99.99% Availability with a 3-Node PostgreSQL Cluster and Automated Backup Solution

From Downtime to Reliability: How Stormatics Solved High Availability Issues for a Middle Eastern Government’s Critical Cybersecurity Operations 

A leading government organization in the Middle East, tasked with protecting the country’s digital infrastructure and providing advanced cybersecurity for millions of citizens, reached out to Stormatics for help in resolving critical issues with their Windows-based systems. The organization operates in multiple high-security locations and handles large volumes of sensitive data, playing a key role in safeguarding the nation’s infrastructure.

The Challenge

The organization experienced significant downtime issues following their migration from SQL Server to PostgreSQL, which occurred in part because the migration team was still becoming familiar with PostgreSQL best practices. As a result, outages occurred as often as three times a week. 

Their previous high-availability setup, which used Microsoft Cluster Service to manage failovers at the OS level, was designed for SQL Server but was unsuitable for PostgreSQL. This misconfiguration resulted in frequent production failures, with each outage making their services inaccessible to customers and causing major disruptions.

This unique system architecture also created another challenge - no PostgreSQL vendor was willing to provide SLA-based support as the design went against best practices. The organization needed more than just temporary fixes; they required a complete redesign of their architecture to ensure long-term stability, enhanced support, and reduced downtime.

The Solution

Stormatics stepped in to address their concerns and provided a comprehensive solution that adhered to PostgreSQL best practices. The organization’s team was first educated on proper PostgreSQL clustering methods as their strict security protocol warranted their direct engagement in the project. A 3-node high-availability cluster with automatic failover was then implemented by Team Stormatics. An automated backup routine was implemented, with triggers scheduled to run every Monday at 2:30 AM, ensuring regular and reliable data protection. After the implementation of this solution, downtime was effectively reduced to zero.

Given the stringent security requirements of the organization, the entire project was executed remotely. The organization used an internal VPN to connect to their bare-metal, on-premises instances, which made direct access impossible. To overcome this, the entire solution was implemented through screen-sharing sessions, where their team was guided through the process step-by-step. They ran the commands on their systems under the supervision of the Stormatics team, ensuring full compliance with their security protocols.

The Result

The government organization now runs a stable, highly available PostgreSQL cluster with minimal downtime. The cluster, with autofailover and robust backups, ensured the organization could continue operating seamlessly with zero downtime despite the challenges posed by their security environment. This solution allowed them to implement their PostgreSQL cluster with industry best practices, providing a secure and reliable PostgreSQL environment.

Additionally, the organization now has SLA-based support available 24/7, ensuring that any critical issues are resolved promptly, minimizing the impact on their operations and maintaining the security and uptime of their systems. This support structure offers peace of mind, knowing expert help is always available.

Why Stormatics?

Stormatics is a specialized consulting firm dedicated to helping businesses scale PostgreSQL reliably for mission-critical data. 

As your business grows, your database's performance, availability, and compliance can start to lag. These bottlenecks can lead to costly downtime, frustrated users, and missed opportunities. Left unchecked, these issues can threaten your entire application stack and damage customer trust. While many providers push generic solutions, we tailor our services to your unique needs for PostgreSQL. 

At Stormatics, we bring specialized expertise directly to where it’s needed most, offering targeted solutions without forcing you onto unfamiliar platforms. Our approach ensures you get the precise help you need exactly when you need it, so your database never holds your business back.

1. ➡️ Reliable Solutions: You want your database to be reliable, we have the expertise to make sure you can depend on PostgreSQL at scale.
2. ➡️ Customer Satisfaction: Our customers are our biggest asset, and our focus is on excellence in service delivery. We will not rest till you are 100% satisfied.
3. ➡️ Customized Services: Your challenges are unique, and so are our services. Our team collaborates with yours to deliver customized solutions.

We are your trusted PostgreSQL experts

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