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authorDaniel Baumann <daniel.baumann@progress-linux.org>2024-05-04 12:15:05 +0000
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+
+<chapter id="logical-replication">
+ <title>Logical Replication</title>
+
+ <para>
+ Logical replication is a method of replicating data objects and their
+ changes, based upon their replication identity (usually a primary key). We
+ use the term logical in contrast to physical replication, which uses exact
+ block addresses and byte-by-byte replication. PostgreSQL supports both
+ mechanisms concurrently, see <xref linkend="high-availability"/>. Logical
+ replication allows fine-grained control over both data replication and
+ security.
+ </para>
+
+ <para>
+ Logical replication uses a <firstterm>publish</firstterm>
+ and <firstterm>subscribe</firstterm> model with one or
+ more <firstterm>subscribers</firstterm> subscribing to one or more
+ <firstterm>publications</firstterm> on a <firstterm>publisher</firstterm>
+ node. Subscribers pull data from the publications they subscribe to and may
+ subsequently re-publish data to allow cascading replication or more complex
+ configurations.
+ </para>
+
+ <para>
+ Logical replication of a table typically starts with taking a snapshot
+ of the data on the publisher database and copying that to the subscriber.
+ Once that is done, the changes on the publisher are sent to the subscriber
+ as they occur in real-time. The subscriber applies the data in the same
+ order as the publisher so that transactional consistency is guaranteed for
+ publications within a single subscription. This method of data replication
+ is sometimes referred to as transactional replication.
+ </para>
+
+ <para>
+ The typical use-cases for logical replication are:
+
+ <itemizedlist>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>
+ Sending incremental changes in a single database or a subset of a
+ database to subscribers as they occur.
+ </para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para>
+ Firing triggers for individual changes as they arrive on the
+ subscriber.
+ </para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para>
+ Consolidating multiple databases into a single one (for example for
+ analytical purposes).
+ </para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para>
+ Replicating between different major versions of PostgreSQL.
+ </para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para>
+ Replicating between PostgreSQL instances on different platforms (for
+ example Linux to Windows)
+ </para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para>
+ Giving access to replicated data to different groups of users.
+ </para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para>
+ Sharing a subset of the database between multiple databases.
+ </para>
+ </listitem>
+ </itemizedlist>
+ </para>
+
+ <para>
+ The subscriber database behaves in the same way as any other PostgreSQL
+ instance and can be used as a publisher for other databases by defining its
+ own publications. When the subscriber is treated as read-only by
+ application, there will be no conflicts from a single subscription. On the
+ other hand, if there are other writes done either by an application or by other
+ subscribers to the same set of tables, conflicts can arise.
+ </para>
+
+ <sect1 id="logical-replication-publication">
+ <title>Publication</title>
+
+ <para>
+ A <firstterm>publication</firstterm> can be defined on any physical
+ replication primary. The node where a publication is defined is referred to
+ as <firstterm>publisher</firstterm>. A publication is a set of changes
+ generated from a table or a group of tables, and might also be described as
+ a change set or replication set. Each publication exists in only one database.
+ </para>
+
+ <para>
+ Publications are different from schemas and do not affect how the table is
+ accessed. Each table can be added to multiple publications if needed.
+ Publications may currently only contain tables. Objects must be added
+ explicitly, except when a publication is created for <literal>ALL
+ TABLES</literal>.
+ </para>
+
+ <para>
+ Publications can choose to limit the changes they produce to
+ any combination of <command>INSERT</command>, <command>UPDATE</command>,
+ <command>DELETE</command>, and <command>TRUNCATE</command>, similar to how triggers are fired by
+ particular event types. By default, all operation types are replicated.
