Mastering PostgreSQL: Scaling, Tuning & Beyond

🚀 Unlock the power of PostgreSQL scaling, tuning, and innovation at the PostgreSQL virtual mini-summit on July 2, 2025 brought to you by the Armenia PostgreSQL User Group. Join us online via Zoom at 5 PM (AMT) 🇦🇲

🚀 5 distinguished experts will each lead in-depth sessions, sharing valuable insights and real-world use cases. Open to a global audience of all experience levels. 🌍

Session 1 by Hari Kiran: All you need is Distributed PostgreSQL: pgEdge Spock, Open-source CLI, and Global scale 🇮🇳

As applications scale globally, traditional PostgreSQL deployments struggle with latency, availability, and data consistency across multiple regions. Enter pgEdge Spock, an Open-source extension that enables multi-active, multi-master replication, allowing distributed PostgreSQL databases to replicate seamlessly across geographically dispersed nodes.

This talk explores how pgEdge Spock powers distributed PostgreSQL databases, providing real-time, bi-directional replication with minimal risk of conflict. We’ll dive into the mechanics of Spock, including:
- Multi-active replication for high availability and fault tolerance
- Fine-grained replication control (table- and row-level filtering)
- Conflict resolution strategies for distributed workloads
- Use cases where Spock enables low-latency, high-performance applications

Key takeaways:
By the end of the session, you will understand how to deploy and scale PostgreSQL with pgEdge Spock, leveraging a fully open-source Postgres solution, including a powerful CLI tool.

Session 2 by Josef Machytka: PostgreSQL Connections Memory Usage on Linux: How Much, Why, and When? 🇩🇪

This talk explores PostgreSQL connection memory usage on Debian/Ubuntu (x86–64), clarifying metrics like virtual, resident, and proportional memory sizes and relevant Linux tools. It uses practical measurements from `/proc` filesystem to show that actual unique memory per connection is typically modest despite high RSS values reported by tools like `top`. The session also demonstrates where `work_mem` allocations appear in memory statistics and how queries, including parallel execution, affect total memory usage.

Session 3 by Matt Cornillon: Creating a Board Game Chatbot with Postgres, AI, and RAG 🇫🇷

This session explores the integration of PostgreSQL with AI technologies and Large Language Models (LLMs), demonstrating the creation of a chatbot capable of answering board game rules questions. Using board games as a fun example, we'll showcase information retrieval techniques based on natural language and how to implement them with PostgreSQL at scale.

Session 4 by Luigi Nardi: Autotuning PostgreSQL: A deep dive into server parameter tuning with Machine Learning 🇸🇪

We'll explore the intricate world of PostgreSQL server parameter tuning, where PostgreSQL reveals a multitude of configurable parameters that govern its runtime behavior. As the system evolves, the high number, the non-linear relationship and the complexity of these parameters highlight the importance of their correct configuration in optimizing application performance and server resource utilization.

This talk discusses various tuning approaches, starting with the traditional and meticulous method of manual tuning, which relies on expert analysis of metrics such as query response times and resource usage. We'll then explore heuristic-based tools like PGTune and PostgreSQL Configurator, offering one-size-fits-all solutions. Finally, we'll set our sights on the future: auto-tuning with machine learning. We'll showcase how these more sophisticated methods can be customized to a specific workload and machine resources, for both self-managed and fully-managed instances. We'll highlight the challenges and the advantages in augmenting PostgreSQL with machine learning, and share valuable lessons learned while developing a production-ready PostgreSQL autotuner.

Session 5 by Ryan Booz: Postgres Configuration Tuning and Query Optimizations: A Beginners Guide 🇺🇸

Creating fast, efficient queries and applications requires effort. Despite ongoing improvements in hardware, query planning, data storage, and AI, users care about one thing above all—how quickly queries respond. Even in 2024, improving problematic queries often requires human expertise. When called upon to help, knowing where to begin and which tools to reach for first is crucial.

In this session, we'll explore the beginner's toolbox of primary settings, indexes, tools, features, and SQL tips. Starting with EXPLAIN plans, we'll cover ad hoc settings for query improvement, indexing strategies, partitioning, and essential SQL techniques. You'll leave with practical ideas to tackle unexpected issues in your day-to-day PostgreSQL application management.

Event Schedule:
5PM - 5:45PM: Session 1 by Hari Kiran (OpenSource DB)
5:45PM - 6:30PM: Session 2 by Josef Machytka (credativ GmbH)
6:30PM - 7:15PM: Session 3 by Matt Cornillon (Google Cloud)
7:15PM - 8:15PM: Session 4 by Luigi Nardi (DBtune)
8:15PM - 9PM: Session 5 by Ryan Booz (pganalyze)

Event Details:
🕑 Time: 5PM (AMT)
🌍 Location: Online (Zoom Meeting: https://zoom.us/j/95473801073?pwd=UTciWCHxStLXvoINGW0EL8bIPd1bKm.1
Meeting ID: 954 7380 1073
Passcode: 320413)
📅 Date: July 2, 2025
💬 Format: Tech Talks, deep dives, and interactive Q&A

Ready to be inspired? Join us to learn from the best and discover what's next in the world of Postgres! 🐘 RSVP TODAY!