The document outlines a methodology for tuning PostgreSQL databases, emphasizing the importance of tracking various statistics such as database and table utilization, locking, and activity through catalog functions. It presents techniques to gather and analyze data using pg_catalog, pg_stat_activity, and other metrics to improve database performance. Additionally, it highlights the role of configuration and workload profiling in optimizing database operations.

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Postgres Conf US - April, 2018

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Database Tuning
• Application
• Data Lifecycle
• Database configuration

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Tuning Methodology
1. Run unit tests
2. Track database statistics
3. Baseline Config
4. Run Load
5. Track database statistics
6. Update config
7. GOTO 4

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What should we track?
• Activity
• Database Utilization
• Table Utilization
• Index Utilization
• Locking

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How do we track it?
• PG Catalog
• Schema in every postgres db (pg_catalog)
• Appended to search_path
• “Data Dictionary”

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pg_catalog
SELECT pn.nspname, pc.relkind, count(1)
FROM pg_namespace pn, pg_class pc
WHERE pn.oid = pc.relnamespace
AND pn.nspname = 'pg_catalog'
GROUP BY pn.nspname, pc.relkind
ORDER BY 1 DESC;
nspname | relkind | count
------------+---------+-------
pg_catalog | i | 115
pg_catalog | r | 62
pg_catalog | v | 59
i = indexes
r = tables
v = views

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pg_catalog functions
select count(1)
FROM (
select pn.nspname, pp.proname
FROM pg_namespace pn, pg_proc pp
WHERE pn.oid = pp.pronamespace
AND pn.nspname = 'pg_catalog'
) foo;
count
-----
2882

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pg_catalog functions
SELECT pn.nspname, pp.proname
FROM pg_namespace pn, pg_proc pp
WHERE pn.oid = pp.pronamespace
AND pn.nspname = 'pg_catalog’;
nspname | proname
------------+--------------
pg_catalog | boolin
pg_catalog | boolout
pg_catalog | byteain
pg_catalog | byteaout
pg_catalog | charin
pg_catalog | charout
pg_catalog | namein
pg_catalog | nameout
...

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pg_catalog
• Structural
• Performance
• Informational

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pg_catalog – translation!
• Relation = table, index, sequence, etc…
• Attribute = column
• Namespace = schema

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pg_catalog - oid
• Object Identifier datatype
• 4 byte unsigned int
• Hidden column on catalog tables
• Primary / Foreign keys throughout pg_catalog schema

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pg_catalog - oid
postgres=# select * from pg_namespace;
nspname | nspowner | nspacl
--------------------+----------+----------------------------
pg_toast | 10 |
pg_temp_1 | 10 |
pg_toast_temp_1 | 10 |
pg_catalog | 10 | {meads=UC/meads,=U/meads}
public | 10 | {meads=UC/meads,=UC/meads}
information_schema | 10 | {meads=UC/meads,=U/meads}
(6 rows)

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pg_catalog - oid
postgres=# select oid, * from pg_namespace;
oid | nspname | nspowner | nspacl
-------+--------------------+----------+----------------------------
99 | pg_toast | 10 |
11816 | pg_temp_1 | 10 |
11817 | pg_toast_temp_1 | 10 |
11 | pg_catalog | 10 | {meads=UC/meads,=U/meads}
2200 | public | 10 | {meads=UC/meads,=UC/meads}
12349 | information_schema | 10 | {meads=UC/meads,=U/meads}
(6 rows)

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pg_catalog – List all tables in a schema
SELECT pn.nspname, pc.relkind, count(1)
FROM pg_namespace pn, pg_class pc
WHERE pn.oid = pc.relnamespace
AND pn.nspname = 'pg_catalog'
GROUP BY pn.nspname, pc.relkind
ORDER BY 1 DESC;

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What’s this have to do with tuning??

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Tuning Methodology
1. Run unit tests
2. Track database statistics
3. Baseline Config
4. Run Load
5. Track database statistics
6. Update config
7. GOTO 4

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What should we track?
• Activity
• Database Utilization
• Table Utilization
• Index Utilization
• Locking

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Where is the data?
• pg_stat_activity
• pg_stat_database
• pg_stat_all_tables / pg_stat_user_tables
• pg_stat_all_indexes / pg_stat_user_indexes
• pg_locks

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Activity
• pg_stat_activity
• Current activity in the database
• Snapshot of that instant
• Starting point for tuning
• State
• Idle
• Active
• Idle in transaction
select datname, usename,
client_addr,
wait_event,
now() - state_change as runtime,
state, query
from pg_stat_activity ;

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Activity - Tuning
• Application
• Connections
• Concurrency
• Data Lifecycle
• Query runtimes
• WAL

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Activity - Tuning
• Server configuration
• max_connections
• shared_buffers
• work_mem

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Database Statistics
• pg_stat_database
• Utilization stats for each DB in an instance
• Global view of all DBs
select datname, numbackends, xact_commit,
tup_returned, tup_fetched, tup_inserted,
tup_updated, tup_deleted,
pg_database_size(datname),
pg_size_pretty(pg_database_size(datname))
FROM pg_stat_database;

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Table Statistics
• pg_stat_all_tables / pg_stat_user_tables
• Cumulative view of table-level stats
• Basis for workload profile
• pg_stat_all_indexes / pg_stat_user_indexes
• Cumulative view of index-level stats
• Index utilization stats
select schemaname, relname,
n_tup_ins,
n_tup_upd, n_tup_del,
idx_scan, seq_scan
FROM pg_stat_user_tables;

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Where are my hot-spots?
• What’s the most modified (INS / UPD / DEL)?
• What’s the most read ?
• What’s the largest?

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Table Stats -Tuning
• Application
• Partitioning
• SQL
• Stored Procedures

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Table Stats - Tuning
• Data Lifecycle
• Datamodel
• Indexing
• Workflow (Truncate vs Delete)
• Database configuration
• Vacuum
• Shared_buffers

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Locking
• pg_locks
• Status of all locks in a given database
• Look for conflicting locks WHERE granted = ‘f’

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Locking - Tuning
• Application
• Workflow
• Data Lifecycle
• Data Model
• Normalization
• ETL
• Maintenance

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Tracking vs Storing
• Cloud Watch
• Performance Insights
• POWA
• PGWatch2
• Snapshot scripts
• Grafana
• ELK
Max CPU

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Thank you!
Scott Mead
meads@amazon.com