Blog Columns
Six thematic columns, each with its own dedicated RSS feed.
Database Guru
75posts
Database news, industry surveys, architecture, and best practices.
Cloud-Exiter
66posts
Cloud economics, repatriation, and building sovereign infrastructure.
Postgres Mage
126posts
PostgreSQL ecosystem, internals, extensions, and production tuning.
AI Agent Explorer
97posts
Practical engineering with coding agents, LLMs, AI4DB, and DB4AI.
Travel Notes
12posts
Trips, hikes, landscapes, and field notes across mountains and seas.
Miscellaneous
40posts
Essays, reflections, and personal writing inside and outside of tech.
SLA: Placebo or Insurance?
SLA is a marketing tool rather than insurance. In the worst-case scenario, it's an unavoidable loss; at best, it provides emotional comfort.
Pigsty v2.1: Vector + Full PG Version Support!
Pigsty v2.1 provides support for PostgreSQL 12 through 16, with PGVector for AI embeddings.
Back to Basics: Tech Reflection Chronicles
The cost-cutting imperative has triggered a reevaluation of all technologies, including databases. This series critiques hot DB technologies and poses fundamental questions about their trade-offs: Are …
Database Demand Hierarchy Pyramid
Similar to Maslow's hierarchy of needs, user demands for databases also have a progressive hierarchy: physiological needs, safety needs, belonging needs, esteem needs, cognitive needs, aesthetic …
AI Large Models and Vector Database PGVector
This article focuses on vector databases hyped by AI, introduces the basic principles of AI embeddings and vector storage/retrieval, and demonstrates the functionality, performance, acquisition, and …
NewSQL: Distributive Nonsens
As hardware technology advances, the capacity and performance of standalone databases have reached unprecedented heights. which makes distributed (TP) databases appear utterly powerless, much like the …
Will AI Have Self-Awareness?
Large models can feel “aware,” but self-awareness is another matter. We explore the term from Buddhism, cognitive psychology, and neural nets, then riff on a possible AI religion after bingeing …
AI Cult Rhapsody
A tongue-in-cheek vision of an AI-worshipping religion: scriptures, sects, philosopher-king machines, and the Book of AGI.
EBS: Pig Slaughter Scam
The real business model of cloud: "Cheap" EC2/S3 to attract customers, and fleece with "Expensive" EBS/RDS.
Garbage QCloud CDN: From Getting Started to Giving Up?
I originally believed that at least in IaaS fundamentals — storage, compute, and networking — public cloud vendors could still make significant contributions. However, my personal experience with …
Refuting "Why You Still Shouldn't Hire a DBA"
Guo Degang has a comedy routine: "Say I tell a rocket scientist, your rocket is no good, the fuel is wrong. I think it should burn wood, better yet coal, and it has to be premium coal, not washed …
Pigsty v2.0: Open-Source RDS PostgreSQL Alternative
Pigsty v2.0 delivers major improvements in security, compatibility, and feature integration — truly becoming a local open-source RDS alternative.
Paradigm Shift: From Cloud to Local-First
Cloud databases' exorbitant markups—sometimes 10x or more—are undoubtedly a scam for users outside the applicable spectrum. But we can dig deeper: why are public clouds, especially cloud databases, …
Are Cloud Databases an IQ Tax?
Winter is coming, tech giants are laying off workers entering cost-reduction mode. Can cloud databases, the number one public cloud cash cow, still tell their story? The money you spend on cloud …
How Powerful is PostgreSQL Really?
Let performance data speak: Why PostgreSQL is the world's most advanced open-source relational database, aka the world's most successful database. MySQL vs PostgreSQL performance showdown and …
Why PostgreSQL is the Most Successful Database?
Database users are developers, but what about developers' preferences, likes, and choices? Looking at StackOverflow survey results over the past six years, it's clear that in 2022, PostgreSQL has won …
Post-90s, Quit Job to Start Business, Says Will Crush Cloud Databases
Recently gave an interview to OSC Open-Source China, discussing the motivation behind quitting my full-time job to start a business with Pigsty: making PostgreSQL easy to use for everyone, and …
Pigsty v1.5: Docker Application Support, Infrastructure Self-Monitoring
Complete Docker support, infrastructure self-monitoring, ETCD as DCS, better cold backup support, and CMDB improvements.
Is DBA Still a Good Job?
