PostgreSQL at Scale

After running dozens of production PostgreSQL clusters, patterns emerge. Some of them are painful.

Indexing is a design decision

Indexes are not an afterthought. We model queries first, indexes second, schema third.

Connection pooling is non-negotiable

PostgreSQL is not built for thousands of concurrent connections. PgBouncer in transaction mode is the default.

Partitioning changes the game

Range partitioning on time-series data keeps tables small and indexes hot. We plan partitions at design time, not at 2am.

The slow-query diet

The slow query log is a product roadmap. Every week we review the top ten offenders and fix them at the code level.

Backups that you have restored

A backup you have never restored is a rumor. We test restores in staging quarterly.