In this episode, we introduce the just-released open source extension StatsMgr, created to continuously monitor and track events across PostgreSQL and the underlying system. Here’s a look at what this episode covered:
Originally the idea was to provide a simplified interface for metrics, while enhancing them with a wide variety of available types. This functionality was then expanded to address problems like:
This extension, in turn, is great at handling situations like when…
Currently, supported statistics include:
Each of these is registered with a handler that lets you fetch and manage these statistics, and also is accompanied by shared memory structures for storing historical snapshots.
Some of the next steps for the project will include adding in dynamic statistics such as pg_stat_user_tables, amongst others.
There are still many things to do, from subtle improvements to major new features. So of course there’s many opportunities to contribute to the project, no matter if you’re a new-comer or an advanced PostgreSQL developer. Interested in being a part of the effort? Check out CONTRIBUTING.md within the project.
For an in-depth exploration of StatsMgr and its capabilities, watch the full episode here:
We still have much more to come for Postgres Café. Subscribe to the playlist for episodes that feature more open-source tools like pgroll for zero-downtime schema migrations, Citus Data for distributed and scalable PostgreSQL as an extension, and more. Watch this space to learn how each tool can make working with Postgres smoother and more efficient.
]]>The Citus database has experienced 127 releases since Mar 24, 2016 when it was first made freely open-source for open use and contributions. It’s a powerful tool that works natively with PostgreSQL, and seamlessly integrates with all Postgres tools and extensions. Continue reading for a summary of what we covered in this podcast episode!
So why does Citus Data exist, and what problems does it solve? Let’s delve into this by category.
Citus is designed to solve the distributed data modeling problem by providing methods in distributed data modeling to map workloads, such as sharding tables based on primary keys (especially useful for microservices and high-throughput workloads).
By distributing data across multiple nodes, you’re able to enable the horizontal scaling of PostgreSQL databases.
This allows developers to combine CPU, memory, storage, and I/O capacity across multiple machines for handling large datasets and high traffic workloads. It’s simple to add more worker nodes to the cluster and rebalance the shards as your data volume grows.
The distributed query engine in Citus is used to maximize efficiency, parallelizing queries and batching execution across multiple worker nodes.
Even in cases where there are thousands to millions of statements being executed per second, data ingestion is still optimized through finding the right shard placements, connecting to the appropriate worker nodes, and performing operations in parallel. All of this ensures high throughput and low latency for real-time data absorption.
Through the distributed data model, you can create redundant copies of tables and shard data across multiple nodes. Through this process, you can ensure the database remains resilient and available even when nodes crash, and maintain high availability as a result.
At Data Bene, our goal is to support forward momentum of upstream source code through ongoing development and code contributions. Cédric Villemain, among others on our team, constantly assesses for new feature additions or other improvements that can make a difference for users.
No matter whether you’re part of a DevOps team that is looking to build out distributed architecture for your PostgreSQL instances, or an end user such as a business analyst that is seeking efficient performance when handling vast amounts of data, Citus Data may be the perfect extension to support your use case.
If you have specific feature requests or concerns, our team here at Data Bene will help support you to contribute directly to Citus Data or can do so on your behalf to ensure the longevity of the project and relevance for your projects. Learn more about contributing to Citus Data by referencing the official CONTRIBUTING.md file.
Thinking about watching the full discussion? Check it out on YouTube:
More episodes are still being published for Postgres Café! Subscribe to the playlist for more interviews around open-source tools like StatsMgr for efficient statistics management for PostgreSQL, pgzx for the creation of PostgreSQL extensions using Zig, & more. Get ideas from the experts for new extensions to try out and maximize your Postgres deployments.
]]>How often do companies express interest in open-source contribution? Clearly, by helping out in any way, the open-source project itself sees a benefit. But are there any advantages for the company that is giving back in any way? What are some contribution methods that a company can consider? These are all questions we hear about constantly—so let’s explore some of the answers discussed in this episode in a quick recap.
At Data Bene, we have a few customers that are interested in developing features or enhancements for the PostgreSQL ecosystem already.
These companies are interested in addressing bugs and adding new features that complement their use cases and tech stacks across PostgreSQL, Citus Data, and related technologies to accomplish two things:
Times change; the only way the upstream software will remain relevant, useful, and beneficial to the global audience using the product is if there are global contributions back to the same, ensuring it still meets real users needs from year to year.
