TemBoard, an interface for remote management of PostgreSQL

Recently the launch of the new version of the project temBoard 8.0, that develops a web interface for remote control, DBMS monitoring, configuration and optimization PostgreSQL.

The product includes a lightweight agent installed on each PostgreSQL server and a server component that centrally manages agents and collects statistics for monitoring.

TemBoard It is characterized by allowing to manage hundreds of instances of PostgreSQL DBMS through a single centralized web interface, in addition to the presence of information screens to evaluate both the general status of all the DBMS, as well as a more detailed evaluation of each instance.

Another feature of temBoard is the DBMS status monitoring using several metrics, in addition to allowing to perform the smonitoring of cleaning operations (VACUUM) of tables and indexes, as well as tracking slow queries to the database.

Other outstanding features of temBoard are:

• Support for managing currently active sessions with the DBMS.
• Interface to optimize PostgreSQL configuration.

Main new features of temBoard 8.0

In this new version of temBoard that is presented, it is highlighted that redesigned the authentication and organization of the communication channel between the control interface and the agents. The changes have meant a simplification of the deployment of agents and an increase in the security of the communication channel with them.

It is mentioned that all requests to agents are now additionally digitally signed using asymmetric public key encryption, and the interface acts as an identity provider for agents.

In addition, it is also mentioned that shared password authentication is no longer used between the agent and the interface. Passwords are now used only to organize the connection of users to the interface.

Another change that stands out in this new version is that a new command line interface has been proposed, plus the separate temboard-migratedb and temboard-agent-register utilities have been replaced with built-in commands called via the temboard and temboard-agent executables.

El "register-instance" command has been added to the board to register agents, which, unlike the temboard-agent register command, runs on the server side and does not require the agent to be network accessible, i.e. it can be used to add new instances offline.

The agent load on the system has been reduced: the number of transactions performed has been reduced by 25%, caching of typical values ​​and task multiplexing have been implemented.

Of the other changes that stand out from this new version:

• Added built-in commands to perform common management and monitoring operations from the command line.
• Added support for PostgreSQL 15, RHEL 9, and Debian 12. Removed support for PostgreSQL 9.4 and 9.5 and Python 2.7 and 3.5.
• The size of the stored tracking data is reduced by default to 2 years.
• Added the ability to download inventory data in CSV format.
• The agent and interface background processes are automatically restarted after abnormal termination.

Finally for those interested in knowing more about it, they should know that the code is written in Python and is distributed under the free PostgreSQL license and they can check details about the new version In the following link.

How to install TemBoard in Ubuntu and derivatives?

For those interested in being able to install this utility, they can do it in a fairly simple way, just open a terminal and in it they will type the following commands:

sudo echo deb http://apt.dalibo.org/labs $(lsb_release -cs)-dalibo main > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/dalibo-labs.list
sudo curl https://apt.dalibo.org/labs/debian-dalibo.asc | apt-key add -
sudo apt update -y

<span class="gp">sudo </span>apt install temboard <a id="__codelineno-6-2" href="https://temboard.readthedocs.io/en/latest/server_install/#__codelineno-6-2" name="__codelineno-6-2"></a>

sudo temboard --version

And ready with that, you can start using this excellent tool. Last but not least, I recommend you visit the installation guide so that you can perform a correct configuration. The link is this.