SyncOneBuffer(int buf_id, bool skip_pinned)
 	FlushBuffer(bufHdr, NULL);
 
 	LWLockRelease(bufHdr->content_lock);
-	UnpinBuffer(bufHdr, true, false /* don't change freelist */ );
+	UnpinBuffer(bufHdr, true);
 
 	return true;
 }
@@ -1266,7 +1292,7 @@ AtProcExit_Buffers(int code, Datum arg)
 			 * here, it suggests that ResourceOwners are messed up.
 			 */
 			PrivateRefCount[i] = 1;		/* make sure we release shared pin */
-			UnpinBuffer(buf, false, false /* don't change freelist */ );
+			UnpinBuffer(buf, false);
 			Assert(PrivateRefCount[i] == 0);
 		}
 	}
@@ -1700,7 +1726,7 @@ FlushRelationBuffers(Relation rel)
 			LWLockAcquire(bufHdr->content_lock, LW_SHARED);
 			FlushBuffer(bufHdr, rel->rd_smgr);
 			LWLockRelease(bufHdr->content_lock);
-			UnpinBuffer(bufHdr, true, false /* no freelist change */ );
+			UnpinBuffer(bufHdr, true);
 		}
 		else
 			UnlockBufHdr(bufHdr);
@@ -1723,11 +1749,7 @@ ReleaseBuffer(Buffer buffer)
 	if (BufferIsLocal(buffer))
 	{
 		Assert(LocalRefCount[-buffer - 1] > 0);
-		bufHdr = &LocalBufferDescriptors[-buffer - 1];
 		LocalRefCount[-buffer - 1]--;
-		if (LocalRefCount[-buffer - 1] == 0 &&
-			bufHdr->usage_count < BM_MAX_USAGE_COUNT)
-			bufHdr->usage_count++;
 		return;
 	}
 
@@ -1738,7 +1760,7 @@ ReleaseBuffer(Buffer buffer)
 	if (PrivateRefCount[buffer - 1] > 1)
 		PrivateRefCount[buffer - 1]--;
 	else
-		UnpinBuffer(bufHdr, false, true);
+		UnpinBuffer(bufHdr, false);
 }
 
 /*
diff --git a/src/backend/storage/buffer/freelist.c b/src/backend/storage/buffer/freelist.c
index a8c3aa2dcdc..d8eec0f8231 100644
--- a/src/backend/storage/buffer/freelist.c
+++ b/src/backend/storage/buffer/freelist.c
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@
  *
  *
  * IDENTIFICATION
- *	  $PostgreSQL: pgsql/src/backend/storage/buffer/freelist.c,v 1.58 2007/01/05 22:19:37 momjian Exp $
+ *	  $PostgreSQL: pgsql/src/backend/storage/buffer/freelist.c,v 1.59 2007/05/30 20:11:59 tgl Exp $
  *
  *-------------------------------------------------------------------------
  */
@@ -39,8 +39,42 @@ typedef struct
 /* Pointers to shared state */
 static BufferStrategyControl *StrategyControl = NULL;
 
-/* Backend-local state about whether currently vacuuming */
-bool		strategy_hint_vacuum = false;
+/*
+ * Private (non-shared) state for managing a ring of shared buffers to re-use.
+ * This is currently the only kind of BufferAccessStrategy object, but someday
+ * we might have more kinds.
+ */
+typedef struct BufferAccessStrategyData
+{
+	/* Overall strategy type */
+	BufferAccessStrategyType btype;
+	/* Number of elements in buffers[] array */
+	int			ring_size;
+	/*
+	 * Index of the "current" slot in the ring, ie, the one most recently
+	 * returned by GetBufferFromRing.
+	 */
+	int			current;
+	/*
+	 * True if the buffer just returned by StrategyGetBuffer had been in
+	 * the ring already.
+	 */
+	bool		current_was_in_ring;
+
+	/*
+	 * Array of buffer numbers.  InvalidBuffer (that is, zero) indicates
+	 * we have not yet selected a buffer for this ring slot.  For allocation
+	 * simplicity this is palloc'd together with the fixed fields of the
+	 * struct.
+	 */
+	Buffer		buffers[1];				/* VARIABLE SIZE ARRAY */
+} BufferAccessStrategyData;
+
+
+/* Prototypes for internal functions */
+static volatile BufferDesc *GetBufferFromRing(BufferAccessStrategy strategy);
+static void AddBufferToRing(BufferAccessStrategy strategy,
+							volatile BufferDesc *buf);
 