Ant Financial had a self-deprecating joke: besides regulation, only DBAs could bring down Alipay. Although DBA sounds like a profession with glorious history and dim prospects, who knows if it might …
Cloud RDS: From Database Drop to Exit
I recently witnessed a live cloud database drop-and-run incident. This article discusses how to handle accidentally deleted data when using PostgreSQL in production environments.
Pigsty v1.4: Modular Architecture, MatrixDB Data Warehouse Support
Pigsty v1.4 introduces a modular architecture with four independent modules, adds MatrixDB time-series data warehouse support, and delivers global CDN acceleration.
Pigsty v1.3: Redis Support, PGCAT Overhaul, PGSQL Enhancements
Pigsty v1.3 adds Redis support with three deployment modes, rebuilds the PGCAT catalog explorer, and enhances PGSQL monitoring dashboards.
Pigsty v1.2: PG14 Default, Monitor Existing PG
Pigsty v1.2 makes PostgreSQL 14 the default version and adds support for monitoring existing database instances independently.
Pigsty v1.1: Homepage, Jupyter, Pev2, PgBadger
Pigsty v1.1.0 ships with a redesigned homepage, plus JupyterLab, PGWeb, Pev2 & PgBadger integrations.
SLA: Placebo or Insurance?
SLA is a marketing tool rather than insurance. In the worst-case scenario, it's an unavoidable loss; at best, it provides emotional comfort.
Pigsty v2.1: Vector + Full PG Version Support!
Pigsty v2.1 provides support for PostgreSQL 12 through 16, with PGVector for AI embeddings.
Back to Basics: Tech Reflection Chronicles
The cost-cutting imperative has triggered a reevaluation of all technologies, including databases. This series critiques hot DB technologies and poses fundamental questions about their trade-offs: Are …
Database Demand Hierarchy Pyramid
Similar to Maslow's hierarchy of needs, user demands for databases also have a progressive hierarchy: physiological needs, safety needs, belonging needs, esteem needs, cognitive needs, aesthetic …
AI Large Models and Vector Database PGVector
This article focuses on vector databases hyped by AI, introduces the basic principles of AI embeddings and vector storage/retrieval, and demonstrates the functionality, performance, acquisition, and …
NewSQL: Distributive Nonsens
As hardware technology advances, the capacity and performance of standalone databases have reached unprecedented heights. which makes distributed (TP) databases appear utterly powerless, much like the …
Will AI Have Self-Awareness?
Large models can feel “aware,” but self-awareness is another matter. We explore the term from Buddhism, cognitive psychology, and neural nets, then riff on a possible AI religion after bingeing …
AI Cult Rhapsody
A tongue-in-cheek vision of an AI-worshipping religion: scriptures, sects, philosopher-king machines, and the Book of AGI.
EBS: Pig Slaughter Scam
The real business model of cloud: "Cheap" EC2/S3 to attract customers, and fleece with "Expensive" EBS/RDS.
Garbage QCloud CDN: From Getting Started to Giving Up?
I originally believed that at least in IaaS fundamentals — storage, compute, and networking — public cloud vendors could still make significant contributions. However, my personal experience with …
Refuting "Why You Still Shouldn't Hire a DBA"
Guo Degang has a comedy routine: "Say I tell a rocket scientist, your rocket is no good, the fuel is wrong. I think it should burn wood, better yet coal, and it has to be premium coal, not washed …
Pigsty v2.0: Open-Source RDS PostgreSQL Alternative
Pigsty v2.0 delivers major improvements in security, compatibility, and feature integration — truly becoming a local open-source RDS alternative.
Paradigm Shift: From Cloud to Local-First
Cloud databases' exorbitant markups—sometimes 10x or more—are undoubtedly a scam for users outside the applicable spectrum. But we can dig deeper: why are public clouds, especially cloud databases, …
Are Cloud Databases an IQ Tax?
Winter is coming, tech giants are laying off workers entering cost-reduction mode. Can cloud databases, the number one public cloud cash cow, still tell their story? The money you spend on cloud …
How Powerful is PostgreSQL Really?
Let performance data speak: Why PostgreSQL is the world's most advanced open-source relational database, aka the world's most successful database. MySQL vs PostgreSQL performance showdown and …
Why PostgreSQL is the Most Successful Database?
Database users are developers, but what about developers' preferences, likes, and choices? Looking at StackOverflow survey results over the past six years, it's clear that in 2022, PostgreSQL has won …
Post-90s, Quit Job to Start Business, Says Will Crush Cloud Databases
Recently gave an interview to OSC Open-Source China, discussing the motivation behind quitting my full-time job to start a business with Pigsty: making PostgreSQL easy to use for everyone, and …
Pigsty v1.5: Docker Application Support, Infrastructure Self-Monitoring
Complete Docker support, infrastructure self-monitoring, ETCD as DCS, better cold backup support, and CMDB improvements.
