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Performance Issues

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Slow Queries

Symptoms:

  • Queries taking longer than expected
  • Timeouts in application logs
  • Increasing response times

How dba.ai helps:

  1. Identifies slow queries through PostgreSQL’s pg_stat_statements
  2. Analyzes query execution plans with EXPLAIN ANALYZE
  3. Recommends specific index improvements
  4. Suggests query rewrites for better performance
  5. Monitors query performance trends over time

Example solution:

-- dba.ai recommended index for slow customer search query
CREATE INDEX idx_customers_last_name_first_name
ON customers(last_name, first_name);

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Connection Pooling Issues

Symptoms:

  • “Too many connections” errors
  • Connection timeouts
  • High CPU usage from connection establishment

How dba.ai helps:

  1. Analyzes connection patterns using pg_stat_activity
  2. Recommends optimal connection pool settings
  3. Suggests PgBouncer configuration improvements
  4. Monitors connection utilization over time

Example solution:

# dba.ai recommended PgBouncer settings
max_client_conn = 500
default_pool_size = 50
pool_mode = transaction

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High CPU Usage

Symptoms:

  • Consistently high CPU utilization
  • Slow response times across all queries
  • Server performance degradation

How dba.ai helps:

  1. Identifies CPU-intensive queries
  2. Analyzes query execution patterns
  3. Recommends parallelism settings adjustments
  4. Suggests workload distribution strategies

Example solution:

# dba.ai recommended PostgreSQL settings
max_worker_processes = 16
max_parallel_workers_per_gather = 4
max_parallel_workers = 12

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Storage Issues

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Database Bloat

Symptoms:

  • Growing database size despite unchanged data volume
  • Degrading performance after updates/deletes
  • Increasing storage costs

How dba.ai helps:

  1. Detects bloated tables and indexes
  2. Recommends appropriate VACUUM settings
  3. Suggests autovacuum parameter adjustments
  4. Creates maintenance schedules for manual VACUUM FULL when needed

Example solution:

-- dba.ai recommended autovacuum settings
ALTER SYSTEM SET autovacuum_vacuum_scale_factor = 0.05;
ALTER SYSTEM SET autovacuum_analyze_scale_factor = 0.02;
ALTER SYSTEM SET autovacuum_vacuum_threshold = 50;

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Index Bloat

Symptoms:

  • Degrading index performance
  • Growing index size
  • Increasing query times

How dba.ai helps:

  1. Identifies bloated indexes using diagnostic queries
  2. Recommends index rebuild strategies
  3. Suggests maintenance windows for rebuilding
  4. Monitors index effectiveness

Example solution:

-- dba.ai recommended maintenance script
REINDEX TABLE CONCURRENTLY orders;

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Disk Space Issues

Symptoms:

  • Disk space alerts
  • Database unable to grow
  • Failed operations due to disk full errors

How dba.ai helps:

  1. Monitors disk space trends
  2. Identifies largest tables and indices
  3. Suggests data archiving strategies
  4. Recommends partitioning for large tables

Example solution:

-- dba.ai recommended partitioning strategy
CREATE TABLE orders_partitioned (LIKE orders) PARTITION BY RANGE (order_date);

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Configuration Issues

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Memory Configuration

Symptoms:

  • Out of memory errors
  • Swapping detected
  • Poor cache hit ratios

How dba.ai helps:

  1. Analyzes current memory settings
  2. Monitors actual memory usage patterns
  3. Recommends optimal shared_buffers, work_mem settings
  4. Suggests OS configuration improvements

Example solution:

# dba.ai recommended memory settings
shared_buffers = 8GB
work_mem = 64MB
maintenance_work_mem = 512MB
effective_cache_size = 24GB

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WAL Configuration

Symptoms:

  • Checkpoint warning messages
  • I/O spikes during checkpoints
  • Slow transaction commit times

How dba.ai helps:

  1. Analyzes WAL generation rates
  2. Monitors checkpoint behavior
  3. Recommends optimal WAL settings
  4. Suggests checkpoint spread improvements

Example solution:

# dba.ai recommended WAL settings
max_wal_size = 4GB
checkpoint_timeout = 15min
checkpoint_completion_target = 0.9

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Logging Configuration

Symptoms:

  • Missing important error information
  • Excessively large log files
  • Difficulty troubleshooting issues

