PgConf.Russia 2019

The first training course "DBA1. PostgreSQL Administration. Basic Course" was introduced by Postgres Professional in September 2015. The course was based on the then up-to-date version of PostgreSQL 9.4. A set of new courses has been introduced since then. In turn, the PostgreSQL database didn't stand still either.

The report will present the current line of courses for administrators and application developers. We will also show the roadmap for the near future, which includes specialist certification.

Python may not be the fastest programming language on the CPU, but its fast and easy development saves a lot of costs between the keyboard and the chair. In this workshop we'll explore the most popular library for the access to the PostgreSQL server named "psycopg2" and write a short application using some of its useful features.

Shared_buffers = 25% – is it too much or not enough? Or it's the right value?

How can we ensure that this – pretty much outdated – recommendation suit well our needs?

It is time to start apply enterprise-level approach to tuning postgresql.conf. Not using various blind auto-tuners or advices from old articles and blog posts, but based on the following two aspects:

1. comprehensive database experiments, conducted in automated fashion, repeated multiple times in conditions as close to production as possible, and
2. deep understanding of DBMS and OS internals.

Using Nancy CLI (https://gitlab.com/postgres.ai/nancy) we will consider a concrete example: infamous shared_buffers, under various circumstances, in various projects. We will try to figure out, how to optimize this settings for given infrastructure, database, and workload.

Magic tricks followed by exposure (1C+PG):

• Focus number one. How to convince the accounting department to buy a new server.
• Focus number two. How to show that MS SQL is faster than PostgreSQL.
• Focus number three. How to show that PostgreSQL is faster than MS SQL Server.