feat: CloudNativePG 2024

Signed-off-by: Gabriele Bartolini <[email protected]>

Author: gbartolini

content/posts/20241229-cloudnativepg-in-2024/cover.jpg

@@ -0,0 +1,331 @@
+---
+title: "CloudNativePG in 2024: Milestones, Innovations, and Reflections"
+date: 2024-12-29T12:27:41+01:00
+description: "A retrospective on CloudNativePG’s impactful 2024, celebrating achievements, community growth, and the evolving role of PostgreSQL in Kubernetes."
+tags: ["postgresql", "postgres", "kubernetes", "k8s", "cloudnativepg", "cnpg", "dok", "data on kubernetes", "CNCF", "Sandbox", "incubation", "databases", "VolumeGroupSnapshot", "extensions", "storage", "ecosystem", "edb"]
+cover: cover.jpg
+thumb: thumb.jpg
+draft: false
+---
+
+_2024 was a transformative year for CloudNativePG, marked by significant
+contributions to the Kubernetes ecosystem, increased adoption, and a growing
+community. This article reflects on key milestones, including the integration
+of advanced Kubernetes features, conference highlights, and personal insights,
+while looking ahead to the opportunities awaiting PostgreSQL in the
+cloud-native era._
+
+<!--more-->
+
+---
+
+When Kubernetes debuted a decade ago, I could never have predicted that it
+would become such an integral part of my professional journey. While I only
+began working with Kubernetes in August 2019, it quickly became clear to me
+that it was the future of running PostgreSQL. By the end of that year, we had
+our prototype operator, and, together with my fantastic team, we made a pivotal
+decision: I would never go back to using virtual machines to run PostgreSQL.
+That decision has shaped my work ever since.
+
+Fast-forward to 2024, which marked my fifth year of running PostgreSQL on
+Kubernetes and a transformative period for CloudNativePG. Open-sourced in May
+2022, CloudNativePG has grown into one of the leading solutions for running
+PostgreSQL in Kubernetes. It stands out as the only operator governed by a
+vendor-neutral, openly governed community designed to be truly
+Kubernetes-native.
+
+Let’s take a closer look at the milestones we achieved this year.
+
+## Popularity
+
+The rising popularity of CloudNativePG is best exemplified by the growing
+[number of stars on its GitHub repository](https://star-history.com/#cloudnative-pg/cloudnative-pg&zalando/postgres-operator&CrunchyData/postgres-operator&ongres/stackgres&percona/percona-postgresql-operator&reactive-tech/kubegres&Date)
+—a clear and transparent measure of community support.
+
+This organic growth highlights the trust and enthusiasm of its users, achieved
+without reliance on artificial marketing boosts from either the CloudNativePG
+Community or EDB. As the primary creator and supporting organisation of
+CloudNativePG, EDB has played a pivotal role in its success.  With a
+long-standing reputation as a leader in PostgreSQL development, EDB continues
+to drive innovation and collaboration within the broader open-source ecosystem,
+bridging the gap between Postgres and Kubernetes and ensuring the project's
+sustained growth and relevance.
+
+A snapshot taken on January 10, 2024, shows that CloudNativePG was the third
+most popular PostgreSQL operator, with roughly 2.7k stars. At the time,
+Crunchy’s PGO had around 3.6k stars (900 more), and the Zalando operator led
+with nearly 3.8k stars (1.1k ahead).
+
+![Star History of the major operators on Jan 2024](images/star-history-2024110.png)
+
+However, significant milestones were reached later in the year. In July,
+CloudNativePG surpassed Crunchy’s PGO to claim the second spot, and by
+September, it overtook Zalando to become the most popular operator. Today,
+CloudNativePG has nearly 5k stars, outpacing Zalando with 4.4k and Crunchy’s
+PGO with 4k.
+
+
+![Star History of the major operators on Dec 2024](images/star-history-20241227.png)
+
+In 2024 alone, CloudNativePG achieved an impressive milestone, gaining 2.3k
+stars on GitHub—an average of over six stars per day. This far outpaced its
+peers, with Zalando adding 700 stars (+1.6k total) and Crunchy gaining 400
+(+1.9k total). The remarkable momentum has captured widespread attention,
+including a colourful endorsement from Percona’s founder, Peter Zaitsev.
