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Abstract: Placing 4th Out of 200 DatabasesAsk any DBA and most software developers working in large organizations to name the leading enterprise databases and you would find their answers consistent. Most would mention Oracle database, Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle MySQL, IBM DB2, and SAP’s Sybase. If you asked DBAs and developers who focus on analytics or media and content heavy apps, they might also mention MongoDB, Cassandra, Teradata, Hbase, CouchDB, Neo4J, HANA, MarkLogic, or Berkeley DB. One notable enterprise database, however, might fly under the radar even though its popularity exceeds nearly all of the databases just mentioned. PostgreSQL, enunciated “post gres q l” and often shortened to “Postgres” for conversation’s sake, rates as the quiet giant of enterprise databases in both open source and commercial forms.

A helpful website for anyone interested in scanning the database landscape, DB-Engines, maintains a popularity ranking of databases. The ranking methodology combines social media, search, and job data, and considers any technology that remotely has to do with databases, including personal and workgroup databases, search database engines, and data grids. Out of the roughly 200 database technologies measured by DB-Engines, using samples from January 3, 2014, and January 31, 2014, PostgreSQL is the fourth-most popular database. Given the relative lack of hype associated with PostgreSQL, and given that DBAs and developers use it for serious business apps – PostgreSQL in no toy database – the fourth-place finish speaks volumes about the foothold PostgreSQL has established.

The reach of PostgreSQL, however, does not end with a fourth place in database popularity, for many of the other databases listed by DB-Engines derive to at least some degree from Postgres. For example, Actian ParAccel and therefore Amazon Web Services Redshift (ParAccel is the OEM), HP Vertica, IBM Informix, IBM Netezza, Pivotal Greenplum Database, Teradata Aster, and VoltDB are all commercial databases that trace their roots back to Postgres code. There is even HadoopDB, a Yale University open source project with a Postgres foundation that has been commercialized by Hadapt.

While there are other Postgres forks and variants, the one commercial version of PostgreSQL that remains true to open source PostgreSQL is fostered by EnterpriseDB, or “EDB.” In many ways, EDB is to Postgres as Red Hat is to Linux, not just because top EDB executives cut their open source teeth at Red Hat, but because EDB, and the open source PostgreSQL if you do not require support, offers a similar value proposition of enterprise-class technology without enterprise-class costs.

As a DBA, developer, data architect, or even a CIO of a large organization looking for proven, safe, lower-cost alternatives to some of the well-established but premium priced enterprise databases, it makes sense to understand how the PostgreSQL open source project has evolved, and how EDB supports both the open source project and delivers viable commercial options.

Context: An Open Source Culture of QualityLike many other modern databases, PostgreSQL was born at the University of California at Berkeley. In 1986, Postgres, as it was originally called, was the brainchild of computer science professor Michael Stonebraker, who today continues to innovate over at MIT. The “Postgres” name indicated that it

PostgreSQL:The Quiet Giant of Enterprise Database

In many ways, EnterpriseDB is to PostgreSQL as Red Hat is to Linux.

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was the next-generation project after the original Ingres relational database. Postgres leaned on an object-relational approach, thereby supporting abstract and complex data types, and adding rich programmability to the database equation.

In 1995 Andrew Yu and Jolly Chen, students from Mr. Stonebraker’s lab, developed an extended SQL version of Postgres, swapping out the native Postgres query language. They called the revamped database Postgres95, and they released their code on the Web. An open source project based on that code release, renamed PostgreSQL, was founded the following year by Marc Fournier, Bruce Momjian, and Vadim Mikhe, who crafted the first full release, “Version 6.0,” made available in early 1997. The co-founders and ensuing community instituted a variety of development best practices, with a strong emphasis on quality assurance and accurate documentation. Their discipline transformed the academic database into a commercial quality database with an extensive feature set to rival the most sophisticated commercial databases on the market.

The Modern PostgreSQL Open Source CommunitySince the original Version 6.0 there have been 19 more releases of PostgreSQL, the latest cut coming in late 2013. Currently the PostgreSQL community schedules a release roughly every year, and has held true to “one release per year” for the last six years. Today there are a dozen full-time developers focused on the PostgreSQL code and community, and another 50 to 75 contributors providing at least some of their time at any given moment. Over the course of a release, more than 300 contributors are involved, with thousands of others participating by reporting bugs or making comments or suggestions, altogether serving a global DBA and developer community measuring in the hundreds of thousands. In the latest release, about 300 contributors were involved in building 177 new features.

Why is PostgreSQL so popular despite the growing interest in “Not Only SQL” also known as NoSQL databases, and the hard-hitting competition between the commercial database vendors? Bruce Momjian, co-founder and database architect at EDB, who spends about 65% of his time on the project and community, thinks that “it is the global nature of PostgreSQL and the focus on usability. Different people with different technology backgrounds see how well organized the project is,” like an enterprise development project.