 
 /*
@@ -50,17 +84,38 @@ bool		strategy_hint_vacuum = false;
  *	BufferAlloc(). The only hard requirement BufferAlloc() has is that
  *	the selected buffer must not currently be pinned by anyone.
  *
+ *	strategy is a BufferAccessStrategy object, or NULL for default strategy.
+ *
  *	To ensure that no one else can pin the buffer before we do, we must
- *	return the buffer with the buffer header spinlock still held.  That
- *	means that we return with the BufFreelistLock still held, as well;
- *	the caller must release that lock once the spinlock is dropped.
+ *	return the buffer with the buffer header spinlock still held.  If
+ *	*lock_held is set on exit, we have returned with the BufFreelistLock
+ *	still held, as well; the caller must release that lock once the spinlock
+ *	is dropped.  We do it that way because releasing the BufFreelistLock
+ *	might awaken other processes, and it would be bad to do the associated
+ *	kernel calls while holding the buffer header spinlock.
  */
 volatile BufferDesc *
-StrategyGetBuffer(void)
+StrategyGetBuffer(BufferAccessStrategy strategy, bool *lock_held)
 {
 	volatile BufferDesc *buf;
 	int			trycounter;
 
+	/*
+	 * If given a strategy object, see whether it can select a buffer.
+	 * We assume strategy objects don't need the BufFreelistLock.
+	 */
+	if (strategy != NULL)
+	{
+		buf = GetBufferFromRing(strategy);
+		if (buf != NULL)
+		{
+			*lock_held = false;
+			return buf;
+		}
+	}
+
+	/* Nope, so lock the freelist */
+	*lock_held = true;
 	LWLockAcquire(BufFreelistLock, LW_EXCLUSIVE);
 
 	/*
@@ -82,11 +137,16 @@ StrategyGetBuffer(void)
 		 * If the buffer is pinned or has a nonzero usage_count, we cannot use
 		 * it; discard it and retry.  (This can only happen if VACUUM put a
 		 * valid buffer in the freelist and then someone else used it before
-		 * we got to it.)
+		 * we got to it.  It's probably impossible altogether as of 8.3,
+		 * but we'd better check anyway.)
 		 */
 		LockBufHdr(buf);
 		if (buf->refcount == 0 && buf->usage_count == 0)
+		{
+			if (strategy != NULL)
+				AddBufferToRing(strategy, buf);
 			return buf;
+		}
 		UnlockBufHdr(buf);
 	}
 
@@ -101,15 +161,23 @@ StrategyGetBuffer(void)
 
 		/*
 		 * If the buffer is pinned or has a nonzero usage_count, we cannot use
-		 * it; decrement the usage_count and keep scanning.
+		 * it; decrement the usage_count (unless pinned) and keep scanning.
 		 */
 		LockBufHdr(buf);
-		if (buf->refcount == 0 && buf->usage_count == 0)
-			return buf;
-		if (buf->usage_count > 0)
+		if (buf->refcount == 0)
 		{
-			buf->usage_count--;
-			trycounter = NBuffers;
+			if (buf->usage_count > 0)
+			{
+				buf->usage_count--;
+				trycounter = NBuffers;
+			}
+			else
+			{
+				/* Found a usable buffer */
+				if (strategy != NULL)
+					AddBufferToRing(strategy, buf);
+				return buf;
+			}
 		}
 		else if (--trycounter == 0)
 		{
@@ -132,13 +200,9 @@ StrategyGetBuffer(void)
 
 /*
  * StrategyFreeBuffer: put a buffer on the freelist
- *
- * The buffer is added either at the head or the tail, according to the
- * at_head parameter.  This allows a small amount of control over how
- * quickly the buffer is reused.
  */
 void
-StrategyFreeBuffer(volatile BufferDesc *buf, bool at_head)
+StrategyFreeBuffer(volatile BufferDesc *buf)
 {
 	LWLockAcquire(BufFreelistLock, LW_EXCLUSIVE);
 
