PostgreSQL for Administrators - 2 Days

A basic working knowledge of SQL

This course covers the administration and performance tuning of PostgreSQL databases. 

Target audience includes system administrators and database architects. Attendees will learn the use of specialised PostgreSQL (AKA Postgres) modules such as replication, connection pooling and full text searching.

What is PostgreSQL?

• A Brief History of PostgreSQL
• Conventions
• Further Information
• Bug Reporting Guidelines

Introduction to PostgreSQL

• Installation and Creating Database
• The SQL Language
• Advanced Features

The SQL Language

• SQL Syntax
• Data Definition
• Data Manipulation
• Queries
• Data Types
• Functions and Operators
• Foreign Data Wrappers
• Type Conversion
• Indexes
• Triggers
• Full Text Search
• The Information Schema
• PL/pgSQL - SQL Procedural Language
• Concurrency Control
• Performance Tips
• How the Planner Uses Statistics

Server Administration

• Source Code vs Distribution-Provided Packages
• Installation from Source Code
• Installation from Source Code on Windows
• Deployment of Binaries Obtained by Compiling Source Code
• Server Setup, Operation
• Database Physical Storage
• Filesystem Durability Requirements and Required Mount Options
• Server Configuration
• Special Considerations for Container-Based Deployments
• Client Authentication
• Database Roles
• Managing Databases
• Localization
• Routine Database Maintenance Tasks
• Backup and Restore
• Recovery Configuration
• Monitoring Database Activity
• Monitoring Disk Usage
• Reliability and the Write-Ahead Log
• Regression Tests
• Installation of Third-Party Server Extensions

High Availability, Load Balancing, and Replication

• Brewer's CAP Theorem
• Synchronous vs Asynchronous Replication
• Log Shipping (Warm Standby)
• Streaming Master-Slave Replication (Hot Standby)
• Trigger-Based Master-Slave Replication with Slony
• Trigger-Based Multi-Master Replication with Bucardo
• Connection Pooling and Synchronous Replication with Pgpool
• Failover Configurations using DRBD
• Replacing a Failed Server
• Recovering from Network Partition