I just wondered if it might be helpful to put the hints database on a RAM disk during regular operation. Did anybody try that yet?

A user reported thus: I have found that this works great under Solaris. Make a RAM disk partition and keep everything in the db directory on it. However, when I try the same thing on Linux, I don't see the same boost. I think that Linux's file buffer cache works about the same. Plus, this leave more room for processes to run. There have been other reports that Linux's delayed buffer write provides better overall performance in general. Apparently there is support in the Solaris kernel for a delayed writing, as in Linux, but Sun's server policy is to have it disabled so that you don't lose so much if the server crashes. There is a program called fastfs to enable and disable this support. You have to download and compile it yourself; find it by looking for fastfs.c in a search engine. Solaris performance is reported to be much improved, but you should take care to understand the potential hazards. In particular, fsck may be unable to fix > disks automatically after a crash.