@@ -148,22 +212,10 @@ StrategyFreeBuffer(volatile BufferDesc *buf, bool at_head)
 	 */
 	if (buf->freeNext == FREENEXT_NOT_IN_LIST)
 	{
-		if (at_head)
-		{
-			buf->freeNext = StrategyControl->firstFreeBuffer;
-			if (buf->freeNext < 0)
-				StrategyControl->lastFreeBuffer = buf->buf_id;
-			StrategyControl->firstFreeBuffer = buf->buf_id;
-		}
-		else
-		{
-			buf->freeNext = FREENEXT_END_OF_LIST;
-			if (StrategyControl->firstFreeBuffer < 0)
-				StrategyControl->firstFreeBuffer = buf->buf_id;
-			else
-				BufferDescriptors[StrategyControl->lastFreeBuffer].freeNext = buf->buf_id;
+		buf->freeNext = StrategyControl->firstFreeBuffer;
+		if (buf->freeNext < 0)
 			StrategyControl->lastFreeBuffer = buf->buf_id;
-		}
+		StrategyControl->firstFreeBuffer = buf->buf_id;
 	}
 
 	LWLockRelease(BufFreelistLock);
@@ -190,15 +242,6 @@ StrategySyncStart(void)
 	return result;
 }
 
-/*
- * StrategyHintVacuum -- tell us whether VACUUM is active
- */
-void
-StrategyHintVacuum(bool vacuum_active)
-{
-	strategy_hint_vacuum = vacuum_active;
-}
-
 