Vendor lock-in is a huge problem in the software & services industry; giving back to open-source projects ensures that technology that is openly developed can continue to be so. Using FOSS technology means you avoid investing in a company that might close the code or restrict access, giving the end user freedom to continue using and developing essential tools that are part of their tech stack.
This kind of software is also subject to a highly visible development process, meaning it is much harder for privacy invasions, cybersecurity vulnerabilities, and more to be built into the underlying code.
Additionally, open-source software is built by individuals all over the world with a variety of perspectives and backgrounds; this ensures that it is thoroughly tested, with a wide range of features built-in that are actually useful to many end-users. This helps these kinds of projects to be successful for a number of years and continue to be so as long as there is a community willing to support each of them.
Case-in-point: PostgreSQL has been around for 35+ years of active development and is still topping developer surveys and charts today for being the most liked, most used, and most popular database solution—worldwide!
There are a few key ways to achieve this end-goal:
Cédric Villemain, Data Bene’s president, has developed pg_fincore and is currently working on StatsMgr, pg_psi, and other components that are designed to improve Postgres’ statistics capabilities.
Our team is also responsible for a number of contributions across projects like Citus Data and Zammad.
We make a point of sponsoring, presenting at, & advocating for PostgreSQL or open-source community conferences and user groups, such as PostgreSQL Europe, pgDay Paris, AlpOSS, Capitole du Libre, & more. Some of our team also individually have started or are on the organizational committees for various events such as the Barcelona & Madrid PostgreSQL User Groups and pgDay Lowlands. The impact of events on the larger project & community cannot be understated, and it is important to us to do all we can to contribute in this manner.
Finally, we help customers understand how to contribute to PostgreSQL and similar open-source projects. Through training, workshops, and collaboration, we encourage making meaningful contributions that fit their goals and support the greater community.
If you’re a developer who is interested in contributing to open-source and/or the PostgreSQL ecosystem, or helping customers with R&D requirements, our team is expanding—visit us at our website to see available positions!
Thinking about watching the full discussion? Check it out on YouTube:
We’ve finished our first round of episodes for Postgres Café as of this release! More episodes may or may not be pending… follow us on social media (like LinkedIn or Mastodon) to be updated on more to come. (Would you like to see more from this podcast series? Let us know!)
Subscribe to the playlist or check it out for interviews about open-source extensions like StatsMgr for efficient statistics management for PostgreSQL, an open-source change data capture (CDC) tool designed specifically for PostgreSQL called pgstream, & more. PostgreSQL is one of the most extensible databases on the market with a huge extension ecosystem; learn directly from the experts as you discover some of the options out there.
]]>This year’s conference focused around the topics of AI, DevOps and cloud-native technologies, open source community engagement, security and compliance, systems and infrastructure, and FOSS @ home (exploring the world of self-hosted applications and cloud services).
The conference drew attendees from around the world to talk about everything open-source, revolving around Linux at the core (of course) while continuing the discussion across topics such as embedded systems & IoT. As always, there was a unique blend of cutting-edge tech talk and practical problem-solving within every space that is what makes SCaLE special.
PostgreSQL@SCaLE22x ran as a dedicated two-day, two-track event on March 6-7, 2025, recognized under the PostgreSQL Global Development Group community event guidelines. The selection team included Gabrielle Roth, Joe Conway, and Mark Wong, ensuring the quality you’d expect from the PostgreSQL community.
The speaker lineup was impressive: Magnus Hagander, Christophe Pettus, Peter Farkas, Devrim Gündüz, Hamid Akhtar, Henrietta Dombrovskaya, Shaun Thomas, Gülçin Yıldırım Jelínek & Andrew Farries, Nick Meyer, and Jimmy Angelakos. One particularly memorable session was titled “Row-Level Security Sucks. Can We Make It Usable?”—a refreshingly honest take on PostgreSQL’s RLS feature that probably resonated with more than a few database administrators in the audience.
The community “Ask Me Anything” panel was hosted by Stacey Haysler and featured Christophe Pettus, Devrim Gündüz, Jimmy Angelakos, Magnus Hagander, and Mark Wong. These sessions are where the real knowledge transfer happens—no marketing speak, just practitioners talking shop about PostgreSQL internals, performance, best practices, and the future of the database.
