PostgreSQL 9.0 is out today. The two most impressive features are replication and hot standby.
“The streaming replication technology allows continuous archive (WAL) files to be streamed over a network connection to a standby server,” reported eWeek’s Brian Prince. “Hot standby, meanwhile, enables continuous archive standby servers to execute read-only queries.”
“The built-in replication in 9.0 and ability to query a hot standby have been the most requested PostgreSQL features for many years,” said Simon Riggs, CTO of 2ndQuadrant and lead contributor to hot standby, in a statement. “Efficient, low latency streaming replication protects your data better, while hot standby significantly reduces total cost of ownership. In proprietary products, this capability is an add-on which costs thousands of dollars.”