Is DBA Still a Good Job?
Ant Financial had a self-deprecating joke: besides regulation, only DBAs could bring down Alipay. Although DBA sounds like a profession with glorious history and dim prospects, who knows if it might …
Cloud RDS: From Database Drop to Exit
I recently witnessed a live cloud database drop-and-run incident. This article discusses how to handle accidentally deleted data when using PostgreSQL in production environments.
Pigsty v1.4: Modular Architecture, MatrixDB Data Warehouse Support
Pigsty v1.4 introduces a modular architecture with four independent modules, adds MatrixDB time-series data warehouse support, and delivers global CDN acceleration.
Pigsty v1.3: Redis Support, PGCAT Overhaul, PGSQL Enhancements
Pigsty v1.3 adds Redis support with three deployment modes, rebuilds the PGCAT catalog explorer, and enhances PGSQL monitoring dashboards.
Pigsty v1.2: PG14 Default, Monitor Existing PG
Pigsty v1.2 makes PostgreSQL 14 the default version and adds support for monitoring existing database instances independently.
Pigsty v1.1: Homepage, Jupyter, Pev2, PgBadger
Pigsty v1.1.0 ships with a redesigned homepage, plus JupyterLab, PGWeb, Pev2 & PgBadger integrations.
SLA: Placebo or Insurance?
In the world of cloud computing, Service Level Agreements (SLAs) are seen as a cloud provider’s commitment to the quality of its services. However, a closer examination of these SLAs reveals that they might not offer the safety net one might expect: …
In the world of cloud computing, Service Level Agreements (SLAs) are seen as a cloud provider’s commitment to the quality of its services. However, a closer examination of these SLAs reveals that they might not offer the safety net one might expect: …
Pigsty v2.1: Vector + Full PG Version Support!
GitHub Release | Release Note Following PostgreSQL’s summer minor version updates and the release of PG 16 Beta, Pigsty closely tracks the PG community with the v2.1 release. This update supports PostgreSQL 16 Beta1 high availability and new …
GitHub Release | Release Note Following PostgreSQL’s summer minor version updates and the release of PG 16 Beta, Pigsty closely tracks the PG community with the v2.1 release. This update supports PostgreSQL 16 Beta1 high availability and new …
Back to Basics: Tech Reflection Chronicles
Recently, there have been some hotly debated topics in the tech community: Are cloud databases an IQ tax? Is public cloud a pig-killing scam? Are distributed databases a false need? Are microservices a stupid idea? Do you still need ops and DBAs? Is …
Recently, there have been some hotly debated topics in the tech community: Are cloud databases an IQ tax? Is public cloud a pig-killing scam? Are distributed databases a false need? Are microservices a stupid idea? Do you still need ops and DBAs? Is …
Database Demand Hierarchy Pyramid
Similar to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, user demands for databases also have a progressive hierarchy. User demands for databases can be divided into eight levels from bottom to top, corresponding to human needs: Physiological Needs: Functionality - …
Similar to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, user demands for databases also have a progressive hierarchy. User demands for databases can be divided into eight levels from bottom to top, corresponding to human needs: Physiological Needs: Functionality - …
AI Large Models and Vector Database PGVector
New AI applications have shown exponential growth over the past year, and these applications face a common challenge: how to store and query AI embeddings represented as vectors at scale. This article focuses on vector databases hyped by AI, …
New AI applications have shown exponential growth over the past year, and these applications face a common challenge: how to store and query AI embeddings represented as vectors at scale. This article focuses on vector databases hyped by AI, …
NewSQL: Distributive Nonsens
WeChat Column As hardware technology advances, the capacity and performance of standalone databases have reached unprecedented heights. In this transformative era, distributed (TP) databases appear utterly powerless, much like the “data middle …
WeChat Column As hardware technology advances, the capacity and performance of standalone databases have reached unprecedented heights. In this transformative era, distributed (TP) databases appear utterly powerless, much like the “data middle …
Will AI Have Self-Awareness?
