List of videos

With the improvements in logical replication released in PostgreSQL 16, there is an increasing interest in active-active clusters in PostgreSQL. We have observed new blog posts and conference talks on the subject discussing possible architectural configurations. Many projects want to move from vertical to horizontal scalability, enticed by the benefits of scaling out. But the illusion of a transparent active-active cluster is broken when faced with the challenges of having multiple writable database nodes. In classical Greek government systems, we find the example of Sparta, having a Dual Kingship system. The motivation of such a system with two masters was not to scale-out the government, but to prevent absolutism. Despite the different motivation, there are several lessons we can take from Sparta’s system in order to build an active-active PostgreSQL cluster. When is consensus needed? When can rulers take autonomous decisions? When do rulers need a third party to resolve conflict? In fact, the Spartan’s Dual Kingship systems was able to scale-out in times of war, using a technique that can be seen as sharding, which is also useful for databases in times of heavy workloads. In this talk we will learn about the possibilities and challenges of a PostgreSQL cluster when multiple writable nodes collaborate to a common goal, and how we can apply lessons from classical Greek government systems.

The typical workflow of any backup solution is relatively straightforward: set up a point-in-time recovery archive, create a backup rotation schedule, and verify the restoration process from time to time. However, WAL-G provides some useful features that can be useful for database administrators in a stormy situation: 1. Performance adjustments to modify the usual "cheap backups - fast restores" mode. 2. Advanced consistency monitoring capabilities to ensure that backups are accurate. 3. Quick standby catch-up and other high availability cluster features. 4. Various methods to extract a changeset for incremental backups. Additionally, I will discuss the future roadmap, including consistent backups for sharded clusters and the use of advanced S3 capabilities.

Learn how to do Postgres schema migrations without breaking dependent applications by leveraging the expand/contract pattern. pgroll is a new open-source migration tool for Postgres that keeps multiple versions of a schema live during a migration, helping you roll out database schema changes without downtime. Database schema migrations often pose significant challenges to developers, particularly when striving for zero downtime migrations. There are many things that can go wrong: * Schema changes breaking client applications * Unexpected table locking causing downtime * Human mistakes causing data loss This talk presents a new approach to schema migrations using an 'expand/contract' pattern where multiple versions of a database schema are maintained during the migration, allowing old and new versions of client applications to run side-by-side during an application rollout. Each version of the application sees the version of the database schema with which it is designed to work. The talks covers the ideas behind this approach, and the challenges to be overcome such as: * Limitations of existing tools and techniques for Postgres schema migrations. * The use of Postgres views to present multiple versions of an underlying table. * Backfilling data between old and new schema versions. * Techniques to avoid unexpected table locking during migrations. * Finally we introduce pgroll, an open-source tool that puts these ideas into practice and we show how it can be used to facilitate safe application rollouts across database schema changes.

Andrea Cucciniello - Growing the PostgreSQL Community; My experience organising local events in different geographies (PGConf.EU 2024) In this talk, I’ll share my journey of organizing PostgreSQL events and meetups in various places such as Australia and Spain. Since I first got into the PostgreSQL world in 2013, I’ve seen its popularity skyrocket. I’ll talk about how community events have helped spread the word about PostgreSQL and why they’re so important for the growth and health of the PostgreSQL ecosystem. I’ll share some tips on running successful community events and, more importantly, why they’re worth the effort. I’ll also explain why it’s crucial for companies, even competitors, to work together to organise these events. By collaborating, we can grow PostgreSQL’s market share in the database industry, which benefits everyone. Lastly, I’ll discuss how the energy and contributions from the community help ensure PostgreSQL stays strong and keeps improving. This talk will give a perspective on why building PostgreSQL’s popularity matters and how community events play a big part in that.

This technical presentation, featuring live demos, aims to demystify Kubernetes and provide Postgres professionals with essential knowledge about Kubernetes Operators. Attendees will learn how day-to-day life might change for a DBA when shifting from self-managed Postgres to using a Postgres operator. The focus will be on general Kubernetes and Postgres concepts, with examples from multiple operators and demos from the open source CoudNativePG operator, but avoids favoring any specific operator. This talk will cover: Introduction to Kubernetes components and operators. Differences between stateless and stateful Kubernetes deployments. Extending the Kubernetes API with Postgres logic. Ensuring high availability and understanding Kubernetes state management. Transforming the DBA role with a Kubernetes operator. Managing Postgres clusters: installation, configuration, and upgrades. Database security best practices. Storage and capacity planning: network vs. local storage. Performance monitoring and tuning. Troubleshooting Postgres performance. Effective backup and recovery strategies.

Understanding all the details of a High Availability PostgreSQL clusters is one of the most critical DBA knowledge area's. Instead of boring you with endless numbers of slides, with volunteer assistance from the audience, we will show you all important concepts like WAL transport, synch/async commit, RTO, RPO, network involvement etc with nothing more than a few decks of playing cards and some funny hats.

Reporting a bug with a repro and patch for a fix can be tricky and the first attempt at a patch does not need to be perfect! In this session, I will share my experience into a few bug fixes and deep-dive into how a repro was created, the initial attempt at a fix and the final committed patch. If you are interested in starting your own journey in contributing to PostgreSQL this session is for you!

Akshat Jaimini & Pavlo Golub - GSoC 2024; Enhancing Data Insights for Postgres with Remote Sinks (PGConf.EU 2024) Hello There! I am Akshat Jaimini, a final year Undergraduate from India specializing in Computer Engineering. I am a huge fan of Open Source Software, especially PostgreSQL and Linux(well who doesn't love linux ;)). For the past year I have been a member of the PostgreSQL community mostly contributing to extensions and tools like pgwatch. I am also the maintainer of pgweb-testing-harness which ensures that our official website remain bug free! I am also a huge metal head and if you love Metallica, do hit me up!

Emma Saroyan - Discovering Postgres; A Journey into the #1 Open Source Relational Database (PGConf.EU 2024) PostgreSQL is a robust relational database management system that's been under active development for 35+ years. What makes it tick? In this talk, I'll share my journey of how I discovered Postgres and began working with it from the first time. Join me as we discuss: What makes PostgreSQL so successful? What can be improved? What are the different ways you can contribute to the community?