+ </para>
+
+ <para>
+ A published table must have a <quote>replica identity</quote> configured in
+ order to be able to replicate <command>UPDATE</command>
+ and <command>DELETE</command> operations, so that appropriate rows to
+ update or delete can be identified on the subscriber side. By default,
+ this is the primary key, if there is one. Another unique index (with
+ certain additional requirements) can also be set to be the replica
+ identity. If the table does not have any suitable key, then it can be set
+ to replica identity <quote>full</quote>, which means the entire row becomes
+ the key. This, however, is very inefficient and should only be used as a
+ fallback if no other solution is possible. If a replica identity other
+ than <quote>full</quote> is set on the publisher side, a replica identity
+ comprising the same or fewer columns must also be set on the subscriber
+ side. See <xref linkend="sql-altertable-replica-identity"/> for details on
+ how to set the replica identity. If a table without a replica identity is
+ added to a publication that replicates <command>UPDATE</command>
+ or <command>DELETE</command> operations then
+ subsequent <command>UPDATE</command> or <command>DELETE</command>
+ operations will cause an error on the publisher. <command>INSERT</command>
+ operations can proceed regardless of any replica identity.
+ </para>
+
+ <para>
+ Every publication can have multiple subscribers.
+ </para>
+
+ <para>
+ A publication is created using the <link linkend="sql-createpublication"><command>CREATE PUBLICATION</command></link>
+ command and may later be altered or dropped using corresponding commands.
+ </para>
+
+ <para>
+ The individual tables can be added and removed dynamically using
+ <link linkend="sql-alterpublication"><command>ALTER PUBLICATION</command></link>. Both the <literal>ADD
+ TABLE</literal> and <literal>DROP TABLE</literal> operations are
+ transactional; so the table will start or stop replicating at the correct
+ snapshot once the transaction has committed.
+ </para>
+ </sect1>
+
+ <sect1 id="logical-replication-subscription">
+ <title>Subscription</title>
+
+ <para>
+ A <firstterm>subscription</firstterm> is the downstream side of logical
+ replication. The node where a subscription is defined is referred to as
+ the <firstterm>subscriber</firstterm>. A subscription defines the connection
+ to another database and set of publications (one or more) to which it wants
+ to subscribe.
+ </para>
+
+ <para>
+ The subscriber database behaves in the same way as any other PostgreSQL
+ instance and can be used as a publisher for other databases by defining its
+ own publications.
+ </para>
+
+ <para>
+ A subscriber node may have multiple subscriptions if desired. It is
+ possible to define multiple subscriptions between a single
+ publisher-subscriber pair, in which case care must be taken to ensure
+ that the subscribed publication objects don't overlap.
+ </para>
+
+ <para>
+ Each subscription will receive changes via one replication slot (see
+ <xref linkend="streaming-replication-slots"/>). Additional replication
+ slots may be required for the initial data synchronization of
+ pre-existing table data and those will be dropped at the end of data
+ synchronization.
+ </para>
+
+ <para>
+ A logical replication subscription can be a standby for synchronous
+ replication (see <xref linkend="synchronous-replication"/>). The standby
+ name is by default the subscription name. An alternative name can be
+ specified as <literal>application_name</literal> in the connection
+ information of the subscription.
+ </para>
+
+ <para>
+ Subscriptions are dumped by <command>pg_dump</command> if the current user
+ is a superuser. Otherwise a warning is written and subscriptions are
+ skipped, because non-superusers cannot read all subscription information
+ from the <structname>pg_subscription</structname> catalog.
+ </para>
+
+ <para>
+ The subscription is added using <link linkend="sql-createsubscription"><command>CREATE SUBSCRIPTION</command></link> and
+ can be stopped/resumed at any time using the
+ <link linkend="sql-altersubscription"><command>ALTER SUBSCRIPTION</command></link> command and removed using
+ <link linkend="sql-dropsubscription"><command>DROP SUBSCRIPTION</command></link>.
+ </para>
+
+ <para>
+ When a subscription is dropped and recreated, the synchronization
+ information is lost. This means that the data has to be resynchronized
+ afterwards.
+ </para>
+
+ <para>
+ The schema definitions are not replicated, and the published tables must
+ exist on the subscriber. Only regular tables may be
+ the target of replication. For example, you can't replicate to a view.
