PostgreSQL Tips, Tricks, and Gotchas

Whether you’re a newbie to databases and PostgreSQL, or a seasoned database administrator getting your toes wet using PostgreSQL for the first time, understanding what the “gotchas” are and how to solve them will not only save you time, but a lot of headaches as well.

Every seasoned database professional, system administrator, and software developer has a "bag of tricks" that they've learned to rely upon through years of experience. In this talk, Darren Douglas will demonstrate a PostgreSQL “bag of tricks” that he’s accumulated as a PostgreSQL administrator and trainer over the years.

Special emphasis will be on admin tips and hacks that can be valuable for the seasoned database veteran who is a PostgreSQL rookie, as well as for new developers just getting started with PostgreSQL.

Among the topics to be covered are are:

• Quickly tuning the PostgreSQL logs to see what your ORM framework is doing

• Get an overview of the postgres, template0 and template1 databases

• Calling the bin/postgres server executable directly to debug startup issues

• A quick review of pg_hba.conf and how to read it

• Running a logical backup from one machine/cluster and piping to the input of another (rather than backup to file, transfer, then import)
• And more …