WeChat original Large models can appear conscious, but self-awareness is optional—and maybe dangerous before ethics catch up. Pantheon sparked these thoughts. What is self-awareness? When we say “self-awareness,” what do we actually mean? Let’s …
WeChat original Large models can appear conscious, but self-awareness is optional—and maybe dangerous before ethics catch up. Pantheon sparked these thoughts. What is self-awareness? When we say “self-awareness,” what do we actually mean? Let’s …
AI Cult Rhapsody
WeChat original “Humans are the bootloader for silicon life.” —Elon Musk Maybe we’re about to witness an AI-worshipping religion. Imagine this: Humans are lumps of negative entropy, hard-coded to reproduce via clumsy genetics. In digital space, with …
WeChat original “Humans are the bootloader for silicon life.” —Elon Musk Maybe we’re about to witness an AI-worshipping religion. Imagine this: Humans are lumps of negative entropy, hard-coded to reproduce via clumsy genetics. In digital space, with …
EBS: Pig Slaughter Scam
We already answer the question: Is RDS an Idiot Tax?. But when compared to the hundredfold markup of public cloud block storage, cloud databases seem almost reasonable. This article uses real data to reveal the true business model of public cloud: …
We already answer the question: Is RDS an Idiot Tax?. But when compared to the hundredfold markup of public cloud block storage, cloud databases seem almost reasonable. This article uses real data to reveal the true business model of public cloud: …
Garbage QCloud CDN: From Getting Started to Giving Up?
While Swedish Ma and I disagree sharply on cloud databases VS DBA issues, we can reach consensus on one point: domestic public cloud vendors really make garbage. In Ma’s words: “Alibaba-Cloud is a legitimate cloud with poor engineering quality, but …
While Swedish Ma and I disagree sharply on cloud databases VS DBA issues, we can reach consensus on one point: domestic public cloud vendors really make garbage. In Ma’s words: “Alibaba-Cloud is a legitimate cloud with poor engineering quality, but …
Refuting "Why You Still Shouldn't Hire a DBA"
Guo Degang has a comedy routine: “Say I tell a rocket scientist, your rocket is no good, the fuel is wrong. I think it should burn wood, better yet coal, and it has to be premium coal, not washed coal. If that scientist takes me seriously, he …
Guo Degang has a comedy routine: “Say I tell a rocket scientist, your rocket is no good, the fuel is wrong. I think it should burn wood, better yet coal, and it has to be premium coal, not washed coal. If that scientist takes me seriously, he …
Pigsty v2.0: Open-Source RDS PostgreSQL Alternative
GitHub Release | Release Note 2023/02/28, Pigsty v2.0.0 is officially released, bringing a series of major feature updates. PIGSTY now stands for “PostgreSQL In Great STYle” — PostgreSQL at its best. Pigsty’s positioning has also evolved from …
GitHub Release | Release Note 2023/02/28, Pigsty v2.0.0 is officially released, bringing a series of major feature updates. PIGSTY now stands for “PostgreSQL In Great STYle” — PostgreSQL at its best. Pigsty’s positioning has also evolved from …
Paradigm Shift: From Cloud to Local-First
In the previous article, we used data to answer “Are Cloud Databases an Intelligence Tax?"—the exorbitant markups of several to over ten times are undoubtedly a scam for users outside the applicable spectrum. But we can dig deeper: why are public …
In the previous article, we used data to answer “Are Cloud Databases an Intelligence Tax?"—the exorbitant markups of several to over ten times are undoubtedly a scam for users outside the applicable spectrum. But we can dig deeper: why are public …
Are Cloud Databases an IQ Tax?
Winter is coming, tech giants are laying off workers entering cost-reduction mode. Can cloud databases, the number one public cloud cash cow, still tell their story? Recently, an article by DHH, co-founder of Basecamp & HEY, caused a stir【1,2】. The …
Winter is coming, tech giants are laying off workers entering cost-reduction mode. Can cloud databases, the number one public cloud cash cow, still tell their story? Recently, an article by DHH, co-founder of Basecamp & HEY, caused a stir【1,2】. The …
How Powerful is PostgreSQL Really?
Previously, we analyzed StackOverflow survey data to explain “Why PostgreSQL is the Most Successful Database”. This time we’ll let performance data speak for itself, discussing just how powerful the most successful PostgreSQL really is, helping you …
Previously, we analyzed StackOverflow survey data to explain “Why PostgreSQL is the Most Successful Database”. This time we’ll let performance data speak for itself, discussing just how powerful the most successful PostgreSQL really is, helping you …
Why PostgreSQL is the Most Successful Database?