Behind the scenes, volunteers Derya Gumustel, Erika Miller, Hamid Akhtar, Jennifer Scheuerell, Mark Wong, and Roberto Mello kept everything running smoothly, with PGUS hosting the booth in the expo hall.
Personally, I had the pleasure of collaborating with Jimmy Angelakos during his live streaming sessions featuring other guests like Henrietta Dombrovskaya, Mark Wong, Gülçin Yıldırım Jelínek, and even a brief cameo from Devrim Gündüz.
One of the topics discussed with Gülçin Yıldırım Jelínek on the podcast is whether or not there’s any community interest in continuing Postgres Café. What do you think? Do you want to see more episodes from this podcast series, expanding discussions on extension and open source development to the rest of the community and beyond? Let us know: contact@data-bene.io
There are a lot of co-located events besides PostgreSQL @ SCaLE, including “SCaLE: The Next Generation (TNG)” which is a youth-focused tech event encouraging interactive activities and presentations for students, and the annual Cybersecurity Capture the Flag (CTF) game event presented by Cal Poly FAST and Pacific Hackers.
SCaLE remains an excellent place to network when looking to advance your career in open source. Socializing at the booths is always an excellent way to make connections and find opportunities, of course, but Open Source Career Day also returned in order to offer a dedicated space for professionals and aspiring technologists to become empowered with resources, tools, real-world examples, and engaging content from presentations and workshops.
The fun tradition of holding a Saturday Game Night with food & drinks also continued this year, with Trivia Night (presented by Uncoded) and other fun activities such as inflatable axe throwing, nerf target practice, arts & crafts, a board game room, casino night, & a blocks room for building derby cars, playing pictionary, or building with large blocks.
SCaLE has established itself as a consistent presence in Pasadena, and this stability has allowed the conference to build lasting relationships with the local community and venues. Keep an eye out for SCaLE 23x announcements - it promises to be well worth the visit.
For those interested in PostgreSQL@SCaLE specifically, stay tuned to the PostgreSQL mailing lists for announcements about volunteering, speaking opportunities, or other ways to participate in next year’s event. The PostgreSQL track and booth is a consistent source of engaging discussions amongst those in the Postgres community and beyond, reflecting the database’s growing adoption across industries.
In a world where many tech conferences feel more like elaborate vendor showcases, SCaLE remains that rare gathering where community comes first, collaboration is genuine, and the technology discussions are driven by practitioners solving real problems. Mark your calendars for SCaLE 23x—this is one conference that consistently delivers on its promise of bringing together open source enthusiasts to actually collaborate and learn.
Wish you hadn’t missed out? You can always check out the YouTube playlist of talks that were recorded during the conference to at least benefit from the knowledge contained therein.
]]>The survey results show that PostgreSQL is ranked the highest among all database technologies for developers that want to use it in the next year (47%) or have used it this year and want to continue using it next year (66%) for the third year in a row.
The survey data from over 49,000 developers across 177 countries provides clear evidence of PostgreSQL’s sustained appeal. Since 2023, PostgreSQL has consistently ranked as both the most desired and most admired database technology among developers.
Looking at the specific metrics from the survey visualizations, PostgreSQL leads with 46.5% of developers wanting to work with it in the coming year, while an impressive 65.5% of those who have used it want to continue doing so. These aren’t just impressive numbers—they represent a consistency that’s rare in the rapidly changing technology landscape.
The survey data also reveals an interesting pattern among developers currently using other database technologies. Developers working with MongoDB and Redis show a particularly strong desire to add PostgreSQL to their toolkit next year, seeing the value in adding relational database skills to their repertoire.
Why has PostgreSQL achieved this level of sustained success? The answer lies in its community-driven development model. As an open source project, PostgreSQL benefits from collaborative development that is both transparent and responsive to real-world needs.
The PostgreSQL project represents the best of what community-driven development can achieve. With over 400 code contributors across more than 140 supporting companies, the project boasts over 55,000 commits and more than 1.6 million lines of carefully crafted code. This diverse, globally distributed approach to development results in more thorough testing, faster bug fixes, and more innovative features than traditional commercial development models typically achieve.
