Fix issues with checks for unsupported transaction states in Hot Standby.

The GUC check hooks for transaction_read_only and transaction_isolation
tried to check RecoveryInProgress(), so as to disallow setting read/write
mode or serializable isolation level (respectively) in hot standby
sessions.  However, GUC check hooks can be called in many situations where
we're not connected to shared memory at all, resulting in a crash in
RecoveryInProgress().  Among other cases, this results in EXEC_BACKEND
builds crashing during child process start if default_transaction_isolation
is serializable, as reported by Heikki Linnakangas.  Protect those calls
by silently allowing any setting when not inside a transaction; which is
okay anyway since these GUCs are always reset at start of transaction.

Also, add a check to GetSerializableTransactionSnapshot() to complain
if we are in hot standby.  We need that check despite the one in
check_XactIsoLevel() because default_transaction_isolation could be
serializable.  We don't want to complain any sooner than this in such
cases, since that would prevent running transactions at all in such a
state; but a transaction can be run, if SET TRANSACTION ISOLATION is done
before setting a snapshot.  Per report some months ago from Robert Haas.

Back-patch to 9.1, since these problems were introduced by the SSI patch.

Kevin Grittner and Tom Lane, with ideas from Heikki Linnakangas

1 files changed, 9 insertions, 0 deletions

diff --git a/src/backend/utils/init/postinit.c b/src/backend/utils/init/postinit.c
index 1baa67da9ff..ba0eba55689 100644
--- a/src/backend/utils/init/postinit.c
+++ b/src/backend/utils/init/postinit.c
@@ -574,6 +574,15 @@ InitPostgres(const char *in_dbname, Oid dboid, const char *username,
 		/* statement_timestamp must be set for timeouts to work correctly */
 		SetCurrentStatementStartTimestamp();
 		StartTransactionCommand();
+
+		/*
+		 * transaction_isolation will have been set to the default by the
+		 * above.  If the default is "serializable", and we are in hot
+		 * standby, we will fail if we don't change it to something lower.
+		 * Fortunately, "read committed" is plenty good enough.
+		 */
+		XactIsoLevel = XACT_READ_COMMITTED;
+
 		(void) GetTransactionSnapshot();
 	}