DjangoCon Europe 2023 | Tuning PostgreSQL to work even better

Tune your PostgreSQL performance like a pro by learning which parameters to adjust and how to optimize your setup for better query times and overall system efficiency.

Key takeaways

Postgres is designed to work well out of the box, but fine-tuning can still have a big impact.
Parameters can be categorized into connections and sessions, memory use, logging, and shared buffers.
Only a handful of parameters need to be changed to achieve good performance.
Shared buffers should be set to around 25-40% of available RAM.
Work mem should be set to around 50-70% of total memory available.
Maintenance work mem is important for tasks like vacuum and create index.
wal_buffers should be set to a reasonable value based on available disk space.
checkpoint_timeout should be set to a reasonable value based on system usage.
autovacuum should be enabled by default, but can be customized for specific use cases.
fsync and random_page_cost are important parameters to consider, but can be tricky to set.
tuning parameters can make a big difference in performance, but it’s important to test and monitor results.
most people don’t need to know about most parameters, and can just focus on a few key ones.
knowing how to tune parameters can help developers understand and work with Postgres better.
fine-tuning can take some experimentation, but is worth it for optimal performance.
it’s OK to just leave Postgres to do its thing, but knowing what parameters can be changed can help customize performance.

DjangoCon Europe 2023 | Tuning PostgreSQL to work even better

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