+Speaking at Data on Kubernetes Day during KubeCon North America in Salt Lake
+City last November, Zaitsev remarked:
+
+> [CloudNativePG is kicking everybody’s a**e!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sZqbNwzZag&t=1288s&ab_channel=CNCF%5BCloudNativeComputingFoundation%5D)
+
+## Releases
+
+In 2024, we followed a robust release cadence, delivering updates across nine
+release windows:
+
+- **February 2**: 1.22.1, 1.21.3, and 1.20.6
+- **March 14**: 1.22.2 and 1.21.4
+- **April 24**: [1.23.0 (minor release)](https://cloudnative-pg.io/releases/cloudnative-pg-1-23.0-released/), 1.22.3, and 1.21.5
+- **April 29**: 1.23.1
+- **June 12**: 1.23.2, 1.22.4, and 1.21.6
+- **July 29**: 1.23.3 and 1.22.5
+- **August 22**: [1.24.0 (minor release)](https://cloudnative-pg.io/releases/cloudnative-pg-1-24.0-released/) and 1.23.4
+- **October 16**: 1.24.1 and 1.23.5
+- **December 23**: [1.25.0 (minor release)](https://cloudnative-pg.io/releases/cloudnative-pg-1-25.0-released/), 1.24.2, and 1.23.6
+
+With the release of version 1.23, we made a significant strategic decision to
+streamline our [support policy](https://cloudnative-pg.io/documentation/current/supported_releases/#support-policy).
+
+As a community, we now only support the latest minor version of CloudNativePG
+and extend support for the second-last minor version for an additional three
+months. This change has dramatically simplified our codebase management,
+reducing the need for extensive backports and the complexity of automated test
+combinations in our continuous delivery pipelines.
+
+Another pivotal improvement was the introduction of release candidates,
+prompted by a retrospective analysis of the misstep in version 1.23.0 — which
+required a swift 1.23.1 patch just five days later. The new release candidate
+process has allowed us to provide our user base with [preview versions](https://cloudnative-pg.io/documentation/current/preview_version/)
+of upcoming releases, such as 1.24 and 1.25, fostering better feedback and
+stability.
+
+In 2023, CloudNativePG followed a similar pattern, delivering four minor
+releases (1.22, 1.21, 1.20, and 1.19) across eight release windows. Looking
+ahead to 2025, we aim to streamline this cadence further by targeting one minor
+release per quarter, ensuring a more predictable and consistent release
+schedule.
+
+## Features
+
+The three minor releases in 2024 brought several exciting new features and
+enhancements to CloudNativePG.
+
+My favourite is the declarative support for distributed topologies of
+PostgreSQL databases across multiple Kubernetes clusters. This feature enables
+hybrid and multi-cloud deployments through native physical replication using
+Infrastructure as Code (IaC). I detail this in my blog article,
+[“Making the World My Single Point of Failure with PostgreSQL,”]({{< relref "../20240627-make-the-world-your-spof-with-postgresql-in-kubernetes/index.md" >}})
+and it can be easily explored using the
+[CNPG Playground]({{< relref "../20240920-cnpg-playground/index.md" >}}).
+
+The second is the new API for synchronous replication control, which provides
+unprecedented opportunities to balance data durability and self-healing. It
+also enables complete configuration of PostgreSQL’s `synchronous_standby_names`
+option. For more details, check out
+[“CNPG Recipe 16 - Balancing Data Durability and Self-Healing with Synchronous Replication”syncrep]({{< relref "../20241226-data-durability/index.md" >}})
+and
+[“CNPG Recipe 13 - Configuring PostgreSQL Synchronous Replication.”]({{< relref "../20240910-syncrep/index.md" >}}).
