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PostgreSQL Glossary

Hot Standby

A standby server that can accept read-only queries while continuously applying WAL records from the primary. Example: PostgreSQL hot standby allows read r…

Definition

A standby server that can accept read-only queries while continuously applying WAL records from the primary.

What Hot Standby Means in PostgreSQL

A standby server that can accept read-only queries while continuously applying WAL records from the primary.

Hot Standby appears frequently in production operations, architecture decisions, and troubleshooting workflows. Understanding this term helps teams reason about reliability, performance, and safe change management.

Why Hot Standby Matters

Teams that understand Hot Standby can make better decisions on database design, incident response, and release safety.

In modern PostgreSQL environments, this concept often connects directly to backup strategy, performance tuning, and operational confidence.

  • Improves decision quality for production operations
  • Reduces avoidable troubleshooting time
  • Strengthens reliability and recovery planning

Practical Example

PostgreSQL hot standby allows read replicas to serve read traffic while staying synchronized with the primary.

Where To Learn More

You can explore deeper implementation patterns in the Vela articles library, review platform workflows in How Vela Works, and compare approaches in our PostgreSQL comparisons.

Related Glossary Topics

HTAP (Hybrid Transactional/Analytical Processing) ACID Atomicity Archiving (WAL Archiving) archive_command archive_mode BYOC (Bring Your Own Cloud) B-tree Index

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Hot Standby in PostgreSQL?
A standby server that can accept read-only queries while continuously applying WAL records from the primary.
Why is Hot Standby important?
Hot Standby matters because it directly affects how teams build, operate, and recover PostgreSQL systems in production.
Can you give a practical Hot Standby example?
PostgreSQL hot standby allows read replicas to serve read traffic while staying synchronized with the primary.
How does Hot Standby relate to backup, recovery, or performance?
In most production deployments, Hot Standby influences one or more of these areas: data safety, restore behavior, and performance under load.
What should teams check first when implementing Hot Standby?
Start with clear operational goals, test in a non-production environment, and validate behavior with repeatable runbooks before relying on it in production.