PostgreSQL 9.0 High Performance

PostgreSQL database servers have a common set of problems they encounter as their usage gets heavier and requirements more demanding. You could spend years discovering solutions to them all, step by step as you encounter them. Or you can just look in here.

All successful database applications are destined to eventually run into issues scaling up their performance. Peek into the future of your PostgreSQL database’s problems today. Know the warning signs to look for, and how to avoid the most common issues before they even happen.

Surprisingly, most PostgreSQL database applications evolve in the same way: Choose the right hardware. Tune the operating system and server memory use. Optimize queries against the database, with the right indexes. Monitor every layer, from hardware to queries, using some tools that are inside PostgreSQL and others that are external.

Using monitoring insight, continuously rework the design and configuration. On reaching the limits of a single server, break things up; connection pooling, caching, partitioning, and replication can all help handle increasing database workloads.

The path to a high performance database system isn’t always easy. But it doesn’t have to be mysterious with the right guide.

A clear, step-by-step guide to optimizing and scaling up PostgreSQL database servers

What you will learn from this book :
Learn best practices culled from years of work scaling PostgreSQL installations to handle demanding applications
Uncover what makes hardware good or bad for high-performance database applications
Investigate making informed speed and reliability trade-offs
Tweak your operating system for best database performance
Benchmark your whole system from hardware to application
Learn how the server parameters that impact performance work using real examples
Understand how the query optimizer makes its decisions, and what to do when it makes the wrong ones
Monitor what happens on your server, both in and outside of the database
Find the best add-on tools that extend the core PostgreSQL database
Discover how to architect replicated systems using the latest features added to PostgreSQL 9.0

Approach
Improving database performance requires an equal mix of understanding theoretical concepts and working through hands-on examples. You’ll find both here. Many of the examples given will be immediately useful for monitoring and improving your PostgreSQL deployments, providing insight into hard-to-obtain information about your database.

Who this book is written for
This book is aimed at intermediate to advanced database administrators using or planning to use PostgreSQL. Portions will also interest systems administrators looking to build or monitor a PostgreSQL installation, as well as developers interested in advanced database internals that impact application design.