+
+The third is the first hooks implementation for [CNPG-I](https://github.com/cloudnative-pg/cnpg-i/),
+the CloudNativePG Interface. This framework enables third parties to extend the
+CloudNativePG operator through plugins, eliminating the need to modify the core
+codebase—similar to how Kubernetes and PostgreSQL operate.
+
+Finally, we significantly enhanced support for native logical replication,
+making it easier than ever to migrate to CloudNativePG from any PostgreSQL 10+
+instance, including DBaaS solutions like RDS. CloudNativePG 1.25 introduces
+support for declarative logical replication subscriptions and publications.
+This technology also facilitates online major upgrades of PostgreSQL with
+near-zero cutover time. Read [“CNPG Recipe 15 - PostgreSQL Major Online Upgrades with Logical Replication”]({{< relref "../20241210-major-online-upgrades/index.md" >}})
+and
+[“CNPG Recipe 5 - How to Migrate Your PostgreSQL Database in Kubernetes with Near-Zero Downtime from Anywhere”]({{< relref "../20240327-zero-cutover-migrations/index.md" >}})
+for more information.
+
+## Ecosystem Evolution
+
+CloudNativePG is evolving around its main project, the CloudNativePG operator,
+into a comprehensive ecosystem for running PostgreSQL in Kubernetes. The
+recently introduced CNPG-I framework will amplify this transformation in the
+future.
+
+In 2024, we made an important change to the project’s governance by introducing
+the concept of components and, most notably, component owners. While
+maintainers oversee the entire project, component owners are maintainers of
+specific sub-projects. Key components include container images, Helm charts,
+Grafana dashboards, OLM, and the website.
+
+Two standout components introduced this year are:
+
+- **[CNPG Playground](https://github.com/cloudnative-pg/cnpg-playground)**: A
+  local learning environment designed to experiment with CloudNativePG,
+  leveraging Docker and Kind to simplify onboarding and exploration.
+- **[Barman Cloud Plugin](https://github.com/cloudnative-pg/plugin-barman-cloud)
+  for Backup and Recovery on Object Stores**: This marks our first plugin for
+  the CNPG-I framework and is poised to eventually replace the in-core support
+  for Barman Cloud, aligning with our modular vision.
+
+## Kubernetes development
+
+2024 marked a milestone year for our project as one of our developers made a
+significant contribution to Kubernetes:
+[Leonardo Cecchi](https://www.linkedin.com/in/leonardo-cecchi-54b0a396/),
+co-founder and maintainer of CloudNativePG, played a pivotal role as a
+[key contributor](https://github.com/kubernetes-csi/external-snapshotter/blob/v8.2.0/CHANGELOG/CHANGELOG-8.2.md)
+to the development of
+[VolumeGroupSnapshot support in Kubernetes 1.32](https://kubernetes.io/blog/2024/12/11/kubernetes-v1-32-release/#volume-group-snapshot).
+This feature lays a critical foundation for future backup and recovery
+operations for PostgreSQL databases using volume snapshotting within Kubernetes
+environments.
+
+This achievement highlights the holistic approach our team at EDB takes in
+integrating Postgres and Kubernetes, combining technical innovation with
+community-driven collaboration.
+
+## Conference Talks
+
+This year, I was privileged to present at several significant events in the
+cloud-native and PostgreSQL communities.
+
+### KubeCon & CloudNative Highlights
+
+At KubeCon Europe in Paris (March), I delivered two sessions:
+
+- **["From Zero to Hero: Scaling Postgres in Kubernetes Using the Power of CloudNativePG"](https://colocatedeventseu2024.sched.com/event/1YFha/from-zero-to-hero-scaling-postgres-in-kubernetes-using-the-power-of-cloudnativepg-gabriele-bartolini-edb)**
+  at the [Data on Kubernetes](https://dok.community/) co-located event.
+- **["Scaling Heights: Mastering Postgres Database Vertical Scalability with Kubernetes Storage Magic"](https://kccnceu2024.sched.com/event/1YeM4/scaling-heights-mastering-postgres-database-vertical-scalability-with-kubernetes-storage-magic-gabriele-bartolini-edb-gari-singh-google)**,
+  co-presented with the brilliant [Gari Singh from Google Cloud](https://www.linkedin.com/in/garisingh/).