+ </para>
+
+ <para>
+ The tables are matched between the publisher and the subscriber using the
+ fully qualified table name. Replication to differently-named tables on the
+ subscriber is not supported.
+ </para>
+
+ <para>
+ Columns of a table are also matched by name. The order of columns in the
+ subscriber table does not need to match that of the publisher. The data
+ types of the columns do not need to match, as long as the text
+ representation of the data can be converted to the target type. For
+ example, you can replicate from a column of type <type>integer</type> to a
+ column of type <type>bigint</type>. The target table can also have
+ additional columns not provided by the published table. Any such columns
+ will be filled with the default value as specified in the definition of the
+ target table.
+ </para>
+
+ <sect2 id="logical-replication-subscription-slot">
+ <title>Replication Slot Management</title>
+
+ <para>
+ As mentioned earlier, each (active) subscription receives changes from a
+ replication slot on the remote (publishing) side.
+ </para>
+ <para>
+ Additional table synchronization slots are normally transient, created
+ internally to perform initial table synchronization and dropped
+ automatically when they are no longer needed. These table synchronization
+ slots have generated names: <quote><literal>pg_%u_sync_%u_%llu</literal></quote>
+ (parameters: Subscription <parameter>oid</parameter>,
+ Table <parameter>relid</parameter>, system identifier <parameter>sysid</parameter>)
+ </para>
+ <para>
+ Normally, the remote replication slot is created automatically when the
+ subscription is created using <command>CREATE SUBSCRIPTION</command> and it
+ is dropped automatically when the subscription is dropped using
+ <command>DROP SUBSCRIPTION</command>. In some situations, however, it can
+ be useful or necessary to manipulate the subscription and the underlying
+ replication slot separately. Here are some scenarios:
+
+ <itemizedlist>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>
+ When creating a subscription, the replication slot already exists. In
+ that case, the subscription can be created using
+ the <literal>create_slot = false</literal> option to associate with the
+ existing slot.
+ </para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para>
+ When creating a subscription, the remote host is not reachable or in an
+ unclear state. In that case, the subscription can be created using
+ the <literal>connect = false</literal> option. The remote host will then not
+ be contacted at all. This is what <application>pg_dump</application>
+ uses. The remote replication slot will then have to be created
+ manually before the subscription can be activated.
+ </para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para>
+ When dropping a subscription, the replication slot should be kept.
+ This could be useful when the subscriber database is being moved to a
+ different host and will be activated from there. In that case,
+ disassociate the slot from the subscription using <command>ALTER
+ SUBSCRIPTION</command> before attempting to drop the subscription.
+ </para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para>
+ When dropping a subscription, the remote host is not reachable. In
+ that case, disassociate the slot from the subscription
+ using <command>ALTER SUBSCRIPTION</command> before attempting to drop
+ the subscription. If the remote database instance no longer exists, no
+ further action is then necessary. If, however, the remote database
+ instance is just unreachable, the replication slot (and any still
+ remaining table synchronization slots) should then be
+ dropped manually; otherwise it/they would continue to reserve WAL and might
+ eventually cause the disk to fill up. Such cases should be carefully
+ investigated.
+ </para>
+ </listitem>
+ </itemizedlist>
+ </para>
+ </sect2>
+ </sect1>
+
+ <sect1 id="logical-replication-conflicts">
+ <title>Conflicts</title>
+
+ <para>
+ Logical replication behaves similarly to normal DML operations in that
+ the data will be updated even if it was changed locally on the subscriber
+ node. If incoming data violates any constraints the replication will
+ stop. This is referred to as a <firstterm>conflict</firstterm>. When
+ replicating <command>UPDATE</command> or <command>DELETE</command>
+ operations, missing data will not produce a conflict and such operations
+ will simply be skipped.
+ </para>
+
+ <para>
+ A conflict will produce an error and will stop the replication; it must be
+ resolved manually by the user. Details about the conflict can be found in
+ the subscriber's server log.
