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PostgreSQL High Performance Cookbook
PostgreSQL High Performance Cookbook

PostgreSQL High Performance Cookbook: Mastering query optimization, database monitoring, and performance-tuning for PostgreSQL

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Profile Icon Chauhan Profile Icon Dinesh Kumar
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Arrow left icon
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Paperback Mar 2017 360 pages 1st Edition
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PostgreSQL High Performance Cookbook

Chapter 2. Server Configuration and Control

In this chapter, we will cover the following:

  • Starting the database server manually
  • Stopping the server quickly
  • Stopping the server in an emergency
  • Reloading server configuration
  • Restarting the database server quickly
  • Tuning connection-related parameters
  • Tuning query-planning parameters
  • Tuning logging-related parameters

Introduction

This chapter basically deals with the server architecture and server control. Initially, we will discuss the different options available to start and stop the PostgreSQL server. As an administrator, one should be aware of the different methods available in order to use the appropriate option in emergency situations or during maintenance operations. We then move onto discussing different server parameters and the tuning aspects related to them. Some important server parameters that help improve the overall server throughput and performance are discussed here from an optimization perspective.

Starting the server manually

Normally, a PostgreSQL server will start automatically when the system boots up. If an automatic start is not enabled for a server, we would need to start the server manually. This may be required even for operational reasons.

Getting ready

Before we talk about how to start the database server, first we need to understand the difference between server and service. The term server refers to the database server and its processes, whereas the term service essentially indicates the operating system wrapper through which the server gets called.

How to do it...

On a majority of platforms, that is, Linux and Unix distributions, we can start the server using the pg_ctl command-line utility as shown here:

pg_ctl -D <location of data directory> start

Consider the following example:

pg_ctl -D /var/lib/pgsql/9.6/data start

The -D switch of the pg_ctl command indicates the data directory of the PostgreSQL server. In the preceding command, the data directory is...

Stopping the server quickly

There are different modes available to stop the PostgreSQL server. Here we will talk about the mode in which we can stop the server quickly.

Getting ready

The pg_ctl command is used in combination with the stop option in order to stop the PostgreSQL server.

How to do it...

We can use the following command to stop the server quickly on Red Hat-based Linux distributions and other Unix-based systems:

pg_ctl -D /var/lib/pgsql/9.6/data -m fast stop

Here, /var/lib/pgsql/9.6/data is the location of the data directory.

How it works...

The -m fast option must be used in order to shut down as quickly as possible. In case of a normal shutdown, PostgreSQL will wait for all users to finish their transactions before halting and on a busy system this can sometimes take a very long time.

While initiating a fast stop with the -m fast option of the pg_ctl command, all the users will have their transactions aborted and all connections are disconnected. However, this is a clean shutdown...

Stopping the server in an emergency

In this recipe, we will show you the command that can be used to stop the server in an emergency situation.

How to do it...

We can use the following command to stop the PostgreSQL server in an emergency:

pg_ctl -D /var/lib/pgsql/9.6/data stop -m immediate

Here, the data directory location is defined at /var/lib/pgsql/9.6/data.

How it works...

The moment the immediate stop mode is used with the pg_ctl command, all the users have their transactions aborted and the existing connections are terminated. There is no system checkpoint either and the database basically requires crash recovery at the time of database restart.

In this shutdown mode, the PostgresSQL process will issue a direct SIGQUIT signal to each of the child processes, by including the backend processes such as bgwriter, autovacuum, and recovery processes. However, in smart shutdown mode, the PostgreSQL process will wait until these processes are terminated and then shut down the...

Reloading server configuration

In this recipe, we will talk about the command that can be used to reload the server configuration and its parameters.

Getting ready

If any of the server parameters come into effect after reloading the server configuration files, such as postgresql.conf, then we need to reload the server configuration using the reload option of the pg_ctl command.

How to do it...

We can use the following command to reload the server configuration on Red Hat-based Linux and Unix distributions:

pg_ctl -D /var/lib/pgsql/9.6/data reload

You can also reload the configuration using the pg_reload_conf function while still being connected to PostgreSQL .The usage of the pg_reload_conf function is mentioned as follows:

postgres=# select pg_reload_conf();

How it works...

The reload mode of the pg_ctl command is used to send the postgres process a SIGHUP signal, which in turn causes it to reload its configuration files such as postgresql.conf and pg_hba.conf. The benefit...

Introduction


This chapter basically deals with the server architecture and server control. Initially, we will discuss the different options available to start and stop the PostgreSQL server. As an administrator, one should be aware of the different methods available in order to use the appropriate option in emergency situations or during maintenance operations. We then move onto discussing different server parameters and the tuning aspects related to them. Some important server parameters that help improve the overall server throughput and performance are discussed here from an optimization perspective.

Starting the server manually


Normally, a PostgreSQL server will start automatically when the system boots up. If an automatic start is not enabled for a server, we would need to start the server manually. This may be required even for operational reasons.

Getting ready

Before we talk about how to start the database server, first we need to understand the difference between server and service. The term server refers to the database server and its processes, whereas the term service essentially indicates the operating system wrapper through which the server gets called.

