PGTracer: A Tracing Tool for Postgres Backends
summary
PGTracer is a root-run tool that uses eBPF plus DWARF debug symbols to attach to a running Postgres backend, dump live query text, buffer and IO stats, and reconstruct per-query execution plans by correlating node events with stack samples. It compiles per-instance eBPF, supports tracing a single PID or the whole cluster, can toggle instrumentation and even overwrite global variables in-process, and shows kernel‑vs‑cache IO. Works in demos but needs matching kernel headers, CAP_SYS_ADMIN, and hits eBPF verifier and sampling limits.
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chapters (7)
- 0:00Start
- 0:29ABOUT MYSELF
- 1:05QUICK SURVEY!
- 13:30Example
- 19:21DWARF
- 37:38FUN THINGS ABOUT WORKING WITH EBPF
- 40:27QUESTIONS?
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