Re: PostgreSQL 9.4 Increases Flexibility, Scalability and Performance

Apologies - the correct URL for the release notes is:
http://www.postgresql.org/docs/9.4/static/release-9-4.html

On Thu, Dec 18, 2014 at 3:31 PM, Dave Page <dpage(at)postgresql(dot)org> wrote:
>
> 18 DECEMBER 2014: The PostgreSQL Global Development Group announces the
> release of PostgreSQL 9.4, the latest version of the world's leading open
> source database system. This release adds many new features which enhance
> PostgreSQL's flexibility, scalability and performance for many different
> types of database users, including improvements to JSON support,
> replication and index performance.
>
> Flexibility
> -----------
>
> With the new JSONB data type for PostgreSQL, users no longer have to
> choose between relational and non-relational data stores: they can have
> both at the same time. JSONB supports fast lookups and simple expression
> search queries using Generalized Inverted Indexes (GIN). Multiple new
> support functions enable users to extract and manipulate JSON data, with a
> performance which matches or surpasses the most popular document
> databases. With JSONB, table data can be easily integrated with document
> data for a fully integrated database environment.
>
> "JSONB brings PostgreSQL to the JavaScript development community by
> allowing JSON data to be stored and queried natively. Node.js and other
> server-side JavaScript frameworks can benefit from the safety and
> robustness of PostgreSQL, while still storing data in the schema-less
> format that they prefer," said Matt Soldo, Product Manager, Heroku Postgres.
>
> Scalability
> -----------
>
> In 9.4, Logical Decoding supplies a new API for reading, filtering and
> manipulating the PostgreSQL replication stream. This interface is the
> foundation for new replication tools, such as Bi-Directional Replication,
> which supports the creation of multi-master PostgreSQL clusters. Other
> improvements in the replication system, such as replication slots and
> time-delayed replicas, improve management and utility of replica servers.
>
> "The main reason behind our immediate adoption of PostgreSQL 9.4 in
> production is the new Logical Decoding feature," said Marco Favale,
> Cartographic Production Manager of Navionics. "The ability to write custom
> and flexible output plugins will allow us to transparently collect changes
> on selected tables and replicate changes where we like, by removing heavier
> - and more complex to manage - trigger based
> replication solutions."
>
> "Zalando relies on the stability and performance of hundreds of PostgreSQL
> database servers to continuously serve millions of customers all around
> Europe," said Valentine Gogichashvili, Team Lead Database Operations at
> Zalando Technologies. "We are excited to run time-delayed standby servers
> which work out of the box, and will evaluate the new bi-directional
> replication tools as soon as they are released."
>
> Performance
> -----------
>
> Version 9.4 also introduces multiple performance improvements which will
> allow users to get even more out of each PostgreSQL server. These include:
>
> * Improvements to GIN indexes, making them up to 50% smaller and up to 3X
> faster.
> * Concurrently updatable Materialized Views for faster, more up-to-date
> reporting.
> * Rapidly reload the database cache on restart using pg_prewarm.
> * Faster parallel writing to the PostgreSQL transaction log.
> * Support for Linux Huge Pages for servers with large memory.
>
> "We will definitely benefit from concurrent refresh of materialised views,
> delayed standby servers (which will make our disaster recovery even more
> robust) as well as the usual performance improvements every new release
> carries on," added Marco Favale.
>
> Links
> -----
>
> * Downloads: http://www.postgresql.org/downloads
> * Press Kit: http://www.postgresql.org/about/press/presskit94
> * Release Notes:
> http://www.postgresql.org/documentation/current/static/release-9-4
> * What's New in 9.4:
> https://wiki.postgresql.org/wiki/What%27s_new_in_PostgreSQL_9.4
>
> About PostgreSQL
> ----------------
>
> PostgreSQL is the leading open source database system, with a global
> community of thousands of users and contributors and dozens of companies
> and organizations. The PostgreSQL Project builds on over 25 years of
> engineering, starting at the University of California, Berkeley, and has an
> unmatched pace of development today. PostgreSQL's mature feature set not
> only matches top proprietary database systems, but exceeds them in advanced
> database features, extensibility, security and stability. Learn more about
> PostgreSQL and participate in our community at: http://www.postgresql.org.
>
> --
> Dave Page
> PostgreSQL Core Team
> http://www.postgresql.org/
>

--
Dave Page
PostgreSQL Core Team
http://www.postgresql.org/