How to do it...

On a majority of platforms, that is, Linux and Unix distributions, we can start the server using the pg_ctl command-line utility as shown here:

pg_ctl -D <location of data directory> start

Consider the following example:

pg_ctl -D /var/lib/pgsql/9.6/data start

The -D switch of the pg_ctl command indicates the data directory of the PostgreSQL server. In the preceding command, the data directory is defined at...

Stopping the server quickly


There are different modes available to stop the PostgreSQL server. Here we will talk about the mode in which we can stop the server quickly.

Getting ready

The pg_ctl command is used in combination with the stop option in order to stop the PostgreSQL server.

How to do it...

We can use the following command to stop the server quickly on Red Hat-based Linux distributions and other Unix-based systems:

pg_ctl -D /var/lib/pgsql/9.6/data -m fast stop

Here, /var/lib/pgsql/9.6/data is the location of the data directory.

How it works...

The -m fast option must be used in order to shut down as quickly as possible. In case of a normal shutdown, PostgreSQL will wait for all users to finish their transactions before halting and on a busy system this can sometimes take a very long time.

While initiating a fast stop with the -m fast option of the pg_ctl command, all the users will have their transactions aborted and all connections are disconnected. However, this is a clean shutdown...

Stopping the server in an emergency


In this recipe, we will show you the command that can be used to stop the server in an emergency situation.

How to do it...

We can use the following command to stop the PostgreSQL server in an emergency:

pg_ctl -D /var/lib/pgsql/9.6/data stop -m immediate

Here, the data directory location is defined at /var/lib/pgsql/9.6/data.

How it works...

The moment the immediate stop mode is used with the pg_ctl command, all the users have their transactions aborted and the existing connections are terminated. There is no system checkpoint either and the database basically requires crash recovery at the time of database restart.

In this shutdown mode, the PostgresSQL process will issue a direct SIGQUIT signal to each of the child processes, by including the backend processes such as bgwriter, autovacuum, and recovery processes. However, in smart shutdown mode, the PostgreSQL process will wait until these processes are terminated and then shut down the postmaster process...

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Key benefits

  • Perform essential database tasks such as benchmarking the database and optimizing the server’s memory usage
  • Learn ways to improve query performance and optimize the PostgreSQL server
  • Explore a wide range of high availability and replication mechanisms to build robust, highly available, scalable, and fault-tolerant PostgreSQL databases

Description

PostgreSQL is one of the most powerful and easy to use database management systems. It has strong support from the community and is being actively developed with a new release every year. PostgreSQL supports the most advanced features included in SQL standards. It also provides NoSQL capabilities and very rich data types and extensions. All of this makes PostgreSQL a very attractive solution in software systems. If you run a database, you want it to perform well and you want to be able to secure it. As the world’s most advanced open source database, PostgreSQL has unique built-in ways to achieve these goals. This book will show you a multitude of ways to enhance your database’s performance and give you insights into measuring and optimizing a PostgreSQL database to achieve better performance. This book is your one-stop guide to elevate your PostgreSQL knowledge to the next level. First, you’ll get familiarized with essential developer/administrator concepts such as load balancing, connection pooling, and distributing connections to multiple nodes. Next, you will explore memory optimization techniques before exploring the security controls offered by PostgreSQL. Then, you will move on to the essential database/server monitoring and replication strategies with PostgreSQL. Finally, you will learn about query processing algorithms.

Who is this book for?

If you are a developer or administrator with limited PostgreSQL knowledge and want to develop your skills with this great open source database, then this book is ideal for you. Learning how to enhance the database performance is always an exciting topic to everyone, and this book will show you enough ways to enhance the database performance.

What you will learn

  • Build replication strategies for homogeneous and heterogeneous databases
  • Test and build a powerful machine with multiple bench marking techniques
  • Get to know a few SQL injection techniques
  • Find out how to manage the replication using multiple tools
  • Benchmark the database server using multiple strategies
  • Work with the query processing algorithms and their internal behaviors
  • Build a proper plan to upgrade or migrate to PostgreSQL from other databases
  • See the essential database load balancing techniques and the various partitioning approaches PostgreSQL provides
  • Learn memory optimization techniques and database server configurations
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Publication date, Length, Edition, Language, ISBN-13
Publication date : Mar 29, 2017
Length: 360 pages
Edition : 1st
Language : English
ISBN-13 : 9781785284335
Vendor :
PostgreSQL Global Development Group
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ISBN-13 : 9781785284335
Vendor :
PostgreSQL Global Development Group
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Table of Contents

12 Chapters
1. Database Benchmarking Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
2. Server Configuration and Control Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
3. Device Optimization Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
4. Monitoring Server Performance Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
5. Connection Pooling and Database Partitioning Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
6. High Availability and Replication Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
7. Working with Third-Party Replication Management Utilities Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
8. Database Monitoring and Performance Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
9. Vacuum Internals Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
10. Data Migration from Other Databases to PostgreSQL and Upgrading the PostgreSQL Cluster Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
11. Query Optimization Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
12. Database Indexing Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
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