Database Technology

Amazon RDS for Oracle now supports the Supplemental Patch Bundle (SPB) for the July 2026 Release Update for versions 19c and 26ai. This bundle replaces the former Oracle Spatial Patch Bundle and includes recommended patches for specific use cases like Spatial, Data Pump, and GoldenGate. Users can apply this update to new instances or upgrade existing ones using specific engine version labels.

• SPB replaces the Oracle Spatial Patch Bundle starting with April 2026 releases
• Includes patches for Oracle Spatial, Data Pump, and GoldenGate
• Supports Oracle Database versions 19c and 26ai
• Apply via new instance creation or upgrade to specific SPB engine versions

AWS now enables direct ad hoc SQL querying of DynamoDB data using DuckDB through a new zero-ETL integration. The solution automatically replicates DynamoDB tables into Apache Iceberg formats on Amazon S3 Tables. A Lambda function hosting DuckDB exposes this capability via an IAM-authorized function URL, eliminating the need for manual ETL pipelines.

• Eliminates manual ETL by replicating DynamoDB to Iceberg on S3 automatically
• Enables ad hoc SQL analysis using DuckDB without data movement overhead
• Access is secured via Lambda function URLs with IAM authorization
• Supports rapid prototyping for analytics on operational DynamoDB workloads

Logical replication subscriptions in Postgres include a single, often overlooked configuration line that expands into over a dozen options affecting storage usage. While default subscriptions work fine for most users, production systems with multiple downstream replicas can experience rapid disk consumption from thousands of anonymous artifacts. This behavior occurs because the default settings do not explicitly restrict or manage how these replication artifacts are stored.

• Review subscription configurations for logical replication to ensure storage options are explicit.
• Monitor disk usage in replication directories if running multiple downstream replicas.
• Default subscription settings may generate unexpected anonymous artifacts filling disk space.
• The single configuration line for subscriptions controls over a dozen storage-affecting options.

Andrei Lepikhov highlights that built-in PostgreSQL aggregates like SUM(numeric) are often inefficient because they must handle the most general form of variable-length types. This inefficiency is particularly pronounced when partial aggregation fails to reduce the data volume, such as in ERP systems where monetary columns typically use fixed scales. The proposed solution involves creating custom extensions that tune aggregates to these specific, constrained data conditions rather than relying on generic implementations.

• Built-in aggregates handle general cases, causing overhead on constrained data like fixed-scale numerics.
• Partial aggregation often fails to help when the output set size remains comparable to the input.
• Variable-length types suffer the most performance penalties in standard aggregate operations.
• Custom extensions can optimize aggregates by targeting specific data constraints found in ERP systems.

A practitioner shares operational insights gained from maintaining ClickHouse clusters at the petabyte scale over a five-year period. The article details practical experiences and architectural decisions made while managing high-throughput data workloads. These lessons focus on real-world stability, performance tuning, and infrastructure management challenges specific to large-scale deployments.

• Operational complexity grows non-linearly with scale; plan for distinct monitoring and alerting thresholds.
• Data modeling and partitioning strategies are critical for maintaining query latency at petabyte sizes.
• Hardware provisioning must account for I/O bottlenecks and network saturation in distributed environments.

The pg_vault_tde extension v1.7.1 enables transparent data encryption for PostgreSQL 17 and 18 using the encrypted_heap access method. It encrypts tuples with AES-256-GCM before storage and handles key management via HashiCorp Vault, OpenBao, PKCS#11, or local wallets. This release fixes AAD derivation for out-of-line TOAST values, but introduces a breaking change where TOAST data written by v1.7.0 or earlier will fail authentication.

• Supports PostgreSQL 17 and 18 with OpenSSL 3.x and requires library preload configuration.
• Uses AES-256-GCM for per-table encryption with online key rotation capabilities.
• Integrates with external key managers like HashiCorp Vault, OpenBao, or HSMs.
• Upgrade from v1.7.0 requires exporting and re-importing affected tables due to TOAST auth failures.
• Applications remain unchanged as encryption is handled at the storage manager level.