March 3, 2026
Kernel candy vs cloud reality
What's new in Linux kernel for PostgreSQL
Linux tweaks promise faster Postgres — if anyone turns them on
TLDR: A Linux dev highlights kernel changes that could make Postgres faster and safer, like a “don’t cache this” switch and sturdier writes. Commenters love the promise but doubt it’ll reach real‑world setups, joking that Kubernetes and managed clouds won’t expose the knobs and Postgres’s portability stance will slow adoption
A PostgreSQL dev scanned the latest Linux changes and found goodies that could make databases happier: a new “don’t cache this” switch to keep memory from getting trashed, safer all‑or‑nothing writes to avoid corrupted data, better visibility into what’s already in memory, and even ways to plug in custom behavior with BPF (a tool to add rules without rewriting the kernel). The vibe: strong potential, but only if people actually adopt it. And that’s where the comments went full popcorn.
One camp is hyped: “finally, performance without the memory hangover!” Another camp is side‑eyeing reality: will any of this reach your actual Postgres on Kubernetes or a managed cloud like AWS Aurora? The top‑rated zinger asked if these elegant kernel tricks will survive the “CRUD slop” of copy‑paste YAML and one‑click cloud databases. Others joked that RWF_DONTCACHE is basically a “do not disturb” sign for your disk, while DBAs reminded everyone that Postgres loves portability, which means new kernel toys may wait in the lobby for years. The meme of the day: kernel devs and DB folks “speaking different languages” — with operators chiming in, “We speak Terraform.” It’s a classic open‑source drama: shiny features vs. real‑world deploys, and the comments are here for the clash
Key Points
- •The post surveys recent Linux kernel changes that may benefit PostgreSQL, aiming to improve cross-community understanding.
- •'Recent' is defined as changes from the last few years; older items like memfd_create for shared memory are excluded.
- •'Interesting' includes features enabling new possibilities, performance gains, or database-targeted changes.
- •Portability remains a constraint for PostgreSQL, potentially delaying adoption of Linux-specific features.
- •The 'Uncached buffered IO' patch series by Jens Axboe introduces RWF_DONTCACHE to reduce page cache effects and improve I/O predictability.