+ </para>
+
+ <para>
+ The resolution can be done either by changing data on the subscriber so
+ that it does not conflict with the incoming change or by skipping the
+ transaction that conflicts with the existing data. The transaction can be
+ skipped by calling the <link linkend="pg-replication-origin-advance">
+ <function>pg_replication_origin_advance()</function></link> function with
+ a <parameter>node_name</parameter> corresponding to the subscription name,
+ and a position. The current position of origins can be seen in the
+ <link linkend="view-pg-replication-origin-status">
+ <structname>pg_replication_origin_status</structname></link> system view.
+ </para>
+ </sect1>
+
+ <sect1 id="logical-replication-restrictions">
+ <title>Restrictions</title>
+
+ <para>
+ Logical replication currently has the following restrictions or missing
+ functionality. These might be addressed in future releases.
+ </para>
+
+ <itemizedlist>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>
+ The database schema and DDL commands are not replicated. The initial
+ schema can be copied by hand using <literal>pg_dump
+ --schema-only</literal>. Subsequent schema changes would need to be kept
+ in sync manually. (Note, however, that there is no need for the schemas
+ to be absolutely the same on both sides.) Logical replication is robust
+ when schema definitions change in a live database: When the schema is
+ changed on the publisher and replicated data starts arriving at the
+ subscriber but does not fit into the table schema, replication will error
+ until the schema is updated. In many cases, intermittent errors can be
+ avoided by applying additive schema changes to the subscriber first.
+ </para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para>
+ Sequence data is not replicated. The data in serial or identity columns
+ backed by sequences will of course be replicated as part of the table,
+ but the sequence itself would still show the start value on the
+ subscriber. If the subscriber is used as a read-only database, then this
+ should typically not be a problem. If, however, some kind of switchover
+ or failover to the subscriber database is intended, then the sequences
+ would need to be updated to the latest values, either by copying the
+ current data from the publisher (perhaps
+ using <command>pg_dump</command>) or by determining a sufficiently high
+ value from the tables themselves.
+ </para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para>
+ Replication of <command>TRUNCATE</command> commands is supported, but
+ some care must be taken when truncating groups of tables connected by
+ foreign keys. When replicating a truncate action, the subscriber will
+ truncate the same group of tables that was truncated on the publisher,
+ either explicitly specified or implicitly collected via
+ <literal>CASCADE</literal>, minus tables that are not part of the
+ subscription. This will work correctly if all affected tables are part
+ of the same subscription. But if some tables to be truncated on the
+ subscriber have foreign-key links to tables that are not part of the same
+ (or any) subscription, then the application of the truncate action on the
+ subscriber will fail.
+ </para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para>
+ Large objects (see <xref linkend="largeobjects"/>) are not replicated.
+ There is no workaround for that, other than storing data in normal
+ tables.
+ </para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para>
+ Replication is only supported by tables, including partitioned tables.
+ Attempts to replicate other types of relations, such as views, materialized
+ views, or foreign tables, will result in an error.
+ </para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para>
+ When replicating between partitioned tables, the actual replication
+ originates, by default, from the leaf partitions on the publisher, so
+ partitions on the publisher must also exist on the subscriber as valid
+ target tables. (They could either be leaf partitions themselves, or they
+ could be further subpartitioned, or they could even be independent
+ tables.) Publications can also specify that changes are to be replicated
+ using the identity and schema of the partitioned root table instead of
+ that of the individual leaf partitions in which the changes actually
+ originate (see <link linkend="sql-createpublication"><command>CREATE PUBLICATION</command></link>).
+ </para>
+ </listitem>
+ </itemizedlist>
+ </sect1>
+
+ <sect1 id="logical-replication-architecture">
+ <title>Architecture</title>
+
+ <para>
+ Logical replication starts by copying a snapshot of the data on the
+ publisher database. Once that is done, changes on the publisher are sent
+ to the subscriber as they occur in real time. The subscriber applies data
+ in the order in which commits were made on the publisher so that
+ transactional consistency is guaranteed for the publications within any
+ single subscription.
