pgactive

Overview

require libpgfeutils

Version

Build

You can build the RPM / DEB packages for pgactive using pig build:

pig build pkg pgactive         # build RPM / DEB packages

Install

You can install pgactive directly. First, make sure the PGDG and PIGSTY repositories are added and enabled:

pig repo add pgsql -u          # Add repo and update cache

Install the extension using pig or apt/yum/dnf:

pig install pgactive;          # Install for current active PG version

pig ext install -y pgactive -v 18  # PG 18
pig ext install -y pgactive -v 17  # PG 17
pig ext install -y pgactive -v 16  # PG 16
pig ext install -y pgactive -v 15  # PG 15
pig ext install -y pgactive -v 14  # PG 14

dnf install -y pgactive_18       # PG 18
dnf install -y pgactive_17       # PG 17
dnf install -y pgactive_16       # PG 16
dnf install -y pgactive_15       # PG 15
dnf install -y pgactive_14       # PG 14

apt install -y postgresql-18-pgactive   # PG 18
apt install -y postgresql-17-pgactive   # PG 17
apt install -y postgresql-16-pgactive   # PG 16
apt install -y postgresql-15-pgactive   # PG 15
apt install -y postgresql-14-pgactive   # PG 14

Preload:

shared_preload_libraries = 'pgactive';

Create Extension:

CREATE EXTENSION pgactive;

Usage

pgactive: Active-Active Replication Extension for PostgreSQL

The pgactive extension provides active-active (multi-master) replication for PostgreSQL, where multiple database instances can accept writes and replicate changes to each other.

Enabling

CREATE EXTENSION pgactive;

Overview

pgactive enables active-active replication using logical replication as its foundation. Multiple databases in a cluster can accept changes and replicate them bidirectionally.

Key Concepts

• Active-Active: All nodes accept reads and writes simultaneously
• Asynchronous: Changes are replicated asynchronously between nodes
• Conflict Resolution: Applications must handle conflicting changes from multiple writers
• Logical Replication: Uses PostgreSQL’s logical decoding to interpret and apply changes

Use Cases

• Multi-region high availability database clusters
• Reducing write latency between applications and databases
• Blue/green application updates
• Data migration between systems that must both remain writable

Design Considerations

Applications using pgactive must be designed to handle:

• Write conflicts: Concurrent modifications to the same row on different nodes
• Replication lag: Changes may not be immediately visible on all nodes
• Feature limitations: Some features like auto-incrementing sequences require special handling across nodes

Notes

• Built on PostgreSQL’s native logical replication infrastructure
• Requires PostgreSQL 10+ (native logical replication support)
• Refer to the project documentation for detailed setup and conflict resolution strategies