Introduction

PostgreSQL, often simply Postgres, is an object-relational database management system (ORDBMS) available for many platforms including Linux, FreeBSD, Solaris, Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X. It implements the majority of the SQL:2008 standard, is ACID-compliant, is fully transactional (including all DDL statements), has extensible data types, operators, and indexes, and has a large number of extensions written by third parties.

Owing to its ability to operate on heterogeneous platforms, the PostgreSQL has of late become the preferred backend for many mission-critical service offerings. A second’s non-availability of the server, a sudden or steady erosion of free space in one/more of its tablespaces, ineffective caching by the server, and intense locking can cause serious harm to not only the performance of the PostgreSQL server in question, but also the services that rely on it. Continuous monitoring of the database server and prompt detection and resolution of anomalies is hence imperative. For continuously monitoring the PostgreSQL database server, the eG Enterprise provides a specialized monitoring model, which is explained in the upcoming topics.