 /*
  * StrategyShmemSize
@@ -274,3 +317,172 @@ StrategyInitialize(bool init)
 	else
 		Assert(!init);
 }
+
+
+/* ----------------------------------------------------------------
+ *				Backend-private buffer ring management
+ * ----------------------------------------------------------------
+ */
+
+
+/*
+ * GetAccessStrategy -- create a BufferAccessStrategy object
+ *
+ * The object is allocated in the current memory context.
+ */
+BufferAccessStrategy
+GetAccessStrategy(BufferAccessStrategyType btype)
+{
+	BufferAccessStrategy strategy;
+	int		ring_size;
+
+	/*
+	 * Select ring size to use.  See buffer/README for rationales.
+	 * (Currently all cases are the same size, but keep this code
+	 * structure for flexibility.)
+	 */
+	switch (btype)
+	{
+		case BAS_NORMAL:
+			/* if someone asks for NORMAL, just give 'em a "default" object */
+			return NULL;
+
+		case BAS_BULKREAD:
+			ring_size = 256 * 1024 / BLCKSZ;
+			break;
+		case BAS_VACUUM:
+			ring_size = 256 * 1024 / BLCKSZ;
+			break;
+
+		default:
+			elog(ERROR, "unrecognized buffer access strategy: %d",
+				 (int) btype);
+			return NULL;		/* keep compiler quiet */
+	}
+
+	/* Make sure ring isn't an undue fraction of shared buffers */
+	ring_size = Min(NBuffers / 8, ring_size);
+
+	/* Allocate the object and initialize all elements to zeroes */
+	strategy = (BufferAccessStrategy)
+		palloc0(offsetof(BufferAccessStrategyData, buffers) +
+				ring_size * sizeof(Buffer));
+
+	/* Set fields that don't start out zero */
+	strategy->btype = btype;
+	strategy->ring_size = ring_size;
+
+	return strategy;
+}
+
+/*
+ * FreeAccessStrategy -- release a BufferAccessStrategy object
+ *
+ * A simple pfree would do at the moment, but we would prefer that callers
+ * don't assume that much about the representation of BufferAccessStrategy.
+ */
+void
+FreeAccessStrategy(BufferAccessStrategy strategy)
+{
+	/* don't crash if called on a "default" strategy */
+	if (strategy != NULL)
+		pfree(strategy);
+}
+
+/*
+ * GetBufferFromRing -- returns a buffer from the ring, or NULL if the
+ *		ring is empty.
+ *
+ * The bufhdr spin lock is held on the returned buffer.
+ */
+static volatile BufferDesc *
+GetBufferFromRing(BufferAccessStrategy strategy)
+{
+	volatile BufferDesc *buf;
+	Buffer		bufnum;
+
+	/* Advance to next ring slot */
+	if (++strategy->current >= strategy->ring_size)
+		strategy->current = 0;
+
+	/*
+	 * If the slot hasn't been filled yet, tell the caller to allocate
+	 * a new buffer with the normal allocation strategy.  He will then
+	 * fill this slot by calling AddBufferToRing with the new buffer.
+	 */
+	bufnum = strategy->buffers[strategy->current];
+	if (bufnum == InvalidBuffer)
+	{
+		strategy->current_was_in_ring = false;
+		return NULL;
+	}
+
+	/*
+	 * If the buffer is pinned we cannot use it under any circumstances.
+	 *
+	 * If usage_count is 0 or 1 then the buffer is fair game (we expect 1,
+	 * since our own previous usage of the ring element would have left it
+	 * there, but it might've been decremented by clock sweep since then).
+	 * A higher usage_count indicates someone else has touched the buffer,
+	 * so we shouldn't re-use it.
+	 */
+	buf = &BufferDescriptors[bufnum - 1];
+	LockBufHdr(buf);
+	if (buf->refcount == 0 && buf->usage_count <= 1)
+	{
+		strategy->current_was_in_ring = true;
+		return buf;
+	}
+	UnlockBufHdr(buf);
+
+	/*
+	 * Tell caller to allocate a new buffer with the normal allocation
+	 * strategy.  He'll then replace this ring element via AddBufferToRing.
+	 */
+	strategy->current_was_in_ring = false;
+	return NULL;
+}
+
+/*
+ * AddBufferToRing -- add a buffer to the buffer ring
+ *
+ * Caller must hold the buffer header spinlock on the buffer.  Since this
+ * is called with the spinlock held, it had better be quite cheap.
+ */
+static void
+AddBufferToRing(BufferAccessStrategy strategy, volatile BufferDesc *buf)
+{
+	strategy->buffers[strategy->current] = BufferDescriptorGetBuffer(buf);
+}
+
+/*
+ * StrategyRejectBuffer -- consider rejecting a dirty buffer
+ *
+ * When a nondefault strategy is used, the buffer manager calls this function
+ * when it turns out that the buffer selected by StrategyGetBuffer needs to
+ * be written out and doing so would require flushing WAL too.  This gives us
+ * a chance to choose a different victim.
+ *
+ * Returns true if buffer manager should ask for a new victim, and false
+ * if this buffer should be written and re-used.
+ */
+bool
+StrategyRejectBuffer(BufferAccessStrategy strategy, volatile BufferDesc *buf)
+{
+	/* We only do this in bulkread mode */
+	if (strategy->btype != BAS_BULKREAD)
+		return false;
+
+	/* Don't muck with behavior of normal buffer-replacement strategy */
+	if (!strategy->current_was_in_ring ||
+		strategy->buffers[strategy->current] != BufferDescriptorGetBuffer(buf))
+		return false;
+
+	/*
+	 * Remove the dirty buffer from the ring; necessary to prevent infinite
+	 * loop if all ring members are dirty.
+	 */
+	strategy->buffers[strategy->current] = InvalidBuffer;
+
+	return true;
+}
diff --git a/src/backend/storage/buffer/localbuf.c b/src/backend/storage/buffer/localbuf.c
index 306ffe45769..ad2bcf8dac6 100644
--- a/src/backend/storage/buffer/localbuf.c
+++ b/src/backend/storage/buffer/localbuf.c
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@
  *
  *
  * IDENTIFICATION
- *	  $PostgreSQL: pgsql/src/backend/storage/buffer/localbuf.c,v 1.76 2007/01/05 22:19:37 momjian Exp $
+ *	  $PostgreSQL: pgsql/src/backend/storage/buffer/localbuf.c,v 1.77 2007/05/30 20:11:59 tgl Exp $
  *
  *-------------------------------------------------------------------------
  */
@@ -57,7 +57,8 @@ static Block GetLocalBufferStorage(void);
  *
  * API is similar to bufmgr.c's BufferAlloc, except that we do not need
  * to do any locking since this is all local.	Also, IO_IN_PROGRESS
- * does not get set.
+ * does not get set.  Lastly, we support only default access strategy
+ * (hence, usage_count is always advanced).
  */
 BufferDesc *
 LocalBufferAlloc(Relation reln, BlockNumber blockNum, bool *foundPtr)
@@ -88,7 +89,12 @@ LocalBufferAlloc(Relation reln, BlockNumber blockNum, bool *foundPtr)
 		fprintf(stderr, "LB ALLOC (%u,%d) %d\n",
 				RelationGetRelid(reln), blockNum, -b - 1);
 #endif
-
+		/* this part is equivalent to PinBuffer for a shared buffer */
+		if (LocalRefCount[b] == 0)
+		{
+			if (bufHdr->usage_count < BM_MAX_USAGE_COUNT)
+				bufHdr->usage_count++;
+		}
 		LocalRefCount[b]++;
 		ResourceOwnerRememberBuffer(CurrentResourceOwner,
 									BufferDescriptorGetBuffer(bufHdr));
@@ -121,18 +127,21 @@ LocalBufferAlloc(Relation reln, BlockNumber blockNum, bool *foundPtr)
 
