What is our primary use case?
Postgres is a database. Like Oracle is a database, this is a database.
We replaced our Oracle paid database with the open-source Postgres database, and we migrated around 50 lakhs of consumer data there with different rows and tables. We deployed this in different production staging and testing. We created three deployments, and each deployment has three servers.
How has it helped my organization?
Earlier, we were using the Oracle paid database, which is a commercial product. Then we switched to open-source due to the fact that we have lots of new projects and we could not handle the licensing costs. So we migrated our data from the Oracle Database Server to the Postgres Server. It helped us to evaluate the cost. We saved lots of money in terms of licensing.
What is most valuable?
It is open-source.
It provides the database load-balancing capability itself. It has data, like Pgpool, an open-source database, and a load balancer also.
We can also create the cluster in between the database in active, standby mode.
The solution is stable.
It's scalable.
What needs improvement?
It doesn't have any GUI-based monitoring tools. Oracle has some proprietary tools for monitoring all the databases and all that. Postgres doesn't have any graphical capabilities where we can monitor the database. We have to do it with the Sierra stuff and run some random commands. Then we can get the data from the cluster and databases table.
The initial setup is complex.
It would be ideal if they could provide an active cluster in Postgres. If one primary DB goes down, it should automatically fail over to the second database.
For how long have I used the solution?
We've been using it for four years. I've used it since around 2018.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It's stable. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. It's reliable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is very scalable.
From the user's perspective, we have around 500 users. However, we have around 50 lakhs of consumer records in the solution.
We plan to increase usage. We already added the sponsors, and we require the capacity and the transactional processing. Therefore, it's scalable. We don't have any licensing restrictions, so we can add on as required.
How are customer service and support?
While we don't have technical support, we do have creative support. They are quite good.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We used to use Oracle Database.
How was the initial setup?
We required lots of planning during the initial setup. The migration phase is very complex when you move from Oracle to Postgres. The installation and configuration have a moderate amount of difficulty.
The deployment and maintenance require three people, including one system administrator and two database administrators.
What about the implementation team?
We handled the initial setup in-house. We didn't need any outside assistance.
What was our ROI?
We haven't invested any money into the solution and therefore haven't looked into ROI.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
We have zero licensing costs. The solution is open-source.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We also evaluated some parts of MySQL. However, we didn't find it very suitable and scalable.
What other advice do I have?
You need to be clear about your use cases and the transactional requirement you are observing from the database architecture before beginning with this solution. You need to consider your architecture based on the scalability and reliability of the applications. You need to take this into account before deploying any solution to Postgres.
I'd rate the solution eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
