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As Kubernetes celebrates its tenth anniversary, the integration of PostgreSQL within this ecosystem is gaining momentum, offering challenges and opportunities, rather than threats, for database administrators (DBAs). This article explores the evolution of running PostgreSQL in Kubernetes, emphasising the importance of transitioning from traditional deployment methods to a cloud-native approach. It discusses the need for DBAs to expand their skills beyond the traditional scope, advocating for a “T-shaped” or even “comb-shaped” professional profile. By understanding key Kubernetes concepts and embracing the principles of “slowification”, simplification, and amplification, DBAs can effectively collaborate with developers and infrastructure teams. This approach enhances individual expertise and contributes to the broader adoption and optimisation of PostgreSQL in Kubernetes environments. The article highlights the critical role of community and shared knowledge in breaking down silos and fostering a collaborative culture, which is essential for the successful deployment and management of PostgreSQL in modern cloud-native infrastructures.

Join me and PostgreSQL/Kubernetes expert Leonardo Cecchi in Athens on October 22 for the first-ever public training session on CloudNativePG at the 2024 PostgreSQL European Conference, where you’ll master essential day-2 operations for PostgreSQL in Kubernetes. Learn from the founders and maintainers of CloudNativePG through hands-on sessions covering monitoring, scaling, automated failover, and more.

In this blog post, I delve into the crucial aspects of networking and storage within a CloudNativePG cluster deployed on Kubernetes. I explore how Kubernetes services manage external and internal communications for PostgreSQL clusters, ensuring high availability and seamless failover. Additionally, I examine the role of PersistentVolumeClaims in handling PostgreSQL data storage, offering insights into effective resource management. This article provides an example of the kind of knowledge DBAs need to acquire when managing PostgreSQL in cloud-native environments, highlighting the importance of collaboration with infrastructure teams and developers to ensure robust and resilient cluster operations.

The upcoming CloudNativePG 1.24 introduces a game-changing feature: the ability to declaratively manage PostgreSQL cluster switchover across cloud regions or different Kubernetes clusters. This advancement enables the seamless demotion of a primary cluster and the promotion of a replica cluster in another region without the need to re-clone the former primary. This innovation significantly revolutionises database management practices, enhancing efficiency and reliability in multi-region and multi-cluster environments.

CloudNativePG, traditionally confined to single Kubernetes clusters, is now expanded its functionality to support distributed PostgreSQL topologies across multiple regions. This enhancement leverages declarative configurations to manage coordinated promotions, ensuring a single primary instance at any time. Based on PostgreSQL’s primary/standby architecture, this setup is designed to maintain operational continuity and cater to various deployment scenarios, including hybrid and multi-cloud environments. The new capabilities significantly improve high availability and disaster recovery by mitigating the risks associated with single points of failure in PostgreSQL deployments within Kubernetes.

As Kubernetes marks its tenth anniversary, its influence on infrastructure management continues to grow. This article examines the increasing adoption of PostgreSQL within Kubernetes, fueled by its extensibility and AI applications. It highlights the journey of integrating PostgreSQL with Kubernetes, focusing on the CloudNativePG operator. A comparison between Kubernetes and traditional VM deployments underscores the advantages for database workloads. The article also calls for greater awareness and expertise in combining PostgreSQL with Kubernetes, aiming to enhance the adoption of this fully open-source stack across the IT landscape.

This is the second article in a series that explores advanced strategies for scaling PostgreSQL databases in Kubernetes with the help of CloudNativePG. This article focuses on horizontal table partitioning and tablespaces and how they can be used to manage large datasets. By partitioning tables based on specific criteria and optimising storage with tablespaces, PostgreSQL users can achieve better scalability and performance in cloud-native environments, just like they could in traditional VMs or bare metal deployments.

Are you worried that PostgreSQL cannot scale writes within a single node, or do you think that scaling PostgreSQL can only be done horizontally, across different Kubernetes nodes? Discover the surprising truth behind PostgreSQL’s vertical scalability in this first article of a two-part series. Explore the potential of optimizing CPU, RAM, and storage resources through meticulous measurement and benchmarking, challenging conventional scaling wisdom. Delve into the solid strategies within the CloudNativePG stack, such as separate volumes for data and transaction logs, temporary tablespaces, and I/O segregation for tables and indexes. Stay tuned for insights into aligning storage solutions with PostgreSQL’s resilience needs in the upcoming sequel.

Are you considering migrating your PostgreSQL database from a service provider into Kubernetes, but you cannot afford downtime? Recipe #5 details step-by-step instructions, leveraging CloudNativePG and logical replication, to seamlessly transition from PostgreSQL 10+ to 16 using an imperative method. Learn how to set up initial configurations, execute migrations, and handle various use cases, such as transitioning from DBaaS to Kubernetes-managed databases and performing version upgrades. Emphasizing testing, learning, and compliance with regulations like the Data Act, this guide empowers users to maintain control over their data by migrating to Kubernetes.

The article explores the deployment of pgAdmin4, a popular graphical user interface for PostgreSQL, within a CloudNativePG environment, primarily for evaluation and educational purposes. The process involves deploying pgAdmin4 to connect to a PostgreSQL cluster, navigating its interface, and utilizing SQL functionality. The article provides detailed deployment instructions and highlights the use of the --mode desktop option for seamless integration.

Explore the secure defaults of a PostgreSQL cluster in this CloudNativePG recipe, aligning with the principle of least authority (PoLA). Our commitment to security and operational simplicity shines through default configurations, balancing robust protection with user-friendly settings. Advanced users can customize as needed. The article navigates default intricacies, PostgreSQL Host-Based Authentication, and the scenarios for enabling superuser access. We also touch on the careful use of the ALTER SYSTEM command, emphasizing our dedication to secure and simple operations.