diff --git a/doc/src/sgml/config.sgml b/doc/src/sgml/config.sgml
index 65a6e6c408..5468637e2e 100644
--- a/doc/src/sgml/config.sgml
+++ b/doc/src/sgml/config.sgml
@@ -10870,9 +10870,15 @@ dynamic_library_path = 'C:\tools\postgresql;H:\my_project\lib;$libdir'
On Linux, syncfs may be used instead, to ask the
operating system to synchronize the file systems that contain the
data directory, the WAL files and each tablespace (but not any other
- file systems that may be reachable through symbolic links). See
- for more information about using
- syncfs().
+ file systems that may be reachable through symbolic links). This may
+ be a lot faster than the fsync setting, because it
+ doesn't need to open each file one by one. On the other hand, it may
+ be slower if a file system is shared by other applications that
+ modify a lot of files, since those files will also be written to disk.
+ Furthermore, on versions of Linux before 5.8, I/O errors encountered
+ while writing data to disk may not be reported to
+ PostgreSQL, and relevant error messages may
+ appear only in kernel logs.
This parameter can only be set in the
diff --git a/doc/src/sgml/filelist.sgml b/doc/src/sgml/filelist.sgml
index e0dca81cb2..c92a16c7ac 100644
--- a/doc/src/sgml/filelist.sgml
+++ b/doc/src/sgml/filelist.sgml
@@ -182,7 +182,6 @@
-
diff --git a/doc/src/sgml/postgres.sgml b/doc/src/sgml/postgres.sgml
index 2c107199d3..381af69be2 100644
--- a/doc/src/sgml/postgres.sgml
+++ b/doc/src/sgml/postgres.sgml
@@ -289,7 +289,6 @@ break is not needed in a wider output rendering.
&acronyms;
&glossary;
&color;
- &syncfs;
&obsolete;
diff --git a/doc/src/sgml/ref/initdb.sgml b/doc/src/sgml/ref/initdb.sgml
index 377c3cb20a..dc9011b40e 100644
--- a/doc/src/sgml/ref/initdb.sgml
+++ b/doc/src/sgml/ref/initdb.sgml
@@ -394,8 +394,8 @@ PostgreSQL documentation
On Linux, syncfs may be used instead to ask the
operating system to synchronize the whole file systems that contain the
data directory, the WAL files, and each tablespace. See
- for more information about using
- syncfs().
+ for information about
+ the caveats to be aware of when using syncfs.
This option has no effect when is used.
diff --git a/doc/src/sgml/ref/pg_basebackup.sgml b/doc/src/sgml/ref/pg_basebackup.sgml
index 208530f393..82d0c8e008 100644
--- a/doc/src/sgml/ref/pg_basebackup.sgml
+++ b/doc/src/sgml/ref/pg_basebackup.sgml
@@ -642,8 +642,8 @@ PostgreSQL documentation
backup directory. When the plain format is used,
pg_basebackup will also synchronize the file systems
that contain the WAL files and each tablespace. See
- for more information about using
- syncfs().
+ for information about
+ the caveats to be aware of when using syncfs.
This option has no effect when is used.
diff --git a/doc/src/sgml/ref/pg_checksums.sgml b/doc/src/sgml/ref/pg_checksums.sgml
index db5b29505c..95043aa329 100644
--- a/doc/src/sgml/ref/pg_checksums.sgml
+++ b/doc/src/sgml/ref/pg_checksums.sgml
@@ -152,8 +152,8 @@ PostgreSQL documentation
On Linux, syncfs may be used instead to ask the
operating system to synchronize the whole file systems that contain the
data directory, the WAL files, and each tablespace. See
- for more information about using
- syncfs().
+ for information about
+ the caveats to be aware of when using syncfs.
This option has no effect when is used.
diff --git a/doc/src/sgml/ref/pg_combinebackup.sgml b/doc/src/sgml/ref/pg_combinebackup.sgml
index 8a0a600c2b..6f90dba281 100644
--- a/doc/src/sgml/ref/pg_combinebackup.sgml
+++ b/doc/src/sgml/ref/pg_combinebackup.sgml
@@ -176,8 +176,8 @@ PostgreSQL documentation
backup directory. When the plain format is used,
pg_combinebackup will also synchronize the file systems
that contain the WAL files and each tablespace. See
- for more information about using
- syncfs().
+ for information about
+ the caveats to be aware of when using syncfs.
This option has no effect when is used.
diff --git a/doc/src/sgml/ref/pg_dump.sgml b/doc/src/sgml/ref/pg_dump.sgml
index 8edf03a03d..b99793e414 100644
--- a/doc/src/sgml/ref/pg_dump.sgml
+++ b/doc/src/sgml/ref/pg_dump.sgml
@@ -1319,8 +1319,9 @@ PostgreSQL documentation
On Linux, syncfs may be used instead to ask the
operating system to synchronize the whole file system that contains the
- archive directory. See for more information
- about using syncfs().
+ archive directory. See
+ for information about the caveats to be aware of when using
+ syncfs.
This option has no effect when is used or
diff --git a/doc/src/sgml/ref/pg_rewind.sgml b/doc/src/sgml/ref/pg_rewind.sgml
index 841bd49fc7..dc039d8756 100644
--- a/doc/src/sgml/ref/pg_rewind.sgml
+++ b/doc/src/sgml/ref/pg_rewind.sgml
@@ -297,8 +297,8 @@ PostgreSQL documentation
On Linux, syncfs may be used instead to ask the
operating system to synchronize the whole file systems that contain the
data directory, the WAL files, and each tablespace. See
- for more information about using
- syncfs().
+ for information about
+ the caveats to be aware of when using syncfs.
This option has no effect when is used.
diff --git a/doc/src/sgml/ref/pgupgrade.sgml b/doc/src/sgml/ref/pgupgrade.sgml
index 8de52bf752..80a50377b1 100644
--- a/doc/src/sgml/ref/pgupgrade.sgml
+++ b/doc/src/sgml/ref/pgupgrade.sgml
@@ -204,8 +204,8 @@ PostgreSQL documentation
On Linux, syncfs may be used instead to ask the
operating system to synchronize the whole file systems that contain the
upgraded cluster's data directory, its WAL files, and each tablespace.
- See for more information about using
- syncfs().
+ See for information
+ about the caveats to be aware of when using syncfs.
This option has no effect when is used.
diff --git a/doc/src/sgml/syncfs.sgml b/doc/src/sgml/syncfs.sgml
deleted file mode 100644
index 00457d2457..0000000000
--- a/doc/src/sgml/syncfs.sgml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,36 +0,0 @@
-
-
-
- <function>syncfs()</function> Caveats
-
-
- syncfs
-
-
-
- On Linux syncfs() may be specified for some
- configuration parameters (e.g.,
- ), server applications (e.g.,
- pg_upgrade), and client applications (e.g.,
- pg_basebackup) that involve synchronizing many
- files to disk. syncfs() is advantageous in many cases,
- but there are some trade-offs to keep in mind.
-
-
-
- Since syncfs() instructs the operating system to
- synchronize a whole file system, it typically requires many fewer system
- calls than using fsync() to synchronize each file one by
- one. Therefore, using syncfs() may be a lot faster than
- using fsync(). However, it may be slower if a file
- system is shared by other applications that modify a lot of files, since
- those files will also be written to disk.
-
-
-
- Furthermore, on versions of Linux before 5.8, I/O errors encountered while
- writing data to disk may not be reported to the calling program, and relevant
- error messages may appear only in kernel logs.
-
-
-