replica Archives

Tech Optimizer

December 1, 2025

Risks of Manual PostgreSQL Starts in Patroni Clusters: Downtime Warnings

Patroni is an open-source tool for managing PostgreSQL clusters, automating failover and replication. Manual starting of PostgreSQL services within an active Patroni cluster can lead to severe disruptions, including data integrity issues and availability risks. Patroni uses a distributed consensus system, often with etcd or Consul, to manage cluster state and leader elections. Manual interventions can confuse this process, resulting in multiple nodes believing they are the primary, which can cause conflicting writes and potential data loss. Real-world incidents have documented outages due to manual starts, such as promoting a replica node to leader status inadvertently. This disrupts Write-Ahead Logging (WAL) synchronization, leading to divergent transaction logs. Database administrators are advised to use Patroni's built-in commands for service management and implement role-based access controls to prevent unauthorized manual actions. Monitoring solutions are crucial for early detection of anomalies. Simulating failure scenarios in staging environments can help prepare teams for real incidents. Ongoing advancements aim to enhance Patroni's safeguards against manual overrides, with future iterations potentially incorporating AI-driven anomaly detection.

Tech Optimizer

November 30, 2025

Netflix consolidates relational database infrastructure on Amazon Aurora, achieving up to 75% improved performance

Netflix operates a global streaming service using a distributed microservices architecture, with the Online Data Stores (ODS) team managing persistent data store solutions. The ODS team aims to enhance developer productivity and operational efficiency but faced challenges due to a fragmented relational database strategy involving multiple PostgreSQL-compatible engines, leading to operational inefficiencies and increased overhead for both infrastructure and application teams. To address these challenges, Netflix evaluated database solutions based on criteria focused on developer productivity, operational efficiency, performance reliability, and scalability. After thorough evaluation, Netflix selected Aurora PostgreSQL as the preferred database solution for relational workloads. Key reasons for choosing Aurora include its ability to handle single-Region and multi-Region workloads effectively, employing asynchronous storage-based replication for low-latency operations. Aurora's log-based write operations and shared storage architecture provide higher write throughput and lower latency. As a fully managed service, Aurora eliminates the manual operational overhead associated with self-managed databases, allowing developers to leverage existing PostgreSQL expertise with minimal code changes. Post-migration results for applications like Front50 and the Policy Engine showed significant improvements in latency and stability. Front50 experienced a 50% reduction in average latency and a 70% reduction in maximum latency. The Policy Engine noted overall latency improvements across all endpoints, with specific reductions in key functions, enhancing responsiveness and operational efficiency.

Tech Optimizer

November 13, 2025

Using delayed read replicas for Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL disaster recovery

Human errors can significantly threaten business continuity, with a single incorrect DELETE statement or mismanaged application deployment potentially corrupting critical business data. Amazon Relational Database Service (Amazon RDS) provides automated backups and transaction log backups to mitigate these risks. Traditional recovery methods often involve creating new database instances and executing point-in-time recovery, which can take hours for large databases. AWS has introduced delayed read replicas for Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL, which maintain a standby replica that intentionally lags behind the primary database by a configurable time interval. This allows users to identify data corruption on the production instance and promote the replica before problematic operations are executed. Promoting the delayed replica to become the new primary cluster can be done within minutes. The feature can be enabled using the recovery_min_apply_delay parameter in specific PostgreSQL versions. Delayed replicas address three main use cases: preventing accidental data modifications, protecting against logical errors in applications, and enabling auditing and forensic analysis of data changes. They act as an "undo buffer," complementing disaster recovery strategies by providing a real-time point-in-time recovery mechanism. To set up delayed replication, the recovery_min_apply_delay parameter must be configured. The process involves creating a custom database parameter group, modifying it to set the desired delay, and applying it to the read replica instance. The parameter is static, requiring a reboot to take effect. The delayed replication feature also includes two recovery functions: pg_wal_replay_pause() to pause the recovery process and pg_wal_replay_resume() to resume it. If WAL replay is paused, it must be resumed to prevent excessive storage consumption. In a recovery scenario, if a user accidentally drops a logical database, the delayed replica provides a crucial opportunity to implement a recovery plan before the DROP statement propagates. The recovery process involves pausing WAL replay, capturing replica metrics, setting recovery target parameters, and promoting the read replica to become the new primary. Best practices for implementing delayed replication include comprehensive monitoring of storage space, enabling storage auto-scaling, managing WAL log accumulation, and regularly reviewing the delayed replica’s replication status.

AppWizard

November 8, 2025

Flint Castle recreated in Minecraft for new Cadw learning project

Flint Castle has been revitalized in Minecraft through an educational initiative by Cadw, allowing students from Ysgol Flint Gwynedd and Ysgol Cornist Park to explore a digital replica of the historic site. This is the fourth Welsh heritage site recreated in Minecraft, following Conwy Castle, Caernarfon Castle, and Harlech Castle. Since its launch in December 2024, the bilingual Minecraft resources have been downloaded over 7,000 times by educators in Wales. Flint Castle, built by King Edward I in 1277, played significant roles in British history, including the capture of King Richard II in 1399 and involvement in Owain Glyndŵr’s rebellion in 1400. The Minecraft world allows learners aged 8 to 14 to explore the castle and engage with the interactive Conflict Trail. Cadw plans to add around 20 more locations to the Minecraft world in the coming year, with resources available in Welsh and English.

