I’m Michael Patrick McCoy — a PostgreSQL expert and database engineer with nearly two decades of experience supporting production database systems for Fortune 500 companies across multiple industries. I specialize in PostgreSQL performance tuning, troubleshooting, backups, replication, high availability, and real-world DBA operations.
I created this site to share practical PostgreSQL knowledge built from real production experience — not just theory. Here you’ll find free tutorials, operational guidance, and hands-on technical content covering everything from beginner PostgreSQL concepts to advanced performance and troubleshooting topics.
I’m also developing structured PostgreSQL training modules focused on practical DBA and operational skills. If you’d like to connect regarding PostgreSQL architecture, performance, troubleshooting, operational best practices, or related technical topics, feel free to reach out.
Backups, recovery, tuning, replication, upgrades, configuration management, and operational best practices for PostgreSQL environments.
Query tuning, EXPLAIN plans, indexing strategies, VACUUM behavior, locking analysis, and identifying real production bottlenecks.
Beginner-friendly PostgreSQL tutorials and practical DBA guidance designed to make complex database concepts easier to understand.
If you're new to PostgreSQL, the basics can feel intimidating. This guide walks you through the essential tasks every beginner should know: starting and stopping PostgreSQL, finding the key configuration files, connecting with psql, and performing simple administrative commands.
If you work with PostgreSQL long enough, you’ll eventually hear someone say: “Did you run VACUUM?” It sounds mysterious, but VACUUM is actually one of the most important maintenance operations in PostgreSQL. This guide explains what VACUUM does, why autovacuum sometimes fails, what bloat really is, and how to check your database for problems — in simple, plain-English terms.
PostgreSQL locking feels scary — mostly because the documentation lists 15 different lock modes, half of which sound like they were named during a caffeine-fueled meeting. But here’s the truth: you only need to understand a few key concepts to debug almost every lock issue you’ll ever encounter.
PostgreSQL’s EXPLAIN and EXPLAIN ANALYZE commands are the gateway to understanding how a query actually executes. If you’ve ever looked at a query plan and felt like you were staring into the Matrix, this guide will help you make sense of it — using real examples from the Pagila Sample Database.
PostgreSQL comes with hundreds of settings — but as a DBA, you only need to master a small handful to dramatically improve performance. These are the 10 essentials every DBA should understand cold. Short, practical, and the exact configs you'll tune in the real world.