by Robert Bernier | Nov 20, 2025 | Insight for DBAs, Insight for Developers, PostgreSQL
Unlike the standard multi-node Postgres replication cluster, when managed by Patroni, all failovers are automatically executed. However, this is not the case when dealing with inter-datacentre failovers when for instance a standby datacentre must take over from a...
by Robert Bernier | Oct 27, 2025 | Cloud, Insight for DBAs, Insight for Developers, PostgreSQL
PostgreSQL logical replication adoption is becoming more popular as significant advances continue to expand its range of capabilities. While quite a few blogs have described features, there seems to be a lack of simple and straightforward advice on restoring stalled...
by Robert Bernier | Dec 9, 2024 | Insight for DBAs, PostgreSQL
First things first, a couple of definitions to clear up: ETL: Extract, Transform, Load. Transforms data before loading it into the target system extract raw data from various sources use a secondary processing server to transform that data load that data into a target...
by Robert Bernier | Jun 5, 2024 | Insight for DBAs, Insight for Developers, PostgreSQL
There are quite a number of methods these days for installing Patroni. I want to discuss the next step, which is how to start tuning a running system. The manner of updating a running Postgres server typically involves editing the standard Postgres files:...
by Robert Bernier | Mar 12, 2024 | Insight for DBAs, Insight for Developers, PostgreSQL
PostgreSQL extensions are great! Simply by adding an extension, one transforms what is an otherwise vanilla general-purpose database management system into one capable of processing data requirements in a highly optimized fashion. Some extensions, like pg_repack,...
by Robert Bernier | Dec 26, 2023 | Insight for DBAs, Percona Software, PostgreSQL
This PoC demonstrates how to install and configure pg_stat_monitor in order to extract useful and actionable metrics from a PostgreSQL database and display them on a Grafana dashboard. About the environment Grafana: version 10.0.0 Grafana database backend: Prometheus...
by Robert Bernier | Nov 3, 2023 | Insight for DBAs, Insight for Developers, PostgreSQL
When it comes to Citus, successfully building out and scaling a PostgreSQL cluster across multiple nodes and even across data centers can feel, at times, to be an art form because there are so many ways of building it out. There’s an axiom that I think aptly...
by Robert Bernier | Aug 29, 2023 | Insight for DBAs, Insight for Developers, PostgreSQL
Over the years, I’ve had the opportunity to architect all sorts of configurations using Postgres as a backend. I’ve always found it very cool and satisfying to implement sophisticated business rules, often in more ways than one has fingers and toes. So, it’s not an...
by Robert Bernier | Aug 21, 2023 | Insight for DBAs, PostgreSQL
Effectively working with LDAP as an authentication mechanism for PostgreSQL typically requires extensive knowledge in both domains. While trying to be as complete yet succinct as possible, I’m detailing how to enable TLS between a PostgreSQL and the OpenLDAP server....
by Robert Bernier | Jun 5, 2023 | Insight for DBAs, PostgreSQL
From time to time, situations occur where unusual circumstances dictate out-of-the-box thinking. For example, suppose you have a system where you’ve installed multiple data clusters onto a single host. What you end up with is a host breaking up and sharing valuable...
by Robert Bernier | Dec 23, 2022 | Insight for DBAs, Insight for Developers, PostgreSQL
One of the routine operations when administering PostgreSQL is periodic updates to the database system’s architecture. PostgreSQL does a good job of allowing one to update a schema, add types, functions, triggers, or alter a table by adding and removing columns...
by Robert Bernier | Dec 14, 2022 | Insight for DBAs, PostgreSQL
Prologue This blog is the result of my investigation into column-wise tables. Hopefully, you will find it useful in your deliberations. When I started writing it was meant to be a “Good News” blurb. I was pretty optimistic that I’d truly have impressive numbers to...
by Robert Bernier | Sep 13, 2022 | Insight for DBAs, Insight for Developers, PostgreSQL
One of the reasons I’ve never strayed far from PostgreSQL is that I am always discovering features that overcome all sorts of interesting problems. Although, to be honest, from time to time I’ve had the feeling that sometimes some features are a solution in...
by Robert Bernier | Sep 2, 2022 | Insight for DBAs, Insight for Developers, Open Source, PostgreSQL
After working with PostgreSQL for so many years it’s sometimes surprising to see some of the utilities, to a certain degree, have capabilities that remain relatively unknown to more than a few people. So let me introduce you to manifests. Both pg_dump and...
by Robert Bernier | Jul 13, 2022 | Insight for DBAs, PostgreSQL
Well, it’s that time of the year when once again we have a look at the newest version of PostgreSQL. As tradition dictates, here at Percona, the team is given a list of features to write about. Mine happened to be about a very basic and, I might add, important...
by Robert Bernier | Apr 27, 2022 | Insight for DBAs, Insight for Developers, PostgreSQL
It’s a funny thing when the topic of database sizes comes up. Calling one small, medium, large, or even huge isn’t as straightforward as you’d think. Distinguishing the size of a database is based upon a number of factors whose characteristics can be...
by Robert Bernier | Apr 13, 2022 | Insight for DBAs, Open Source, PostgreSQL
Transaction ID Wraparound occurs when the VACUUM process cannot keep up with database activity and the PostgreSQL service is forced to shut down. In more technical parlance: Transaction ID Wraparound occurs when the semantics of Multi-Version Concurrency Control...
by Robert Bernier | Jan 31, 2022 | Database Trends, Insight for DBAs, Insight for Developers, PostgreSQL
Note: In the original version of this post, there were some issues missed. These have been addressed at the bottom of the post. I’d like to introduce to you a very cool feature introduced in PostgreSQL, the Pipeline Mode. So just what exactly is Pipeline Mode?...
by Robert Bernier | Nov 23, 2021 | Insight for DBAs, PostgreSQL
My last blog introduced the issues one can face when upgrading PostGIS and PostgreSQL at the same time. The purpose of this blog is to walk through the steps with an example. For our purposes, we will confine ourselves to working with the community versions of 9.6 and...
