Marco Slot: PostgreSQL Distributed: Architectures & Best practices (PGConf.EU 2023)

PostgreSQL distributed architectures and best practices for achieving high availability, performance, and scalability while balancing data consistency, complexity, and cost.

Key takeaways
  • The goal of distributed databases is to achieve high availability, performance, and scalability while trading off data consistency, complexity, and cost.
  • PostgreSQL can be distributed using various architectures, including sharding, Active-Active, read replicas, and distributed SQL.
  • Sharding allows for horizontal scaling but can lead to complex queries, indexing, and data consistency issues.
  • Active-Active architecture provides high availability and low latency but requires complex conflict resolution and consensus algorithms.
  • Read replicas provide scalability for reads but can lead to eventual consistency and complex query rewriting.
  • Distributed SQL architectures offer a single query interface to multiple nodes but can require complex query planning and optimization.
  • Key-value stores can provide high performance and scalability but may lack SQL support and data consistency.
  • When choosing a distributed database architecture, consider factors like write and read traffic, data consistency, and scalability requirements.
  • Performance and scalability are often trade-offs, and it’s essential to evaluate the architecture’s strengths and weaknesses.
  • Distributed databases can be complex and require careful consideration of operational hazards, such as single points of failure, data loss, and consistency issues.