+ </para>
+
+ <para>
+ Logical replication is built with an architecture similar to physical
+ streaming replication (see <xref linkend="streaming-replication"/>). It is
+ implemented by <quote>walsender</quote> and <quote>apply</quote>
+ processes. The walsender process starts logical decoding (described
+ in <xref linkend="logicaldecoding"/>) of the WAL and loads the standard
+ logical decoding plugin (pgoutput). The plugin transforms the changes read
+ from WAL to the logical replication protocol
+ (see <xref linkend="protocol-logical-replication"/>) and filters the data
+ according to the publication specification. The data is then continuously
+ transferred using the streaming replication protocol to the apply worker,
+ which maps the data to local tables and applies the individual changes as
+ they are received, in correct transactional order.
+ </para>
+
+ <para>
+ The apply process on the subscriber database always runs with
+ <varname>session_replication_role</varname> set
+ to <literal>replica</literal>, which produces the usual effects on triggers
+ and constraints.
+ </para>
+
+ <para>
+ The logical replication apply process currently only fires row triggers,
+ not statement triggers. The initial table synchronization, however, is
+ implemented like a <command>COPY</command> command and thus fires both row
+ and statement triggers for <command>INSERT</command>.
+ </para>
+
+ <sect2 id="logical-replication-snapshot">
+ <title>Initial Snapshot</title>
+ <para>
+ The initial data in existing subscribed tables are snapshotted and
+ copied in a parallel instance of a special kind of apply process.
+ This process will create its own replication slot and copy the existing
+ data. As soon as the copy is finished the table contents will become
+ visible to other backends. Once existing data is copied, the worker
+ enters synchronization mode, which ensures that the table is brought
+ up to a synchronized state with the main apply process by streaming
+ any changes that happened during the initial data copy using standard
+ logical replication. During this synchronization phase, the changes
+ are applied and committed in the same order as they happened on the
+ publisher. Once synchronization is done, control of the
+ replication of the table is given back to the main apply process where
+ replication continues as normal.
+ </para>
+ </sect2>
+ </sect1>
+
+ <sect1 id="logical-replication-monitoring">
+ <title>Monitoring</title>
+
+ <para>
+ Because logical replication is based on a similar architecture as
+ <link linkend="streaming-replication">physical streaming replication</link>,
+ the monitoring on a publication node is similar to monitoring of a
+ physical replication primary
+ (see <xref linkend="streaming-replication-monitoring"/>).
+ </para>
+
+ <para>
+ The monitoring information about subscription is visible in
+ <link linkend="monitoring-pg-stat-subscription">
+ <structname>pg_stat_subscription</structname></link>.
+ This view contains one row for every subscription worker. A subscription
+ can have zero or more active subscription workers depending on its state.
+ </para>
+
+ <para>
+ Normally, there is a single apply process running for an enabled
+ subscription. A disabled subscription or a crashed subscription will have
+ zero rows in this view. If the initial data synchronization of any
+ table is in progress, there will be additional workers for the tables
+ being synchronized.
+ </para>
+ </sect1>
+
+ <sect1 id="logical-replication-security">
+ <title>Security</title>
+
+ <para>
+ A user able to modify the schema of subscriber-side tables can execute
+ arbitrary code as a superuser. Limit ownership
+ and <literal>TRIGGER</literal> privilege on such tables to roles that
+ superusers trust. Moreover, if untrusted users can create tables, use only
+ publications that list tables explicitly. That is to say, create a
+ subscription <literal>FOR ALL TABLES</literal> only when superusers trust
+ every user permitted to create a non-temp table on the publisher or the
+ subscriber.