Tech Optimizer

November 7, 2025

Reinventing PostgreSQL for the Next Generation of Apps

Enterprises are modernizing their databases due to latency issues, the need for global uptime, and licensing pressures. PostgreSQL is emerging as a preferred alternative to traditional database solutions like Oracle and SAP, focusing on reliability, control, and efficient management of modern workloads, including AI and edge applications. pgEdge, an open-source Postgres vendor, emphasizes that migration to PostgreSQL is about ensuring flexibility and avoiding vendor lock-in. PostgreSQL's governance model, independent of any single company, is a significant advantage, particularly in light of licensing audits and forced upgrades. PostgreSQL has a large developer community and is a mainstream enterprise technology, with tools like pgAdmin widely used. Concerns about operational burdens with open source are addressed by extensions like pgEdge, which enhance PostgreSQL's capabilities for high availability and seamless multi-cloud deployment. pgEdge operationalizes PostgreSQL for distributed use, automating upgrades, backups, and point-in-time recovery, leading to a lower total cost of ownership compared to proprietary models. Modern applications require edge-native databases to operate close to users, reducing latency. pgEdge supports multimaster PostgreSQL across geographically distributed clusters, allowing local read and write capabilities while maintaining data consistency. It builds on PostgreSQL’s logical replication without forking it, ensuring compatibility and consistency. pgEdge facilitates database automation on Kubernetes, managing backups, recovery, and upgrades, making it easier for platform teams. Organizations can start with a simple setup and scale to a multiregion architecture as needed, using the same PostgreSQL stack throughout. pgEdge offers container builds that cater to enterprise needs for geospatial intelligence and AI workflows. As AI applications increasingly run at the edge, pgEdge provides the necessary performance and coherence for edge-native AI. PostgreSQL's SQL compatibility and ACID compliance ease the migration process from systems like Oracle and SAP. The extensive user base across various sectors simplifies hiring PostgreSQL expertise. Combining PostgreSQL with pgEdge offers a strategic modernization pathway for enterprises needing reliable, Kubernetes-native operations and AI-ready extensions, freeing them from vendor lock-in and high licensing costs. This integration transforms PostgreSQL into a globally distributed, cloud-native control plane for data, benefiting architects, CFOs, and developers alike.

AppWizard

October 31, 2025

Marist Minecraft Server in Development

A new Minecraft server is being developed for the Marist University community, led by Noah Yurasko, the President of the Student Government Association for the Class of 2028. The server will feature four distinct worlds: an Adventure Showcase World (a replica of the Marist campus), a Creative Building World, a Survival Factions World, and a Survival Collaborative World. Yurasko invited students to participate, resulting in 200 responses, with 50 interested in technical development. The server will require students to log in with their Marist email addresses to ensure a safe environment. Faculty members from the Donnelly Data Center are supporting the project, which aims to launch by the end of the semester.

AppWizard

October 26, 2025

Woot has whipped up a big discount on the Indiana Jones and the Great Circle Collector’s Edition for PC

The Indiana Jones and the Great Circle Collector's Edition includes a game, an 11-inch globe, downloadable content (DLC), a journal, a replica of the Allmaker relic, and Indy's Temple of Doom outfit for in-game use. The price has dropped to .99 at Woot, making it more accessible compared to the standard version priced at .49 on Amazon or Steam. The collector's edition items are inspired by Indiana Jones's fictional office at Marshall College. The globe features a plane magnet that unlocks a hidden storage compartment.

AppWizard

October 21, 2025

Building A Minecraft Lantern For Halloween

A team at Hulk has created a 3D-printed replica of the Minecraft lantern for Halloween. The lantern features a 3D printed enclosure that mimics the game's design and is made of six parts assembled with acrylic lenses to diffuse light. It uses an Arduino Nano to control lighting effects with NeoPixel LED rings, allowing customizable RGB colors through integrated rotary pots. The lantern is powered by an 18650 lithium-ion cell and a TP4056 module for battery maintenance. This project exemplifies the merging of technology and creativity in the maker community.

Tech Optimizer

October 8, 2025

How OpenAI scaled with Azure Database for PostgreSQL – Microsoft for Startups Blog

OpenAI utilizes PostgreSQL as the backbone for its essential systems, particularly in collaboration with Microsoft Azure Database for PostgreSQL. Initially, OpenAI adopted a straightforward architecture with a single primary Postgres instance for write operations and multiple read-only replicas for handling read traffic. This setup allowed for exceptional scalability in read operations, but as demand increased, write requests became a bottleneck. To address scalability challenges, OpenAI implemented several strategies, including offloading write workloads, optimizing read-heavy workloads with replicas and smart query routing, and establishing schema governance for stability. These optimizations led to significant outcomes: the PostgreSQL cluster now processes millions of queries per second, has numerous global read replicas for low-latency access, and has improved database response times from approximately 50 milliseconds to under five milliseconds for many queries. OpenAI's collaboration with Azure Database for PostgreSQL facilitated ease of scaling and replication, allowing for the seamless addition of replicas and the development of features like elastic clusters and cascading read replicas. The advantages of Azure included high availability, co-innovation support, and security compliance, providing a reliable foundation for OpenAI's optimizations.

AppWizard

October 2, 2025

The gamers have done it again, this time building a functional ChatGPT in Minecraft—but before you get too excited, it takes literally hours to provide a response

A YouTuber named sammyuri has created a version of ChatGPT called CraftGPT within Minecraft, which features approximately 5 million parameters and uses the TinyChat dataset for basic English conversations. CraftGPT has a vocabulary limited to 1,920 tokens and operates with a small context window of 64 tokens, leading to responses that can be off-topic, ungrammatical, or nonsensical. The model is slow, taking hours to generate a response even with an accelerated tick rate, and could take up to a decade without a specialized multithreaded server.