Join Bruce Momjian as he explores the landscape of Postgres options and offers tips to make wise decisions about database servers, extensions, deployment utilities, and monitoring options. Creative Commons Attribution License http://momjian.us/presentations

1. The Maze of Postgres Options
BRUCE MOMJIAN
This presentation explains the many decisions needed to deploy
Postgres successfully.
Creative Commons Attribution License http://momjian.us/presentations
Last updated: February, 2019
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2. PostgreSQL the database…
◮ Open Source Object Relational DBMS since 1996
◮ Distributed under the PostgreSQL License
◮ Similar technical heritage as Oracle, SQL Server & DB2
◮ However, a strong adherence to standards (ANSI-SQL 2008)
◮ Highly extensible and adaptable design
◮ Languages, indexing, data types, etc.
◮ E.g. PostGIS, JSONB, SQL/MED
◮ Extensive use throughout the world for applications and
organizations of all types
◮ Bundled into Red Hat Enterprise Linux, Ubuntu, CentOS, and
most cloud providers
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3. PostgreSQL the community…
◮ Independent community led by a Core Team of five
◮ Large, active and vibrant community
◮ www.postgresql.org
◮ Downloads, Mailing lists, Documentation
◮ Sponsors sampler:
◮ Red Hat, VMWare, NTT, Fujitsu, Amazon, and EnterpriseDB
◮ http://www.postgresql.org/community/
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4. EnterpriseDB the company…
◮ Leading worldwide provider of Postgres software and services
◮ More than 4,000 enterprises, governments, and other
organizations worldwide
◮ EDB Postgres Platform with:
◮ PostgreSQL and EDB Postgres Advanced Server including
additional enterprise functionaility
◮ Tool Suites for Management, Integration, and Migration,
including High Availability and Disaster Recovery
◮ Professional Services, 24/7 global support, and Remote DBA
◮ Training and Certification
◮ Citizenship
◮ Contributor of key features: Materialized Views, JSON, & more
◮ Sixteen community members on staff
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5. EnterpriseDB the company…
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6. EDB Recognized 5 Years In a Row
in Gartner’s Magic Quadrant
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7. Outline
1. Open source’s many options
2. Database server
3. Extensions
4. Deployment utilities
5. Monitoring options
6. Do you need a vendor?
7. Conclusion
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8. 1. Open Source’s Many Options
https://www.flickr.com/photos/zoso_tc/
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9. Closed-Source Software
Black Box
987234
VWOJVCData ...
Func(...)
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10. Support of Close-Source Software
Support
Database
Company
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11. Open-Source Software
Data ...
Func(...) 987234
VWOJVC
Clear Box
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12. Support of Open-Source Software
Support
Support
Support
Source Code
Mailing Lists
EnterpriseDB
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13. 2. Database server
◮ Community server, www.postgresql.org
◮ Company-enhanced (closed-source) servers
◮ EnterpriseDB (EDB Postgres Advanced Server)
◮ Postgres Professional (Postgres Pro Enterprise)
◮ 2nd Quadrant (2ndQPostgres)
◮ FUJITSU (FUJITSU Enterprise Postgres)
◮ Amazon Web Services (RDS Postgres)
These products closely track Postgres community versions.
https://wiki.postgresql.org/wiki/PostgreSQL_derived_databases
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14. 3. Extensions
As an object-relational open-source database, extensions are a rich
source of features in Postgres. These include:
◮ Extensions shipped with Postgres, e.g., pgcrypto, postgres_fdw
◮ Extension repositories, e.g., PGXN
◮ Independent extensions, e.g., PostGIS, Citus extensions
https://www.postgresql.org/docs/current/index.html
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15. Server-Side Languages
◮ Included in the Postgres distribution
◮ PL/Perl
◮ PL/pgSQL
◮ PL/Python
◮ PL/Tcl
◮ SPI
◮ Github
◮ PL/Java
◮ PL/PHP
◮ PL/Ruby
◮ PL/Scheme
◮ PL/sh
◮ PGXN
◮ PL/v8
◮ External
◮ PL/R
http://www.postgresql.org/docs/current/external-pl.html
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16. 4. Deployment Utilities
◮ Deployment utilities shipped with Postgres, e.g., vacuumlo
◮ Tool repositories, e.g. PGXN
◮ Company produced
https://www.postgresql.org/docs/current/contrib-prog.html
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17. Backup Utilities
◮ Shipped with Postgres: pg_dump, pg_restore, point-in-time
recovery
◮ pgBackRest
◮ Barman
◮ EDB Backup and Recovery Tool (BART)
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18. Failover Utilities
◮ Patroni
◮ repmgr
◮ EDB Postgres Failover Manager (EFM)
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19. Cloud/Container/VM Deployment
◮ Single-vendor cloud, e.g., AWS, Azure
◮ Multi-vendor cloud, e.g., EDB Ark
◮ Docker deployment
◮ Kubernetes tools
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20. 5. Monitoring Options
◮ Shipped with Postgres, e.g., pg_stat_activity, pg_locks, statistic
views, pg_stat_statements
◮ Independent, e.g. pgbadger, Nagios, Prometheus, Grafana
◮ Postgres Enterprise Manager (PEM)
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21. Monitoring Capabilities
Operating System: vmstat, iostat
Process/Session: ps, top −c, pg_stat_activity
log_statement_stats
Query: pg_stat_activity.query, log_statement,
Parser: log_parser_stats
Planner: log_planner_stats
Executor: log_executor_stats, pg_locks,
log_lock_waits, pg_stat_activity.wait_event
time
sar, check_postgres,
log_temp_files
tail_n_mail
pg_stat_statements,
log_min_duration_statement,
pgbadger
e.g. pg_stat_all_tables
auto_explain
Reporting
Alterting /
Aggregation
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22. 6. Do You Need a Vendor?
◮ The database server and many extensions and tools are available
for free
◮ Adding the missing parts is “a simple matter of programming”
◮ You can build your own Postgres open source support team
This is only possible because open source gives everyone the ability
to become an expert.
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23. Becoming an Expert Has Costs
◮ Payroll, management, testing, and reliability costs
◮ Delayed deployment
◮ Increased dependency on staff skills
◮ Easy customization, but deployment rigidity
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24. Make or Buy Decision
Cook for yourself or go to a restaurant?
◮ Cook yourself
◮ Ingredients
◮ Cooking skills
◮ Single dish
◮ Less cost, more time
◮ Restaurant
◮ Variety
◮ Simplicity, flexibility
◮ More cost, less time
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25. In-House/Vendor Trade Off
Costs
% of Work Done by Vendor
Internal cost
Vendor cost
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26. Choosing a Postgres Vendor (or Restaurant)
◮ A broad range of vendor-cost options are available, more than in
proprietary software
◮ Are vendor expenses less than the value of increased efficiency
and reduced in-house costs?
◮ Paid vendor $400k but increased efficiency and reduced in-house
costs by $700k
◮ More expensive vendors can sometimes increase efficiency and
reduce in-house costs more than inexpensive vendors
◮ Are you using all low-cost vendor services to increase value and
reduce costs?
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27. Postgres Vendor Specialties
◮ Consulting
◮ Support
◮ Open-source products
◮ Closed-source products
◮ Cloud hosting
◮ Training
◮ Migration assistance
◮ System health check
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28. Additional Resources…
◮ Postgres Downloads:
◮ www.enterprisedb.com/downloads
◮ Product and Services information:
◮ info@enterprisedb.com
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29. 7. Conclusion
http://momjian.us/presentations https://www.flickr.com/photos/judy-van-der-velden/
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