@@ -2771,9 +2771,10 @@ include_dir 'conf.d'
27712771 levels. This parameter can only be set at server start.
27722772 </para>
27732773 <para>
2774- In <literal>minimal</literal> level, no information is logged for
2775- permanent relations for the remainder of a transaction that creates or
2776- rewrites them. This can make operations much faster (see
2774+ The <literal>minimal</literal> level generates the least WAL
2775+ volume. It logs no row information for permanent relations
2776+ in transactions that create or
2777+ rewrite them. This can make operations much faster (see
27772778 <xref linkend="populate-pitr"/>). Operations that initiate this
27782779 optimization include:
27792780 <simplelist>
@@ -2785,19 +2786,20 @@ include_dir 'conf.d'
27852786 <member><command>REINDEX</command></member>
27862787 <member><command>TRUNCATE</command></member>
27872788 </simplelist>
2788- But minimal WAL does not contain enough information to reconstruct the
2789- data from a base backup and the WAL logs, so <literal>replica</literal> or
2790- higher must be used to enable WAL archiving
2791- (<xref linkend="guc-archive-mode"/>) and streaming replication.
2789+ However, minimal WAL does not contain sufficient information for
2790+ point-in-time recovery, so <literal>replica</literal> or
2791+ higher must be used to enable continuous archiving
2792+ (<xref linkend="guc-archive-mode"/>) and streaming binary replication.
2793+ In fact, the server will not even start in this mode if
2794+ <varname>max_wal_senders</varname> is non-zero.
27922795 Note that changing <varname>wal_level</varname> to
2793- <literal>minimal</literal> makes any base backups taken before
2794- unavailable for archive recovery and standby server, which may
2795- lead to data loss.
2796+ <literal>minimal</literal> makes previous base backups unusable
2797+ for point-in-time recovery and standby servers.
27962798 </para>
27972799 <para>
27982800 In <literal>logical</literal> level, the same information is logged as
2799- with <literal>replica</literal>, plus information needed to allow
2800- extracting logical change sets from the WAL. Using a level of
2801+ with <literal>replica</literal>, plus information needed to
2802+ extract logical change sets from the WAL. Using a level of
28012803 <literal>logical</literal> will increase the WAL volume, particularly if many
28022804 tables are configured for <literal>REPLICA IDENTITY FULL</literal> and
28032805 many <command>UPDATE</command> and <command>DELETE</command> statements are
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