PostgreSQL I/O Mechanisms Performance Comparison
Presented by:
Hunter OBrien
No video of the event yet, sorry!
With PostgreSQL 18 officially released on September 25, 2025, the project introduced a major performance addition: a new asynchronous I/O (AIO) subsystem. This evidence based talk explores the three I/O approaches PostgreSQL can use to interact with the operating system, including how each works, when it is used, and how to configure it. We’ll walk through the configuration and operating characteristics of each I/O method, then evaluate performance using a neutral, repeatable test environment. The session includes both simulated PostgreSQL I/O tests utilizing fio and pgbench based benchmarks to highlight practical differences in throughput, latency, and resource utilization. We’ll conclude with a benefits and risks analysis of all three options, including concrete examples of which workloads are most likely to benefit and where tradeoffs may make a given approach a poor fit in production.
- Date:
- Duration:
- 50 min
- Room:
- Conference:
- Postgres Conference: 2026
- Language:
- Track:
- Ops
- Difficulty:
- Easy