 		bufHdr = &LocalBufferDescriptors[b];
 
-		if (LocalRefCount[b] == 0 && bufHdr->usage_count == 0)
-		{
-			LocalRefCount[b]++;
-			ResourceOwnerRememberBuffer(CurrentResourceOwner,
-										BufferDescriptorGetBuffer(bufHdr));
-			break;
-		}
-
-		if (bufHdr->usage_count > 0)
+		if (LocalRefCount[b] == 0)
 		{
-			bufHdr->usage_count--;
-			trycounter = NLocBuffer;
+			if (bufHdr->usage_count > 0)
+			{
+				bufHdr->usage_count--;
+				trycounter = NLocBuffer;
+			}
+			else
+			{
+				/* Found a usable buffer */
+				LocalRefCount[b]++;
+				ResourceOwnerRememberBuffer(CurrentResourceOwner,
+											BufferDescriptorGetBuffer(bufHdr));
+				break;
+			}
 		}
 		else if (--trycounter == 0)
 			ereport(ERROR,
@@ -199,7 +208,7 @@ LocalBufferAlloc(Relation reln, BlockNumber blockNum, bool *foundPtr)
 	bufHdr->tag = newTag;
 	bufHdr->flags &= ~(BM_VALID | BM_DIRTY | BM_JUST_DIRTIED | BM_IO_ERROR);
 	bufHdr->flags |= BM_TAG_VALID;
-	bufHdr->usage_count = 0;
+	bufHdr->usage_count = 1;
 
 	*foundPtr = FALSE;
 	return bufHdr;
diff --git a/src/backend/tcop/utility.c b/src/backend/tcop/utility.c
index 028cb47c7ac..baa203a2d19 100644
--- a/src/backend/tcop/utility.c
+++ b/src/backend/tcop/utility.c
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@
  *
  *
  * IDENTIFICATION
- *	  $PostgreSQL: pgsql/src/backend/tcop/utility.c,v 1.279 2007/04/27 22:05:49 tgl Exp $
+ *	  $PostgreSQL: pgsql/src/backend/tcop/utility.c,v 1.280 2007/05/30 20:12:01 tgl Exp $
  *
  *-------------------------------------------------------------------------
  */
@@ -931,7 +931,7 @@ ProcessUtility(Node *parsetree,
 			break;
 
 		case T_VacuumStmt:
-			vacuum((VacuumStmt *) parsetree, NIL, isTopLevel);
+			vacuum((VacuumStmt *) parsetree, NIL, NULL, isTopLevel);
 			break;
 
 		case T_ExplainStmt:
diff --git a/src/include/access/genam.h b/src/include/access/genam.h
index 1f31baf0e45..98296e62bef 100644
--- a/src/include/access/genam.h
+++ b/src/include/access/genam.h
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@
  * Portions Copyright (c) 1996-2007, PostgreSQL Global Development Group
  * Portions Copyright (c) 1994, Regents of the University of California
  *
- * $PostgreSQL: pgsql/src/include/access/genam.h,v 1.66 2007/01/05 22:19:50 momjian Exp $
+ * $PostgreSQL: pgsql/src/include/access/genam.h,v 1.67 2007/05/30 20:12:02 tgl Exp $
  *
  *-------------------------------------------------------------------------
  */
@@ -40,6 +40,7 @@ typedef struct IndexVacuumInfo
 	bool		vacuum_full;	/* VACUUM FULL (we have exclusive lock) */
 	int			message_level;	/* ereport level for progress messages */
 	double		num_heap_tuples;	/* tuples remaining in heap */
+	BufferAccessStrategy strategy;	/* access strategy for reads */
 } IndexVacuumInfo;
 