How dba.ai helps:

  1. Evaluates current logging settings
  2. Recommends appropriate log levels
  3. Suggests log rotation strategies
  4. Creates log analysis dashboards

Example solution:

# dba.ai recommended logging settings
log_min_duration_statement = 1000
log_checkpoints = on
log_connections = on
log_disconnections = on
log_lock_waits = on
log_temp_files = 0

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Availability Issues

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Deadlocks

Symptoms:

  • Deadlock errors in application logs
  • Transactions failing unexpectedly
  • Error messages in PostgreSQL logs

How dba.ai helps:

  1. Analyzes deadlock patterns using logs
  2. Identifies transactions prone to deadlocks
  3. Recommends application-level changes
  4. Suggests row-level locking strategies

Example solution:

-- dba.ai recommended application changes
-- Use explicit row locking with SELECT FOR UPDATE
BEGIN;
SELECT * FROM inventory
WHERE product_id = 123
FOR UPDATE;
-- Process inventory update
COMMIT;

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Replication Lag

Symptoms:

  • Growing replication delay
  • Stale data on read replicas
  • Backups falling behind

How dba.ai helps:

  1. Monitors replication lag continuously
  2. Identifies causes of replication bottlenecks
  3. Recommends network, disk, or configuration improvements
  4. Suggests read workload distribution strategies

Example solution:

# dba.ai recommended replication settings
max_wal_senders = 10
wal_keep_segments = 64
hot_standby_feedback = on

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Unplanned Downtime

Symptoms:

  • Database crashes
  • Connection failures
  • Data corruption reports

How dba.ai helps:

  1. Analyzes crash logs for root causes
  2. Recommends configuration changes to prevent recurrence
  3. Suggests high availability improvements
  4. Creates recovery procedures

Example solution:

# dba.ai recommended reliability settings
synchronous_commit = on
full_page_writes = on
wal_log_hints = on

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Security Issues

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Privilege Management

Symptoms:

  • Permission errors in application logs
  • Overly permissive access patterns
  • Security audit concerns

How dba.ai helps:

  1. Audits current user privileges
  2. Identifies principle of least privilege violations
  3. Recommends role-based access control improvements
  4. Suggests security best practices

Example solution:

-- dba.ai recommended security improvements
REVOKE ALL ON SCHEMA public FROM PUBLIC;
CREATE ROLE app_readonly;
GRANT USAGE ON SCHEMA public TO app_readonly;
GRANT SELECT ON ALL TABLES IN SCHEMA public TO app_readonly;

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SQL Injection Vulnerabilities

Symptoms:

  • Unusual query patterns
  • Unexpected database behavior
  • Security scanning alerts

How dba.ai helps:

  1. Monitors for suspicious query patterns
  2. Identifies potential SQL injection attempts
  3. Recommends application-level mitigations
  4. Suggests database-level protections

Example solution:

-- dba.ai recommended security measure
REVOKE EXECUTE ON FUNCTION pg_read_file FROM PUBLIC;

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Unencrypted Connections

Symptoms:

  • Plain text credentials in network traffic
  • Security compliance failures
  • Data privacy concerns

How dba.ai helps:

  1. Analyzes connection security settings
  2. Identifies unencrypted connection patterns
  3. Recommends SSL/TLS configuration
  4. Suggests client-side security improvements

Example solution:

# dba.ai recommended SSL settings
ssl = on
ssl_cert_file = 'server.crt'
ssl_key_file = 'server.key'
ssl_prefer_server_ciphers = on

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Database Maintenance

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Regular Maintenance Tasks

dba.ai helps establish regular maintenance routines:

  1. Statistics Updates

    • Recommends optimal ANALYZE frequency
    • Monitors statistics accuracy

  2. Index Maintenance

    • Schedules regular index rebuilds
    • Identifies unused indexes

  3. Backup Verification

    • Monitors backup success/failure
    • Tests recovery procedures

  4. Vacuum Operations

    • Creates custom vacuum schedules
    • Monitors effectiveness of routine maintenance

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Getting Help

If you encounter an issue not covered here:

  1. Use the dba.ai chat interface to describe your problem
  2. Review the database health dashboard for anomalies
  3. Check the AI agent’s automatic issue detection
  4. Contact support@dba.ai for personalized assistance

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Next Steps

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