Bruce admits that PostgreSQL has been quieter than other open source projects, like MySQL, but he emphasizes that, “big companies are running lots of mission-critical applications with Postgres.” In addition, the core of the PostgreSQL community core always held the long-term view that they needed to divorce themselves from any financial pressure in order to focus on creating an enterprise-class database. “What we are doing is more adventurous than some key-value store,” Bruce opined. “We provide full ACID features and enterprise-grade tools and management.” There are plenty of stories about customers trying NoSQL databases and finding them surprisingly easy to crash, supporting Bruce’s “enterprise-grade” argument in favor of PostgreSQL.

Even though the modern community moves forward with attention to quality, Bruce argues that one of the reasons that PostgreSQL has advanced fast is that “we keep our ear close to the ground, so that we can turn a user inquiry into a feature project inside of 48 hours.” Also, while commercial database code tends to atrophy because of its sheer size and complexity, because of the way the PostgreSQL community is run it is able to “move nimbly and implement new feature sets very quickly.” He also points out that the database has been stable for a long time enabling the community to focus on feature development. “In 1996 our focus was on keeping it from crashing, in 2000 our focus was on SQL standards and migrating apps, but in the last five to seven years most of our focus has been on enterprise features. However, now that we have delivered many enterprise features we are turning to support new workloads.”

Now that we have delivered many enterprise features we are turning to support

new workloads.

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PostgreSQL Priorities for 2014The 2013 PostgreSQL release included a long list of features DBAs and developers would find in the most advanced commercial databases. Examples include foreign data wrappers, page check sums for reliability, and an update to materialized views offering better data compression, just to list a few. 2014, however, definitely seems more workload focused:

•Federation: Because of its data type flexibility and extensibility, PostgreSQL naturally takes on the role of a federated database, acting as a point of aggregation, for example, for multiple data sources. It already communicates effectively with MongoDB, Microsoft SQL Server, and a long list of other databases. The community plans on refining and expanding features that will help compel customers to use PostgreSQL as the “database among databases.”

•DataWarehousing: Even though PostgreSQL is proud of its ACID compliance and enterprise-grade feature set, there has been plenty of demand to use PostgreSQL as a data warehouse as well, a use case that doesn’t quite require the same reliability. Therefore, the community is looking into how to dial back durability for data warehousing workloads, and how to autoshard to support scale out situations data warehousing.

•DataHubandExtensibility:Combining the notions of federation and data warehousing, the more generalized data management use cases also could take advantage of PostgreSQL strengths. Bruce said that, “The community is just starting to understand that a data hub is a natural for Postgres where Postgres acts as a central data repository.” While it is difficult to determine exactly how far data hub features may come in 2014, straightforward extensibility enhancements, such as a GIS plug-in, custom index types for full text search, a new binary JSON type to make it simple to access JSON fields, and adding of languages, will also give PostgreSQL a wider application range.

A Database with Fit and FinishIn summary, Bruce points out that DBAs, developers, and architects are often impressed with the fit and finish of PostgreSQL. “You don’t notice polish on day one, but you do after you use it for awhile. Postgres is a finely crafted piece of software that does almost everything you need it to do and it works the way you would want it to work.” He points out that PostgreSQL users evangelize voluntarily, are willing to talk about their positive experiences with PostgreSQL, and are willing to share their appreciation of software built by dedicated PostgreSQL engineers who write software “for people just like them.”

Context: EnterpriseDB Stays True to Customers and CommunityEDB, which will turn a decade old in 2014, has always pursued achieving the fine balance between being a main booster and contributor to open source PostgreSQL, and giving enterprises the extra layer of software, support and expertise needed for business critical applications using PostgreSQL. EDB’s flagship product, Postgres Plus Advanced Server (“Postgres Plus”), along with the a variety of enterprise-grade add-on products, as well as a long list of certified infrastructure configurations, means that EDB offers customers a flexible set of options without disturbing open source PostgresSQL. Key capabilities provided by Postgres Plus that have proved appealing to customers are not simply database features:

• OracleandDB2Compatibility: EDB offers a wide set of services and tools to help customers migrate from Oracle and DB2 databases to Postgres Plus, and “compatibility” is covered by EDB in the widest sense of the word. Beyond, for example, ensuring migrated code will run on Postgres Plus, EDB also helps customers understand the licensing and relationship impact of migration, to dig into procurement policies to ensure that a migration will not kick in higher prices on other

Postgres users evangelize voluntarily.

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database licenses, and how to deploy Postgres Plus in a complementary way. For example, EDB will run a data-less schema dump from an Oracle database, and help customers analyze the feasibility of migration to Postgres Plus. EDB understands that the last thing it wants to do is take an existing commercial database that is working well, migrate it to Postgres Plus, and have problems with the migration; EDB grasps that its reputation rests on the veracity and smoothness of migrations.

