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Database Technology

Friday, July 24, 2026 · 7 stories, curated & summarized — click any story for the source.

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AWS What's New awsdatabase

Amazon RDS for MySQL adds MySQL 9.7 LTS to Preview Environment

Amazon RDS for MySQL now supports community MySQL 9.7 in the Database Preview Environment, allowing engineers to evaluate the latest Long-Term Support release before general availability. This sandbox enables safe testing of new features and security patches without impacting production workloads. Instances are retained for up to 60 days and are automatically deleted afterward.

  • MySQL 9.7 is the current community LTS release with bug fixes and security patches.
  • Use the RDS Database Preview Environment to validate application compatibility.
  • Preview instances auto-delete after 60 days; plan testing cycles accordingly.
  • Snapshots created in the preview environment can be retained beyond the instance lifecycle.
  • No immediate production upgrade required; use this for forward-looking validation.
BY THE NUMBERSPreview Instance Lifespan60 daysAuto-delete retention periodSandbox instances expire automatically after this duration
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Planet PostgreSQL database

PostgreSQL fsync: The Most Dangerous GUC Setting

Christophe Pettus identifies fsync in postgresql.conf as the most critical configuration parameter, warning that incorrect settings can lead to unrecoverable data corruption rather than just performance issues. While the default is enabled, the article emphasizes the severe risk of disabling or misconfiguring this flag. It serves as a stark reminder that fsync is not a performance tuning knob but a data integrity safeguard.

  • fsync defaults to on; never disable it without absolute certainty of your storage layer.
  • Misconfiguration risks unrecoverable data corruption, not just slow query plans.
  • Treat fsync as a non-negotiable integrity control, not a performance optimization.
  • Review storage subsystem guarantees before considering any fsync-related changes.
  • Validate your cloud storage provider's durability claims against PostgreSQL's expectations.

Fleet impact: For Oracle ExaCC/RAC and AWS Aurora/RDS, fsync is typically managed by the managed service or underlying storage engine, so manual toggling is rarely an option or advisable. Verify that your IOPS and throughput provisioning align with your write workload to ensure the storage layer can acknowledge syncs promptly, preventing WAL bottlenecking.

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InfoQ generaldevops

DBOS Transact compiles workflows into databases using SKIP LOCKED and standard tables

Jeremy Edberg and Qian Li argue that external orchestrators reduce reliability for AI workflows, proposing instead to use the existing database for durable execution. DBOS Transact leverages standard tables, unique primary keys, and SKIP LOCKED queues to manage complex, fault-tolerant processes. This approach eliminates the operational overhead of separate distributed systems while maintaining minimal latency.

  • Replacing external orchestrators with DB-level execution reduces failure points and operational complexity.
  • SKIP LOCKED queues enable efficient, concurrent task processing without complex locking logic.
  • Standard tables and unique primary keys ensure durability and idempotency for AI workflows.
  • This architecture minimizes latency by removing network hops to external orchestration services.
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Planet PostgreSQL database

pgEdge Vectorizer brings BM25 and RRF hybrid search inside PostgreSQL

The pgEdge Vectorizer extension now generates BM25 sparse vectors directly within PostgreSQL, eliminating the need for application-layer keyword matching. This update enables true hybrid search by combining dense vector embeddings with sparse keyword signals. Results are fused using Reciprocal Rank Fusion (RRF) to deliver more accurate retrieval.

  • BM25 sparse vectors are generated inside PostgreSQL, not at the app layer.
  • Hybrid search now combines dense embeddings and keyword matching natively.
  • Reciprocal Rank Fusion (RRF) is used to fuse dense and sparse results.
  • Reduces latency and complexity by keeping search logic within the database.
HOW IT WORKSNative Hybrid Search Pipeline1Generate BM25 sparse vectors2Retrieve dense embeddings3Fuse results with RRF4Return accurate matches
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Percona Blog database

Percona Operator for MongoDB 1.23.0 Adds ClusterSync Migration and Vector Search

Percona Operator for MongoDB 1.23.0 introduces a ClusterSync component that clones live sources and follows change streams, enabling short cutover migrations from hosted services. The release also adds semantic vector search capabilities and PVC snapshot backups to enhance data handling and storage resilience.

  • ClusterSync enables low-downtime migrations by cloning live sources and replicating changes via change streams.
  • Semantic vector search is now available for advanced AI-driven data querying within MongoDB deployments.
  • PVC snapshot backups provide a robust mechanism for storage-level data protection and recovery.
  • The operator shifts from a starting point to a migration destination for hosted MongoDB services.
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Percona Blog database ↺ since 07-23

MySQL Galera Cluster EOL Sept 2026: Migrate to Percona XtraDB Cluster

MariaDB has announced that MySQL Galera Cluster will reach end of life on September 30, 2026, ceasing all maintenance and binary releases for that build. New clustering features will be exclusive to MariaDB Galera Cluster, which MariaDB recommends for in-place migration. Percona offers Percona XtraDB Cluster as an alternative migration path for MySQL users seeking continued support.

  • MySQL Galera Cluster hits EOL on Sept 30, 2026, ending all support.
  • MariaDB directs users to migrate to MariaDB Galera Cluster for new features.
  • Percona XtraDB Cluster is presented as a viable migration target for MySQL fleets.
  • Plan migration strategy now to avoid unsupported infrastructure in 2026.
BY THE NUMBERSMySQL Galera Cluster EOL Date30Days until total EOLSeptember 30, 2026 deadline
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Planet PostgreSQL database ↺ since 07-22

Postgres 19 Temporal: TQuel Algebra Insights for Query Planning

With UPDATE/DELETE FOR PORTION OF targeting Postgres 19, Paul Jungwirth reviewed Richard Snodgrass's 1993 TQuel paper to understand temporal relational algebra. The focus is on algebraic identities that enable the query planner to optimize execution, such as pushing filters before joins. This historical context helps inform how temporal operators might be optimized in the upcoming Postgres release.

  • Postgres 19 is likely to include UPDATE/DELETE FOR PORTION OF support.
  • Temporal algebra identities are key for query planner optimizations.
  • Pushing filters before joins improves execution speed significantly.
  • TQuel was an extension to Quel, the predecessor language to Postgres.
  • Historical papers provide foundational insights for modern temporal features.
WORTH QUOTINGHistorical Algebra for Modern Postgres“Pushing filters before joins improves execution speedsignificantly.— Paul Jungwirth
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