Gathering runtime statistics
The first thing you really have to learn is to use and understand what PostgreSQL's onboard statistics have got to offer. In my personal opinion, there is no way to improve performance and reliability without first collecting the data to make prudent decisions.
This section will guide you through PostgreSQL's runtime statistics and explain in detail how you can extract more data from your database setups.
Working with PostgreSQL system views
PostgreSQL offers a large set of system views that allow administrators and developers alike to take a deep look into what is really going on in their system. The trouble is that many people actually collect all this data but cannot make real sense out of it. The general rule is this: there is no point in drawing a graph for something you don't understand anyway. The goal in this section, therefore, is to shed some light on what PostgreSQL has to offer to hopefully make it easier for people to fully take advantage of what is...