•WorkloadAssessment: Some applications are better candidates for migration, or new development, for Postgres Plus than others. EDB helps customers scan the inventory of applications, those already running and those on the to-be-developed docket, and identify which are the best candidates for deploying to Postgres Plus.

•Third-PartyApplications: ISVs have discovered PostgreSQL, and a quiet march to building new applications of many types on PostgreSQL is underway. ISVs save money on licensing, and enjoy the extensive list of PostgeSQL deployment options and extensibility. When deploying and when deployed, however, customers often want help with database configuration and tuning, and need enterprise-level support. EDB stands behind PostgresSQL with these services and Postgres Plus.

• ARoleinNoSQL:There is no one right “NoSQL” database for all possible application use cases. In fact, arguments persist between some of the less enterprise-grade NoSQL databases and some of the more established but more dependable databases that carry additional overhead. PostgreSQL and Posgres Plus in many ways offer the best of both worlds, such as:

◦ Schema-less data types, with sophisticated indexing ◦ Document store with ACID and relational capabilities ◦ Rapid addition and removal of columns, without sacrificing transactional integrity

• OpenRoadMap: A common question asked by customers of large, enterprise database vendors is “What’s next?” Unfortunately, unless you are a major customer you may not receive a clear answer. DBAs and data architects want to know where the database is going in terms of feature development and deployment options; it helps them strategize, and helps them anticipate how the database may fit into upcoming projects. Due to the open source nature of PostgreSQL, customers already have a clear view into the PostgreSQL roadmap. In terms of Postgres Plus, EDB (a) is very clear about when Postgres Plus will be updated to take advantage of the latest open source, and (b) similar to the open source road map, gives customers an unobstructed vision as to what add-ons and enhancements will appear in the next Postgres Plus. Transparency has long been part of the PostgreSQL community culture, and that directly extends in EDB’s culture.

It is not necessary to dig through all the considerable features and functions of Postgres Plus and its adjunct products and services – all of that information is easy to find on EDB’s website, as well the PostgreSQL community site. What makes EDB a truly unique software vendor, however, is that it takes its role of primary commercial impresario for PostgreSQL very seriously. There are plenty of “open source databases” out there that entirely circle around a commercial vendor; it is almost a ruse. EDB understands that by being a responsible shepherd, committing generously and most importantly by doing right by its commercial customers, it raises all Postgres boats.

EMA Perspective: Open Source Database Done RightDespite somewhat expanding IT budgets, CIOs still rate “cutting the cost of operations” as a top priority. The trick is to cut the cost of operations without cutting the availability, reliability, and extensibility of IT. Open source PostgreSQL, and its commercial version EnterpriseDB’s Postgres Plus, stand out as excellent open source based enterprise database options for reducing costs without sacrificing quality. In fact, many customers find PostgreSQL and Postgres Plus friendlier to configure, install, manage, and to develop to than some more famous alternatives.

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PostgreSQL’s popularity stands at an all time high. Consider EnterpriseDB’s recent progress with key partners in 2013 as proof points of such popularity. IBM now offers EDB’s Postgres Plus on IBM’s PowerLinux infrastructure as an adjunct database for DB2. HP awarded EnterpriseDB one of HP’s “partners of the year” in the “mission-critical computing” category. Dell and Informatica partnerships have also picked up in pace. Now that Oracle is firmly in the database appliance business with systems like Exadata, doors are opening for EnterpriseDB from database appliance vendors looking to undercut Exadata’s price without sacrificing features and performance. The trusted Postgres Plus certainly offers a tantalizingly lower cost database license option for such appliances. Finally, the Red Hat and EnterpriseDB connection remains strong, and Postgres Plus offers a natural extension for Red Hat customers interested in a complete open source based stack.

For the general IT audience, and the developer audience, the primary value proposition of PostgreSQL and Postgres Plus is stronger than ever: As an enterprise DBA every time you are able to replace one of the more famous enterprise commercial databases with Postgres Plus you save roughly 75% of the lifecycle license and maintenance costs. For developers, including SaaS or PaaS developers, Postgres Plus is available on both public clouds like Amazon Web Services, and in private clouds; you get to use a true enterprise class database without the attendant high costs. Red Hat proved that the open source model takes time, commitment, and ethics, but it is well worth the wait. EnterpriseDB and the larger PostgreSQL community have exhibited the same commitment and patience, and the market share rewards for those attributes are accruing.

About EMA Founded in 1996, Enterprise Management Associates (EMA) is a leading industry analyst firm that provides deep insight across the full spectrum of IT and data management technologies. EMA analysts leverage a unique combination of practical experience, insight into industry best practices, and in-depth knowledge of current and planned vendor solutions to help its clients achieve their goals. Learn more about EMA research, analysis, and consulting services for enterprise line of business users, IT professionals and IT vendors at www.enterprisemanagement.com or blogs.enterprisemanagement.com. You can also follow EMA on Twitter or Facebook. 2844.030614