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PostgreSQL Glossary

pgbench

PostgreSQL's built-in benchmarking tool for running performance tests with simulated workloads. Example: pgbench -c 10 -j 2 -T 60 mydb runs a 60-second be…

Definition

PostgreSQL's built-in benchmarking tool for running performance tests with simulated workloads.

What pgbench Means in PostgreSQL

PostgreSQL's built-in benchmarking tool for running performance tests with simulated workloads.

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

Why pgbench Matters

Teams that understand pgbench 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

pgbench -c 10 -j 2 -T 60 mydb runs a 60-second benchmark with 10 clients and 2 worker threads.

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

pg_dump pg_restore pg_basebackup PITR (Point-in-Time Recovery) Physical vs Logical Backup Primary Key Partitioning ACID

Frequently Asked Questions

What is pgbench in PostgreSQL?
PostgreSQL's built-in benchmarking tool for running performance tests with simulated workloads.
Why is pgbench important?
pgbench matters because it directly affects how teams build, operate, and recover PostgreSQL systems in production.
Can you give a practical pgbench example?
pgbench -c 10 -j 2 -T 60 mydb runs a 60-second benchmark with 10 clients and 2 worker threads.
How does pgbench relate to backup, recovery, or performance?
In most production deployments, pgbench influences one or more of these areas: data safety, restore behavior, and performance under load.
What should teams check first when implementing pgbench?
Start with clear operational goals, test in a non-production environment, and validate behavior with repeatable runbooks before relying on it in production.