Josh Berkus, a core team member of the PostgreSQL Project, will give a talk at SCALE 12X on "HowToDR." The SCALE Team asked him a few questions about his presentation for this interview.
Q: Could you please introduce yourself and tell us a little about your background?
A: I'm best known as a member of the Core Team of the PostgreSQL Project. I also lead PostgreSQL Experts, a small consulting company delivering services for PostgreSQL users. I've been doing database stuff
professionally for about 18 years, starting with the desktop database Paradox. Aside from databases, I write a lot of Python these days, create pottery, and cook.
Q: You're giving a talk on HowToDR. Without tipping your hand on the actual talk, can you give us an idea of what we might expect?
A: So, recently we had a client lose their PostgreSQL cloud server. They had continuous backup, which we'd set up for them. However, they had no way to deploy a new database cloud server quickly: they didn't have the configuration information, didn't know the server specs, and hadn't sorted the security information. As a result, they were down for five hours, of which only 20 minutes was the restore from backup.
That sort of downtime is completely avoidable with just a little bit of advance planning. That's what my talk is about.
Q: Is this your first visit to SCALE? If so, what are your expectations? If not, can you give us your impressions of the event?
A: I've been going to SCALE since 5, I think. Obviously, I like the conference.
Q: Is there anything else you'd like to add?
A: There's a full day of PostgreSQL talks on Friday; join us for the LA pgDay, if you're at all interested in PostgreSQL.
[SCALE Team interview by Hannah Anderson]