 /*
diff --git a/src/include/access/hash.h b/src/include/access/hash.h
index d382ee6ee91..2bd314a8aa3 100644
--- a/src/include/access/hash.h
+++ b/src/include/access/hash.h
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@
  * Portions Copyright (c) 1996-2007, PostgreSQL Global Development Group
  * Portions Copyright (c) 1994, Regents of the University of California
  *
- * $PostgreSQL: pgsql/src/include/access/hash.h,v 1.80 2007/05/03 16:45:58 tgl Exp $
+ * $PostgreSQL: pgsql/src/include/access/hash.h,v 1.81 2007/05/30 20:12:02 tgl Exp $
  *
  * NOTES
  *		modeled after Margo Seltzer's hash implementation for unix.
@@ -273,11 +273,13 @@ extern void _hash_doinsert(Relation rel, IndexTuple itup);
 
 /* hashovfl.c */
 extern Buffer _hash_addovflpage(Relation rel, Buffer metabuf, Buffer buf);
-extern BlockNumber _hash_freeovflpage(Relation rel, Buffer ovflbuf);
+extern BlockNumber _hash_freeovflpage(Relation rel, Buffer ovflbuf,
+									  BufferAccessStrategy bstrategy);
 extern void _hash_initbitmap(Relation rel, HashMetaPage metap,
 				 BlockNumber blkno);
 extern void _hash_squeezebucket(Relation rel,
-					Bucket bucket, BlockNumber bucket_blkno);
+								Bucket bucket, BlockNumber bucket_blkno,
+								BufferAccessStrategy bstrategy);
 
 /* hashpage.c */
 extern void _hash_getlock(Relation rel, BlockNumber whichlock, int access);
@@ -287,6 +289,9 @@ extern Buffer _hash_getbuf(Relation rel, BlockNumber blkno,
 						   int access, int flags);
 extern Buffer _hash_getinitbuf(Relation rel, BlockNumber blkno);
 extern Buffer _hash_getnewbuf(Relation rel, BlockNumber blkno);
+extern Buffer _hash_getbuf_with_strategy(Relation rel, BlockNumber blkno,
+										 int access, int flags,
+										 BufferAccessStrategy bstrategy);
 extern void _hash_relbuf(Relation rel, Buffer buf);
 extern void _hash_dropbuf(Relation rel, Buffer buf);
 extern void _hash_wrtbuf(Relation rel, Buffer buf);
diff --git a/src/include/access/relscan.h b/src/include/access/relscan.h
index 7a1ea39352a..200b45713e7 100644
--- a/src/include/access/relscan.h
+++ b/src/include/access/relscan.h
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@
  * Portions Copyright (c) 1996-2007, PostgreSQL Global Development Group
  * Portions Copyright (c) 1994, Regents of the University of California
  *
- * $PostgreSQL: pgsql/src/include/access/relscan.h,v 1.53 2007/05/27 03:50:39 tgl Exp $
+ * $PostgreSQL: pgsql/src/include/access/relscan.h,v 1.54 2007/05/30 20:12:02 tgl Exp $
  *
  *-------------------------------------------------------------------------
  */
@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@ typedef struct HeapScanDescData
 	int			rs_nkeys;		/* number of scan keys */
 	ScanKey		rs_key;			/* array of scan key descriptors */
 	BlockNumber rs_nblocks;		/* number of blocks to scan */
+	BufferAccessStrategy rs_strategy;	/* access strategy for reads */
 	bool		rs_pageatatime; /* verify visibility page-at-a-time? */
 