+ </para>
+
+ <para>
+ The role used for the replication connection must have
+ the <literal>REPLICATION</literal> attribute (or be a superuser). If the
+ role lacks <literal>SUPERUSER</literal> and <literal>BYPASSRLS</literal>,
+ publisher row security policies can execute. If the role does not trust
+ all table owners, include <literal>options=-crow_security=off</literal> in
+ the connection string; if a table owner then adds a row security policy,
+ that setting will cause replication to halt rather than execute the policy.
+ Access for the role must be configured in <filename>pg_hba.conf</filename>
+ and it must have the <literal>LOGIN</literal> attribute.
+ </para>
+
+ <para>
+ In order to be able to copy the initial table data, the role used for the
+ replication connection must have the <literal>SELECT</literal> privilege on
+ a published table (or be a superuser).
+ </para>
+
+ <para>
+ To create a publication, the user must have the <literal>CREATE</literal>
+ privilege in the database.
+ </para>
+
+ <para>
+ To add tables to a publication, the user must have ownership rights on the
+ table. To create a publication that publishes all tables automatically,
+ the user must be a superuser.
+ </para>
+
+ <para>
+ To create a subscription, the user must be a superuser.
+ </para>
+
+ <para>
+ The subscription apply process will run in the local database with the
+ privileges of a superuser.
+ </para>
+
+ <para>
+ Privileges are only checked once at the start of a replication connection.
+ They are not re-checked as each change record is read from the publisher,
+ nor are they re-checked for each change when applied.
+ </para>
+ </sect1>
+
+ <sect1 id="logical-replication-config">
+ <title>Configuration Settings</title>
+
+ <para>
+ Logical replication requires several configuration options to be set.
+ </para>
+
+ <para>
+ On the publisher side, <varname>wal_level</varname> must be set to
+ <literal>logical</literal>, and <varname>max_replication_slots</varname>
+ must be set to at least the number of subscriptions expected to connect,
+ plus some reserve for table synchronization. And
+ <varname>max_wal_senders</varname> should be set to at least the same as
+ <varname>max_replication_slots</varname> plus the number of physical
+ replicas that are connected at the same time.
+ </para>
+
+ <para>
+ <varname>max_replication_slots</varname> must also be set on the subscriber.
+ It should be set to at least the number of subscriptions that will be added
+ to the subscriber, plus some reserve for table synchronization.
+ <varname>max_logical_replication_workers</varname> must be set to at least
+ the number of subscriptions, again plus some reserve for the table
+ synchronization. Additionally the <varname>max_worker_processes</varname>
+ may need to be adjusted to accommodate for replication workers, at least
+ (<varname>max_logical_replication_workers</varname>
+ + <literal>1</literal>). Note that some extensions and parallel queries
+ also take worker slots from <varname>max_worker_processes</varname>.
+ </para>
+ </sect1>
+
+ <sect1 id="logical-replication-quick-setup">
+ <title>Quick Setup</title>
+
+ <para>
+ First set the configuration options in <filename>postgresql.conf</filename>:
+<programlisting>
+wal_level = logical
+</programlisting>
+ The other required settings have default values that are sufficient for a
+ basic setup.
+ </para>
+
+ <para>
+ <filename>pg_hba.conf</filename> needs to be adjusted to allow replication
+ (the values here depend on your actual network configuration and user you
+ want to use for connecting):
+<programlisting>
+host all repuser 0.0.0.0/0 md5
+</programlisting>
+ </para>
+
+ <para>
+ Then on the publisher database:
+<programlisting>
+CREATE PUBLICATION mypub FOR TABLE users, departments;
+</programlisting>
+ </para>
+
+ <para>
+ And on the subscriber database:
+<programlisting>
+CREATE SUBSCRIPTION mysub CONNECTION 'dbname=foo host=bar user=repuser' PUBLICATION mypub;
+</programlisting>
+ </para>
+
+ <para>
+ The above will start the replication process, which synchronizes the
+ initial table contents of the tables <literal>users</literal> and
+ <literal>departments</literal> and then starts replicating
+ incremental changes to those tables.
+ </para>
+ </sect1>
+</chapter>