When we say a database is “successful,” what exactly do we mean? Is it about features, performance, usability, or cost, ecosystem, complexity? There are many metrics, but ultimately users decide. Database users are developers, so what about …
When we say a database is “successful,” what exactly do we mean? Is it about features, performance, usability, or cost, ecosystem, complexity? There are many metrics, but ultimately users decide. Database users are developers, so what about …
Post-90s, Quit Job to Start Business, Says Will Crush Cloud Databases
Original WeChat Article | Open-Source China Article Published by: OSCHINA Open-Source China Interviewee: Feng Ruohang (Pigsty Founder) Feng Ruohang has been quite busy lately. After a startup camp pitch in June, he added two to three hundred …
Original WeChat Article | Open-Source China Article Published by: OSCHINA Open-Source China Interviewee: Feng Ruohang (Pigsty Founder) Feng Ruohang has been quite busy lately. After a startup camp pitch in June, he added two to three hundred …
Pigsty v1.5: Docker Application Support, Infrastructure Self-Monitoring
GitHub Release | Release Note Pigsty v1.5 is officially released! Complete Docker support brings a rich application ecosystem — countless database-backed software works out of the box! Other improvements include: infrastructure self-monitoring, …
GitHub Release | Release Note Pigsty v1.5 is officially released! Complete Docker support brings a rich application ecosystem — countless database-backed software works out of the box! Other improvements include: infrastructure self-monitoring, …
Is DBA Still a Good Job?
Ant Financial had a self-deprecating joke: besides regulation, only DBAs could bring down Alipay. In the digital age, data is the core asset of many enterprises, especially for internet/software service companies. The people responsible for …
Ant Financial had a self-deprecating joke: besides regulation, only DBAs could bring down Alipay. In the digital age, data is the core asset of many enterprises, especially for internet/software service companies. The people responsible for …
Cloud RDS: From Database Drop to Exit
In my previous article “Is DBA Still a Good Job”, I mentioned: Although DBA as a profession is declining, who knows if DBAs might become trendy again after several terrifying large-scale cloud database failures. Well, I recently witnessed a live …
In my previous article “Is DBA Still a Good Job”, I mentioned: Although DBA as a profession is declining, who knows if DBAs might become trendy again after several terrifying large-scale cloud database failures. Well, I recently witnessed a live …
Pigsty v1.4: Modular Architecture, MatrixDB Data Warehouse Support
GitHub Release | Release Note Pigsty v1.4 is officially released! A brand new modular architecture: four built-in modules INFRA, NODES, PGSQL, REDIS can be used independently and freely combined; new MatrixDB time-series data warehouse deployment …
GitHub Release | Release Note Pigsty v1.4 is officially released! A brand new modular architecture: four built-in modules INFRA, NODES, PGSQL, REDIS can be used independently and freely combined; new MatrixDB time-series data warehouse deployment …
Pigsty v1.3: Redis Support, PGCAT Overhaul, PGSQL Enhancements
GitHub Release | Release Note Pigsty v1.3 is officially released, featuring Redis support, a rebuilt PGCAT application, and enhanced PGSQL monitoring. Redis Support While PostgreSQL is the world’s most advanced open-source relational database, every …
GitHub Release | Release Note Pigsty v1.3 is officially released, featuring Redis support, a rebuilt PGCAT application, and enhanced PGSQL monitoring. Redis Support While PostgreSQL is the world’s most advanced open-source relational database, every …
Pigsty v1.2: PG14 Default, Monitor Existing PG
GitHub Release | Release Note Pigsty v1.2 is officially released, making PostgreSQL 14 the default version and adding support for monitoring existing database instances independently. PostgreSQL 14 Becomes the Default PostgreSQL 14 was released last …
GitHub Release | Release Note Pigsty v1.2 is officially released, making PostgreSQL 14 the default version and adding support for monitoring existing database instances independently. PostgreSQL 14 Becomes the Default PostgreSQL 14 was released last …
Pigsty v1.1: Homepage, Jupyter, Pev2, PgBadger
GitHub Release | Release Note Pigsty v1.1 is officially released, featuring a brand-new homepage design, plus support for JupyterLab, PGWeb, PEV2, PgBadger, and other useful tools. Brand New Homepage The Home Dashboard in Grafana has long served as …
GitHub Release | Release Note Pigsty v1.1 is officially released, featuring a brand-new homepage design, plus support for JupyterLab, PGWeb, PEV2, PgBadger, and other useful tools. Brand New Homepage The Home Dashboard in Grafana has long served as …