pgpool runs in 3 modes: start, stop and reload. If none of stop or reload is given, it is assumed that "start" is specified.
These are common options for 3 modes.
Set the path to the pool_hba.conf configuration file. Mandatory if the file is placed other than the standard location.
Set the path to the pgpool.conf configuration file. Mandatory if the file is placed other than the standard location.
Set the path to the pcp.conf configuration file. Mandatory if the file is placed other than the standard location.
Set the path to the .pgpoolkey file. Mandatory if you use AES256 encrypted password and the file is placed other than the standard location and used.
Print help.
Here are options for the start mode.
Run Pgpool-II in debug mode. Lots of debug messages are produced.
Don't run in daemon mode, does not detach control ttys.
Turns on various assertion checks, This is a debugging aid.
Clear query cache oidmaps when memqcache_method is memcached.
If memqcache_method is shmem, Pgpool-II always discards oidmaps at the start-up time. So this option is not necessary.
Discard pgpool_status file and do not restore previous status.
Here are options for the stop mode.
Stop Pgpool-II. shutdown_mode is either smart, fast or immediate. If smart is specified, Pgpool-II will wait for all clients are disconnected. If fast or immediate are specified, Pgpool-II immediately stops itself without waiting for all clients are disconnected. There's no difference between fast and immediate in the current implementation.