Specific postgresql server configuration for data analysis purposes

Question

Is there any tips on tuning server's performance using postgresql.conf file in case you use a postgresql database specifically for data science department and data analysis purposes? Or performance tuning itself is purpose-agnostic and there is no real difference what you will do with it since 'it is all about extracting data'?

It's a rather obscure question i didn't find an answer for (in miriads of articles on data science topic).

Answer 1

Though this is a very general question, I'll try my best to give you a hint or two:

You could first asses the outlines of your requirements, such as:

• are we talking about big-data chunks? (buffer-sizes)
• from how many clients are queries performed? (allowed connections)
• are you using postgresql's internal functions?
• do you need permanent backups or copy tables or db's around?
• etc.,etc.,..

I would recommend you read the article from the official docs on resource consumption and the docs on query-planning as well as server configuration in general.

In case you can't derive a proper approach after reading the docs I can recommend the pg-forum. The experienced user 'akretschmer' is a postgresql-pro and might be able to help you if you formulate your question in a detailed and meaningful way ;)