 	/* scan current state */
diff --git a/src/include/access/xlog.h b/src/include/access/xlog.h
index 87ff6aba501..1c741f38fd0 100644
--- a/src/include/access/xlog.h
+++ b/src/include/access/xlog.h
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
  * Portions Copyright (c) 1996-2007, PostgreSQL Global Development Group
  * Portions Copyright (c) 1994, Regents of the University of California
  *
- * $PostgreSQL: pgsql/src/include/access/xlog.h,v 1.77 2007/05/20 21:08:19 tgl Exp $
+ * $PostgreSQL: pgsql/src/include/access/xlog.h,v 1.78 2007/05/30 20:12:02 tgl Exp $
  */
 #ifndef XLOG_H
 #define XLOG_H
@@ -159,6 +159,7 @@ extern bool XLOG_DEBUG;
 
 extern XLogRecPtr XLogInsert(RmgrId rmid, uint8 info, XLogRecData *rdata);
 extern void XLogFlush(XLogRecPtr RecPtr);
+extern bool XLogNeedsFlush(XLogRecPtr RecPtr);
 
 extern void xlog_redo(XLogRecPtr lsn, XLogRecord *record);
 extern void xlog_desc(StringInfo buf, uint8 xl_info, char *rec);
diff --git a/src/include/commands/vacuum.h b/src/include/commands/vacuum.h
index acb2f623e27..50a475bc5e3 100644
--- a/src/include/commands/vacuum.h
+++ b/src/include/commands/vacuum.h
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@
  * Portions Copyright (c) 1996-2007, PostgreSQL Global Development Group
  * Portions Copyright (c) 1994, Regents of the University of California
  *
- * $PostgreSQL: pgsql/src/include/commands/vacuum.h,v 1.71 2007/05/17 15:28:29 alvherre Exp $
+ * $PostgreSQL: pgsql/src/include/commands/vacuum.h,v 1.72 2007/05/30 20:12:03 tgl Exp $
  *
  *-------------------------------------------------------------------------
  */
@@ -18,9 +18,11 @@
 #include "catalog/pg_statistic.h"
 #include "catalog/pg_type.h"
 #include "nodes/parsenodes.h"
+#include "storage/buf.h"
 #include "storage/lock.h"
 #include "utils/rel.h"
 
+
 /*----------
  * ANALYZE builds one of these structs for each attribute (column) that is
  * to be analyzed.	The struct and subsidiary data are in anl_context,
@@ -110,7 +112,8 @@ extern int	vacuum_freeze_min_age;
 
 
 /* in commands/vacuum.c */
-extern void vacuum(VacuumStmt *vacstmt, List *relids, bool isTopLevel);
+extern void vacuum(VacuumStmt *vacstmt, List *relids,
+				   BufferAccessStrategy bstrategy, bool isTopLevel);
 extern void vac_open_indexes(Relation relation, LOCKMODE lockmode,
 				 int *nindexes, Relation **Irel);
 extern void vac_close_indexes(int nindexes, Relation *Irel, LOCKMODE lockmode);
@@ -127,9 +130,11 @@ extern bool vac_is_partial_index(Relation indrel);
 extern void vacuum_delay_point(void);
 
 /* in commands/vacuumlazy.c */
-extern void lazy_vacuum_rel(Relation onerel, VacuumStmt *vacstmt);
+extern void lazy_vacuum_rel(Relation onerel, VacuumStmt *vacstmt,
+							BufferAccessStrategy bstrategy);
 
 /* in commands/analyze.c */
-extern void analyze_rel(Oid relid, VacuumStmt *vacstmt);
+extern void analyze_rel(Oid relid, VacuumStmt *vacstmt,
+						BufferAccessStrategy bstrategy);
 
 #endif   /* VACUUM_H */
diff --git a/src/include/storage/buf.h b/src/include/storage/buf.h
index 94da564d1eb..a812a9e269a 100644
--- a/src/include/storage/buf.h
+++ b/src/include/storage/buf.h
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@
  * Portions Copyright (c) 1996-2007, PostgreSQL Global Development Group
  * Portions Copyright (c) 1994, Regents of the University of California
  *
- * $PostgreSQL: pgsql/src/include/storage/buf.h,v 1.21 2007/01/05 22:19:57 momjian Exp $
+ * $PostgreSQL: pgsql/src/include/storage/buf.h,v 1.22 2007/05/30 20:12:03 tgl Exp $
  *
  *-------------------------------------------------------------------------
  */
@@ -36,4 +36,11 @@ typedef int Buffer;
  */
 #define BufferIsLocal(buffer)	((buffer) < 0)
 
