PostgreSQL Database Health Checks

2.1 What is a Database Health Check?

A database health check is a comprehensive review of the database's performance, configuration, and overall health. It includes checking for potential bottlenecks, ensuring data integrity, and verifying backup processes.

2.2 Key Metrics to Monitor

• CPU Usage
• Memory Usage
• Disk I/O Performance
• Query Performance
• Connection Counts
• Deadlocks and Locks

3.1 Step-by-Step Health Check

1. Check PostgreSQL Logs
2. Monitor System Resource Usage
3. Analyze Slow Queries
4. Verify Backup Processes
5. Run Database Vacuum and Analyze

3.2 Example SQL Queries for Health Checks

Here are some SQL commands you can use to perform health checks:

-- Check for long-running queries
SELECT pid, age(current_timestamp, query_start) AS duration, query
FROM pg_stat_activity
WHERE state = 'active'
AND query_start < current_timestamp - interval '5 minutes';

-- Check database size
SELECT pg_size_pretty(pg_database_size('your_database_name')) AS size;

-- Check for deadlocks
SELECT * FROM pg_locks WHERE mode = 'deadlock';