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PostgreSQL autovacuum, explained for engeneers – slides from PostgreSQL Meetup at Zalando Berlin HQ

At the first Russian PGDay there was a sort of joke, right after PostgreSQL DBA tutorial: “we need an autovacuum tutorial”. The topic is utmost important, poor…

We don’t want to sound like your mother, but having your databases checked regularly is really important for your application performance.

Our PostgreSQL Service Desk service is performed by DBA with 10+ years PostgreSQL experience who live and breathe Postgres.
They will ensure that your databases have the security and high availability your application needs.

– PHASE 1 –

Audit and Optimisation

This is an induction phase, during which your databases will undergo a thorough review by our DBA, who will:

analyse load tune DB configuration
review your database monitoring data
review and optimise top query
assist in monitoring tool installation
set up auto-healthchecks

During this phase our DBA will be answering any questions regarding:

architecture
database configuration
OS configuration
high availability set up and replication
backup and recovery
upgrades (major and minor)
partitioning
scaling out and sharding practices
access privileges
support during migration to PostgreSQL
consult on hardware selection
locking and concurrency issues

Training

Your developers will also be able to receive an online training session from our experts to ensure they can address key PostgreSQL issues at an industry-standard level. (within your monthly hour limit)

– PHASE 2 –

Ongoing support

Once your databases have been audited and your team trained you will be moved to a subscription-based ongoing support. During this phase our DBA will be around to answer any questions and support in the following:

Questions related to database and OS configuration
Basic query optimisation
Questions that do not require an in-depth investigation
Post factum analysis of database outages (during working hours)
Autohealthcheck reports review (we notify you of any abnormalities)
Monitoring trigger review (we notify you of any abnormalities)

Price: from 10000€/year+VAT (for 2 PostgreSQL instances).

Annual Subscription to PostgreSQL Service Desk is a one-year contract.

Price includes:

up to 10 DBA hours monthly for the duration of Phase 1 (2 months) and
up to 2 DBA hours monthly for Phase 2 (10 months).

Overtime is billed at the end of each month at 250€/hour+VAT rate.

Subject to client’s installation specifications and databases access Phase 1 may take longer and require additional fee. This will be pre-agreed with client in advance.

SLA: Response time is provided as follows:

During Audit and Optimisation (Phase 1) Data Egret provides support with up to 3h response during working hours.
During the Ongoing support (Phase 2) we answer any questions via email with up to 24 hours response time during working hours.

If you are interested in shorter response times we suggest our 24/7 PostgreSQL Support services.

Database Access: Data Egret Service Desk Annual Subscription can be provided with or without access to databases, however without database access addressing any issues will require more time making the process less cost-effective.

Interested in learning more? Give us a nudge via email.

We are a consulting firm that offers PostgreSQL administration services. We are looking for a seasoned PostgreSQL DBA specialist for a full-time remote position.

Who will you be working with?

Depending on the client’s team structure you will be working with either client’s DBAs, developers, DevOps or technical managers.

Irrespective of client’s team structure you will be surrounded by best in class Data Egret PostgreSQL DBA, who have many years of experience supporting companies that work with PostgreSQL.

What skills will you gain?

In addition to harnessing your technical skills you will grow as a technical support specialist, who is able to listen to our clients, ask questions, review possible solutions with them, and be a reliable partner, who will be a valuable member of the extended client’s team beyond their expectations.

What will your job be like?

You will be the focal point to our clients when it comes to databases – figuring out why things don’t work the way they should, providing guidance and fixes to ensure that our client’s HA projects go like clockwork.

Here are a few examples of your day-to-day technical tasks:

Working with physical/logical replication.
Make changes in schema under load with minimum downtime.
Perform slow query analysis and optimization.
Implementing and troubleshooting backup and recovery practices.
Setting up and configuring Postgres.
Explaining to a customer how to use Postgres in the best way.
Finding and troubleshooting performance issues.
Perform minor and major PostgreSQL upgrades.

What do we expect from you?

