LWLock: WALInsert
Waiting to insert WAL data into a memory buffer
PostgreSQL wait event dossier
ClassLWLock
Event
WALInsert
VersionsPG 13-18
Evidence3 source location(s)
Official description
Waiting to insert WAL data into a memory buffer
| PG 13 | PG 14 | PG 15 | PG 16 | PG 17 | PG 18 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Trigger mechanism
A backend must hold one of the WAL insertion locks while reserving and copying a WAL record into shared WAL buffers. High concurrent WAL producers can queue when insertion critical sections lengthen.
Normal or trouble?
- Normal: Transient waits are normal during concurrent writes and commit bursts.
- Investigate: A recurring foreground pile-up indicates WAL insertion has become a serialization point, often with very high write concurrency, full-page images, or slow buffer turnover.
Diagnostic SQL
Sessions waiting on LWLock/WALInsert
Current LWLock cohort
Lock and relation context for these sessions
Response
- Rank statements by WAL generation and call rate.
- Check checkpoint/full-page-image timing and concurrent writer count.
- Batch tiny writes, reduce needless index churn, and address WAL write latency.
Source evidence
- PostgreSQL 18.6 · src/backend/access/transam/xlog.c:1399 —
WALInsert - PostgreSQL 18.6 · src/backend/storage/lmgr/lwlock.c:739 —
pgstat_report_wait_start - PostgreSQL 18.6 · src/backend/utils/activity/wait_event_names.txt:372 —
WALInsert
Related controls and signals
- GUCs: [guc:wal_buffers] · [guc:full_page_writes] · [guc:checkpoint_timeout]
- Metrics: [metric:waiting_sessions] · [metric:wait_event_share] · [metric:wal_bytes] · [metric:wal_fpi] · [metric:statement_wal_bytes]
Typical incident pattern
A fan-out job issues many single-row commits immediately after a checkpoint; full-page images and writer concurrency turn WAL insertion into the bottleneck.