Major versions are released annually with approximately 180 features per release, complemented by quarterly minor releases that include numerous improvements and fixes. This steady cadence of innovation consistently contributed by individuals all over the world ensures PostgreSQL doesn’t just keep pace with developer needs—it anticipates them. More than that, every individual has the agency to contribute to the project to ensure that anywhere the software is lagging behind, functionality changes to address modern demands.
One key factor in PostgreSQL’s broad appeal is that it’s not limited to being just a relational database system. PostgreSQL is object-relational by design, capable of handling diverse data types including JSON/JSONB, XML, Key-Value, geometric, geospatial, native UUID, and time-series data. This versatility explains why developers from NoSQL backgrounds find PostgreSQL attractive—it offers relational reliability while maintaining the flexibility they’re accustomed to.
The extensive support for different data types, combined with ACID (Atomicity, Consistency, Isolation, Durability) characteristics, enables optimized, performant, and reliable data handling regardless of the specific requirements in place. Additionally, PostgreSQL’s huge community-driven extension network builds on its native extensibility, providing solutions for geospatial handling, disaster recovery, high availability infrastructure, monitoring, auditing, and much more.
While PostgreSQL dominates the top positions, the survey reveals a healthy, competitive database ecosystem. The complete rankings show:
Most Desired Databases:
Most Admired Databases:
These numbers reflect a diverse ecosystem where different databases serve specific purposes. SQLite’s strong performance highlights the continued importance of lightweight, embedded solutions. Redis maintains its position as a highly regarded specialized database for caching and real-time applications. Traditional databases like MySQL and Microsoft SQL Server continue to hold significant positions, while newer technologies like DuckDB show impressive admiration scores despite lower usage rates.
Three consecutive years at the top of developer preferences doesn’t happen by accident. PostgreSQL’s sustained dominance stems from fundamental strengths that continue to serve developers well as technology landscapes shift. The resilience built into PostgreSQL through its community-driven development model means it adapts without losing stability. Its extensibility sets it apart in practical ways—rather than waiting for vendor roadmaps or worrying about feature gaps, developers can build what they need or leverage the extensive ecosystem of community extensions. The open source nature ensures PostgreSQL remains focused on developer needs rather than business models, with bug fixes happening quickly and features developing based on real-world use cases.
After 35 years of active development and three consecutive years as the most desired database technology, PostgreSQL has proven that community-driven open source development can deliver both immediate utility and long-term value. For developers and organizations looking at their database choices, PostgreSQL offers something increasingly rare: a technology that gets better over time without leaving its users behind.
]]>If you find the subject of particle physics interesting, you may want to visit anyways! They offer free access to many activities that run from Tuesday to Sunday; you can view the full programme here.
Here, you’ll be able to attend a single track of seven English-language sessions, with a social gathering afterwards to enjoy CERN while continuing to connect with the rest of the attendees.
This year, there’ll be:
The first talk of the day is of particular note…
The CERN Tape Archive (CTA) stores over one exabyte of scientific data. To orchestrate storage operations (archival) and access operations (retrieval), the CTA Scheduler coordinates concurrent data movements across hundreds of tape servers, relying on a Scheduler Database (Scheduler DB) to manage the metadata of the in-flight requests. The existing objectstore-based design of the CTA Scheduler DB is a complex transactional management system. This talk presents the development of a new PostgreSQL-based backend for the CTA Scheduler as an off-the-shelf solution which simplifies implementation and is expected to significantly reduce future development and operational costs. We describe the implementation of all main CTA workflows and explain how PostgreSQL addresses the limitations of the objectstore-based system, providing the foundation for the tenfold increase in data throughput expected during LHC Run 4.
In a world where ever larger amounts of digital information must be stored, learning more about how CERN manages over one exabyte of scientific data is sure to be an interesting experience.
Geneva is home to many international organizations across the public, private, and scientific sectors. If you’d like to explore the topic of PostgreSQL in more depth through engaging in discussion or attending sessions, it’s a fun location to meet and learn. Thinking of coming by? You can register until February 1st.
Last year’s session recordings can be viewed by visiting the 2025 schedule and selecting the paperclip symbol next to the talk you’re interested in.
Stop by and see us in the catering area; we’re proud to be sponsoring the event again this year and will have a table or booth where you can visit. We’d love to talk about what PostgreSQL and open-source innovation, development, & whatever questions you have.
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