~/talk

PostgreSQL Index Strategy Guide

Talkat Postgres Conference Orlando 2025 · 2025-03-18..03-21· [databases]
links:none on file
slides:none on file

Shows concrete measurements from a 26 GB test table with 12 GB shared_buffers and explains when indexes reduce IO versus when planner prefers a sequential scan — e.g. a 1% selective column yields big wins, 5% often does not. Demonstrates partial indexes and function-based MD5 index that make queries index-only and cut IO, and shows write cost and bloat: adding many includes or 18 indexes makes index size approach the table and cripples writes. Gives commands, pg_stat views, and test scripts to reproduce.

AI-written summary · about

  1. 0:00PostgreSQL index strategy
  2. 1:06Indexing goals and trade-offs
  3. 5:46What indexes are and costs
  4. 7:16PostgreSQL data pages
  5. 10:47Statistics and query planning
  6. 15:57Data distribution and index efficiency
  7. 20:16Partial indexes benefits
  8. 23:49Index-only access and covering indexes
  9. 27:43Index size impact on performance
  10. 29:06Function-based indexes cost
  11. 37:32Write costs and index overhead
  12. 39:42Table bloat in PostgreSQL
  13. 43:32Testing index strategies
  14. 44:14Summary
  15. 45:22Q&A
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