+/*
+ * Buffer access strategy objects.
+ *
+ * BufferAccessStrategyData is private to freelist.c
+ */
+typedef struct BufferAccessStrategyData *BufferAccessStrategy;
+
 #endif   /* BUF_H */
diff --git a/src/include/storage/buf_internals.h b/src/include/storage/buf_internals.h
index 561b7e40f69..d5eef8734ff 100644
--- a/src/include/storage/buf_internals.h
+++ b/src/include/storage/buf_internals.h
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@
  * Portions Copyright (c) 1996-2007, PostgreSQL Global Development Group
  * Portions Copyright (c) 1994, Regents of the University of California
  *
- * $PostgreSQL: pgsql/src/include/storage/buf_internals.h,v 1.89 2007/01/05 22:19:57 momjian Exp $
+ * $PostgreSQL: pgsql/src/include/storage/buf_internals.h,v 1.90 2007/05/30 20:12:03 tgl Exp $
  *
  *-------------------------------------------------------------------------
  */
@@ -167,9 +167,6 @@ extern DLLIMPORT BufferDesc *BufferDescriptors;
 /* in localbuf.c */
 extern BufferDesc *LocalBufferDescriptors;
 
-/* in freelist.c */
-extern bool strategy_hint_vacuum;
-
 /* event counters in buf_init.c */
 extern long int ReadBufferCount;
 extern long int ReadLocalBufferCount;
@@ -184,8 +181,12 @@ extern long int LocalBufferFlushCount;
  */
 
 /* freelist.c */
-extern volatile BufferDesc *StrategyGetBuffer(void);
-extern void StrategyFreeBuffer(volatile BufferDesc *buf, bool at_head);
+extern volatile BufferDesc *StrategyGetBuffer(BufferAccessStrategy strategy,
+											  bool *lock_held);
+extern void StrategyFreeBuffer(volatile BufferDesc *buf);
+extern bool StrategyRejectBuffer(BufferAccessStrategy strategy,
+								 volatile BufferDesc *buf);
+
 extern int	StrategySyncStart(void);
 extern Size StrategyShmemSize(void);
 extern void StrategyInitialize(bool init);
diff --git a/src/include/storage/bufmgr.h b/src/include/storage/bufmgr.h
index ad203621793..9ae83b4253e 100644
--- a/src/include/storage/bufmgr.h
+++ b/src/include/storage/bufmgr.h
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@
  * Portions Copyright (c) 1996-2007, PostgreSQL Global Development Group
  * Portions Copyright (c) 1994, Regents of the University of California
  *
- * $PostgreSQL: pgsql/src/include/storage/bufmgr.h,v 1.103 2007/05/02 23:18:03 tgl Exp $
+ * $PostgreSQL: pgsql/src/include/storage/bufmgr.h,v 1.104 2007/05/30 20:12:03 tgl Exp $
  *
  *-------------------------------------------------------------------------
  */
@@ -19,6 +19,14 @@
 
 typedef void *Block;
 
+/* Possible arguments for GetAccessStrategy() */
+typedef enum BufferAccessStrategyType
+{
+	BAS_NORMAL,		/* Normal random access */
+	BAS_BULKREAD,	/* Large read-only scan (hint bit updates are ok) */
+	BAS_VACUUM		/* VACUUM */
+} BufferAccessStrategyType;
+
 /* in globals.c ... this duplicates miscadmin.h */
 extern DLLIMPORT int NBuffers;
 
@@ -111,6 +119,8 @@ extern DLLIMPORT int32 *LocalRefCount;
  * prototypes for functions in bufmgr.c
  */
 extern Buffer ReadBuffer(Relation reln, BlockNumber blockNum);
+extern Buffer ReadBufferWithStrategy(Relation reln, BlockNumber blockNum,
+									 BufferAccessStrategy strategy);
 extern Buffer ReadOrZeroBuffer(Relation reln, BlockNumber blockNum);
 extern void ReleaseBuffer(Buffer buffer);
 extern void UnlockReleaseBuffer(Buffer buffer);
@@ -157,6 +167,7 @@ extern void BgBufferSync(void);
 extern void AtProcExit_LocalBuffers(void);
 
 /* in freelist.c */
-extern void StrategyHintVacuum(bool vacuum_active);
+extern BufferAccessStrategy GetAccessStrategy(BufferAccessStrategyType btype);
+extern void FreeAccessStrategy(BufferAccessStrategy strategy);
 
 #endif