EDB Engineering Newsletter #5
Welcome to the 5th edition of the EDB Engineering Newsletter! Where we share happenings in the data world that the EDB Engineering team has enjoyed discussing, as well as other news about what the EDB Engineering team is up to!
What we're following
Introducing 4o Image Generation
OpenAI has launched the most advanced image generation model into GPT-4o, integrated natively into ChatGPT. This model excels at generating precise, photorealistic visuals, accurately rendering text, and handling complex prompts involving up to 20 objects. Its conversational refinement capabilities, powered by context-awareness and in-context learning, allow users to iteratively enhance outputs.
Enhanced safety measures and provenance tracking via C2PA metadata ensure responsible usage across creative and educational applications. Ironically, following GPT-4o’s new image generation model release, the internet has been flooded with Studio Ghibli-inspired images—despite the trend clashing with Studio Ghibli’s artistic principles and ethos.
https://openai.com/index/introducing-4o-image-generation/
object_store crate spins out from arrow-rs
The Apache Arrow Rust library has spun out the object_store crate (a Rust library for integrating with systems like AWS S3, Google Cloud Storage, etc.) into its own repository.
Andrew Lamb stated in discussion started last fall, “object_store is released on a different schedule, with a different voting thread, a [different] process, and has a [non-trivially] different set of maintainers and a substantial number of other users”.
https://github.com/apache/arrow-rs-object-store
A closer look at Dynamo, Nvidia's 'operating system' for AI inference
At Nvidia's recent GPU Technology Conference (GTC), CEO Jensen Huang unveiled Dynamo, an open-source software framework that may prove more significant than the hardware announcements that dominated headlines. Dubbed the "operating system of an AI factory," Dynamo addresses critical challenges in AI inference at scale.
https://www.theregister.com/2025/03/23/nvidia_dynamo/
From the EDB team
Implementing an Extension Search Path
Peter Eisentraut (contributor to PostgreSQL development since 1999) joined one of the virtual meetups leading up to PGConf.Dev to talk about the extension search path patch (check out the commit here) he developed in the past year, the problems it solves, and expectations for the future.
Demystifying Databases on Kubernetes: From Hesitation to Confidence
Joining for a panel discussion with the Data on Kubernetes Community were Lori Lorusso, Karen Jex, Frances Thai, and our very own Lætitia Avrot (Principal Technical Marketing Product Manager).
CloudNativePG: Running PostgreSQL the Kubernetes Way
At the March 6 Data on Kubernetes meetup, Jonathan Battiato (Data on Kubernetes Ambassador and Senior SDE at EDB) gave a talk on how CloudNativePG simplifies running production-grade PostgreSQL workloads on Kubernetes while maintaining high availability, scalability, and disaster recovery.
Securing PostgreSQL From External Attack
Bruce Momjian (VP, Postgres Evangelist) explores the ways attackers with no authorized database access can steal Postgres passwords, see database queries and results, and even intercept database sessions and return false data. Postgres supports features to eliminate all of these threats, but administrators must understand the attack vulnerabilities to protect against them.
Beginner's guide to PostgreSQL Hacking
Pavan Deolasee (Senior Principal Engineer) provides a basic introduction to PostgreSQL's development process, discussing how to get the source code, how to compile and install PostgreSQL on your development machine and start hacking. He takes a look at the source code structure to understand the code layout. Then looks at the query execution flow and how to debug the code.
EDB & Postgres through the years and in the years to come
Tom Kincaid (VP of Engineering) presents how EDB’s customers have richly benefitted from Postgres over the years. Then pivots to the future and how EDB plans to contribute to the Postgres project and its surrounding ecosystem in the years to come.
Navigating Challenging Customer Escalations in Postgres
Handling customer escalations in PostgreSQL environments requires a deep understanding of performance bottlenecks, data integrity challenges, and replication conflicts. When critical issues such as subtransaction cache overflow, slow vacuum and wraparound risks, data corruption, and replication conflicts arise, they can lead to significant service disruptions, demanding swift and effective resolution.
Rushabh Lathia (Senior Principal Engineer, Director) and Dilip Kumar (Senior Principal Engineer, Engineering Manager) explore a structured approach to troubleshooting PostgreSQL escalations with real-world case studies.
CloudNativePG 1.26.0 RC1 Released
Gabriele Bartolini (VP, Chief Architect, Kubernetes) shares new features and deprecations in the CloudNativePG 1.26 release candidate.
https://cloudnative-pg.io/releases/cloudnative-pg-1-26.0-rc1-released/
Until next time
We hope you enjoyed this edition of the EDB Engineering Newsletter! Consider joining the PostgreSQL Hacker Mentoring Discord to get involved!
The EDB Engineering Team