You are a seasoned DBA with 2 or more years of experience in administering high availability.
PostgreSQL projects (including replication configuration, performance tuning, monitoring configuration etc.).
Have experience in optimizing complex SQL queries.
Enjoy working independently on vague client briefs (leading an open dialog with client in order to obtain the necessary information regarding client’s problems, identify the issue, offer and discuss with client possible solutions and communicate upon delivery).
You are a confident Linux user and know how to perform basic system administration (Ubuntu/Debian/RedHat).
Have general understanding of database theory.
Have basic knowledge of shell scripting (writing screens-lengthy scripts that will be understandable to other admins and to yourself a few months later).
You can write and especially read complex (and very complex) SQL queries.
You are a keen learner and eager to discover new solutions to old problems.

This is a client facing role and the ability to communicate your actions and be able to reason with client is imperative.

What skills would be a plus?

Familiarity with Patroni.
Familiarity with some DevOps tools such as Ansible/Docker/Kubernetes.
Experience performing recovery from a backup.
C programming skills and experience in analysing with perf/strace/gdb.
Administration experience with cloud platforms.
Interest in giving conference talks and/or writing technical blog posts.
Experience working with PgBouncer.
Experience working with Postgres source code.
You performed or supported through migrations to Postgres from other DBMS.
You know how to work with monitoring solutions (DataDog, Odarix, NewRelic, Zabbix, pgwatch2 or other services/tools), as well as working with PostgreSQL logs gathering and interpreting data.

Why choose Data Egret as your place of work?

You will be a part of one of the leading PostgreSQL DBA teams working in a consultancy that has been named a significant sponsor to PostgreSQL by the Postgres community.
You will be able to brush up your database administration skills on a multitude of databases in different environments and gain experience that would normally take you years to get working in-house within months.

We offer:

A competitive pay based on your experience and annual performance-based bonus scheme.
Full-remote working.
Flexible working hours.
An opportunity to work alongside DBA colleagues, who live and breathe Postgres and contribute to its development.
Support of your participation in Postgres community conferences.
Collaborative and open environment where you are supported by your colleagues and can learn and thrive.

Apply

Have questions about this opportunity?
Contact us! [email protected]

Health Check

Most emergencies leading to service unavailability and loss of your data can be mitigated and detected at an early stage with minimal effort. Data Egret Health Check will ensure a smooth running of your service, give you a headstart for your launch or migration and will allow better budgetary planning.

We will provide you a tailored offering based on your system specifications, however, below rates will give you an idea of pricing for our Health Check solution.

Package	Price*
PostgreSQL configuration analysis	from 500 €
Hardware and OS configuration analysis	from 600 €
Slow SQL queries analysis	from 500 €
Comprehensive performance Health Check*	from 3500 €
* For single PostgreSQL installation (1 master + 1 replica)

24/7 PostgreSQL Support

24/7 PostgreSQL Support offers you a combination of ongoing consultancy from our experts as well as round the clock support from dedicated team. To ensure smooth running of your systems and give you peace of mind we will be providing following services:

Dedicated Data Egret team

that will be your contact in case of any questions or concerns. Team that will be aware of your system’s specifications and will work on any arising issues within 15 minutes to an hour from enquiry.

Real time counsel

on everything PostgreSQL provided by our team of experts to your company developers and operations engineers.

Ongoing monitoring of your databases

that includes query performance, issues management and recommendation on performance improvements.

Regular upgrades

of PostgreSQL and related software.

Backup and recovery

that includes regular backup of your database and recovery solution with regular test recovery.

Basic	Premium	VIP
Incl. up to 5h/month DBA time	Incl. up to 15h/month DBA time	Incl. up to 30h/month DBA time
Slack, Mattermost, Telegram	Slack, Mattermost, Telegram	Slack, Mattermost, Telegram
Response time — 1 Hour	Response time — 1 Hour	Response time — 30 minutes
Up to 2 PostgreSQL instances	Up to 5 PostgreSQL instances	Up to 10 PostgreSQL instances