Before we spend any more time on this chapter, we should ask ourselves a question: is automation necessary? It's certainly nice to have, but is it required? Will we benefit from the admittedly esoteric incantations needed to install and configure these tools?
The answer is not always so straightforward. While exceedingly powerful, Pacemaker is infamously difficult to use and even a little overzealous in applying its rules. Both repmgr and Patroni are far more forgiving in this regard. An improperly built Pacemaker cluster might produce a database that moves to another node at the slightest provocation. Much like Patroni, Pacemaker enforces its current status and can actively thwart management attempts it didn't personally invoke.
We won't lie; the learning curve is immense and should extend far longer than what this chapter teaches. If this is...
