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Category: Administration

Data Encryption Options in Postgres

Greg Nokes gives us the options:

Operating system or disk-level encryption protects entire file systems or disks. This method is application-agnostic and offers encryption with minimal overhead. Think technologies like luks in Linux or FileVault in MacOS.

Read on for four options. They’re very similar to options available in SQL Server, so it’s easy enough to compare implementation ideas.

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Finding Free Space in SQL Server Database Files

Greg Robidoux checks for free space:

One of the functions of a DBA is to keep an eye on free space within the database and database files. The auto grow feature is great as a last resort, but proactively managing the database files is a better approach. Also, this information can be used to shrink data files as needed if there is a lot of free space in the files.

In this tip we take a look at a few ways to find the current free space within a database, so you can better manage your database files.

Click through for several techniques.

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Tracking Transaction Log Space in SQL Server

Greg Robidoux keeps track of available space:

Keeping track of your transaction log usage is key to understanding how your database transaction logs are being used as well as keeping track of how much space the transaction logs are using. Depending on the recovery model that is set within your database and also the backup jobs that you run, the size of your transaction log can vary quite a bit. So what is the best way to keep track of the transaction log usage?

Read on to see how. This is almost assuredly a part of any monitoring system but if you’re working to roll your own or find yourself in an environment without such a system, it’s a good thing to track.

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Open Questions on Fabric Administration

Paul Andrew asks some great questions:

Microsoft Fabric is a big product with lots of different data handling capabilities. From a data engineering perspective creating and innovating with Fabric as a unified tool is a great experience, ultimately delivering data insights for the business and adding value, nice! However, as with all new developments, the creativity is the fun part. The governance and movement of code into production is less fun and can become the hard/ugly part if the change management, platform and governance aren’t mature enough.

Paul doesn’t have answers for us, though I do think many of these will eventually have answers most people find reasonable.

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Using the pg_repack Extension

Muhammad Ali tries out an extension:

Regular updates and deletions within PostgreSQL tables can lead to various issues such as bloat, fragmentation, and a decline in performance over time. These challenges can significantly impact the efficiency and reliability of the database, potentially affecting critical operations.

To address these concerns, PostgreSQL introduced the pg_repack extension, which provides a robust solution for managing table maintenance without disrupting the production environment. By allowing tables to be rebuilt online, pg_repack tackles bloat and fragmentation issues, ensuring that database storage remains optimized and performance is consistently maintained.

Read on to see why vacuuming might not be enough and what pg_repack does.

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Monitoring and Alerting on Fabric Capacity Metrics

Ron L’Esteve wants to know what’s happening:

With Microsoft Fabric now generally available, organizations are interested in implementing this flagship Unified Data and AI Intelligence Platform for several reasons. Its native integration within the Azure stack provides seamless and secure access to widely used technologies for data integration, business intelligence, and advanced analytics. Microsoft Fabric’s storage and compute capacity is utilized by resources within this unified analytics platform, including storage repositories, such as data warehouses and data lakes, and compute capacity for Power BI, Pipelines, DW processing, and artificial intelligence (AI)/machine learning (ML) workloads.

Fabric capacity can be purchased on Azure with a pay-as-you-go model, and a 60-day free trial (64 CUs) is offered to test the platform. Organizations that have an existing Power BI Premium capacity can easily enable access to Fabric by using the Microsoft Fabric admin switch. Enabling Fabric in Power BI Premium as opposed to Azure Portal creates a problem: there is no easy way to monitor and set alerts on your Fabric capacity metrics in the Azure Portal.

Click through to learn how to install and use the Microsoft Fabric Capacity Metrics App.

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Arbitrary Intervals for Partitioning in Postgres

Keith Fiske does a bit of interval math:

Whether you are managing a large table or setting up automatic archiving, time based partitioning in Postgres is incredibly powerful. pg_partman’s newest versions support a huge variety of custom time internals. Marco just published a post on using pg_partman with our new database product for doing analytics with PostgresCrunchy Bridge for Analytics. So I thought this would be a great time to review the basic and complex options for the time based partitioning.

Read on for a note of how pg_partman works and interval management, especially for versions earlier than 5.0.

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Multi-Master Architecture in PostgreSQL

Semab Tariq describes a scale-out technique for Postgres:

Multi-master architecture has gained significant traction in the world of database management, offering a solution to traditional limitations in scalabilityfault tolerance, and high availability. By allowing multiple nodes to operate as master, this architecture promises a more flexible and robust database system. However, along with these benefits come certain challenges, including data consistency, resource demands, and conflict resolution.

In this blog, we will explore what multi-master architecture is, delve into its key advantages, and discuss the potential drawbacks that come with its implementation. Also in our upcoming blogs, we will see how you can setup your first multi-master architecture with a tool called PGD (Postgres Distributed) by EnterpriseDB (EDB).

Read on to learn how it works, as well as some of the pros and cons of using it.

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