+
+In November, I travelled to Salt Lake City for KubeCon North America,
+participating in a panel discussion on
+[the future of DBaaS on Kubernetes](https://sched.co/1i7kL)
+alongside industry experts Melissa Logan (Constantia and [Data on Kubernetes Community - DoK](https://dok.community/)),
+Sergey Pronin (Percona), and Deepthi Sigireddi (PlanetScale).
+
+Earlier that week, at Cloud Native Rejekts,
+[Leonardo Cecchi](https://www.linkedin.com/in/leonardo-cecchi-54b0a396/)
+and I co-presented
+["Maximising Microservice Databases with Kubernetes, Postgres, and CloudNativePG"](https://cfp.cloud-native.rejekts.io/cloud-native-rejekts-na-salt-lake-city-2024/talk/38Z8MB/),
+which you can watch [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBzl_stoxoc).
+
+Capping off a busy November, I was honoured to speak at the **Kubernetes
+Community Days Denmark** in Copenhagen. My talk,
+["CloudNativePG: The Past, The Present, The Future"](https://kcddenmark.dk/schedule/),
+provided a comprehensive overview of the project's evolution and vision. You
+can watch the recording [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_R0dxSHlJoY&ab_channel=CloudNativeNordics).
+
+### PostgreSQL Conferences
+
+In addition to cloud-native events, I spoke at two PostgreSQL conferences:
+
+- **Swiss PGDay 2024** in Rapperswil (June 28):
+  ["Unleashing the Power of PostgreSQL in Kubernetes"](https://www.pgday.ch/2024/#schedule).
+* **PostgreSQL Conference Europe 2024** in Athens (October 24):
+  ["Postgres: From Cloud to Hybrid and On-Prem Again"](https://www.postgresql.eu/events/pgconfeu2024/schedule/session/6056-postgres-from-cloud-to-hybrid-and-on-prem-again/).
+
+Athens provided a particularly inspiring glimpse into the evolving perception
+of Kubernetes within the PostgreSQL community. Adam Wright’s session,
+["Demystifying Kubernetes for Postgres DBAs: A Guide to Operators"](https://www.postgresql.eu/events/pgconfeu2024/schedule/session/5584-demystifying-kubernetes-for-postgres-dbas-a-guide-to-operators/),
+drew a packed audience, demonstrating growing interest among Postgres
+professionals.
+
+Another standout talk was David Pech’s
+["From VMs to Cloud-Native PostgreSQL in Kubernetes: A Case Study of Migrating a Medium-Sized Application"](https://www.postgresql.eu/events/pgconfeu2024/schedule/session/5829-from-vms-to-cloud-native-postgresql-in-kubernetes-a-case-study-of-migrating-a-medium-sized-application/).
+Despite being scheduled concurrently with Robert Haas’ session on incremental
+backups in PostgreSQL 17, Pech's talk highlighted practical insights into
+cloud-native adoption—a key theme resonating throughout the conference.
+
+## Articles
+
+On February 28, 2024, I launched my blog at [gabrielebartolini.it](http://gabrielebartolini.it),
+dedicated to running PostgreSQL on Kubernetes with CloudNativePG. The response
+surpassed my most optimistic expectations: in just 10 months, I published 25
+articles, attracting tens of thousands of visits, according to Google
+Analytics.
+
+Here are some of the most popular posts:
+
+1. **[CNPG Recipe 5 - How to migrate your PostgreSQL database in Kubernetes with ~0 downtime from anywhere]({{< relref "../20240327-zero-cutover-migrations/index.md" >}})**
+2. **[CNPG Recipe 1 - Setting up your local playground in minutes]({{< relref "../20240303-recipe-local-setup/index.md" >}})**
+3. **[Maximizing Microservice Databases with Kubernetes, Postgres, and CloudNativePG]({{< relref "../20240228-maximizing-microservice-databases-with-k8s-postgres-cloudnativepg/index.md" >}})**
+4. **[CNPG Recipe 4 - Connecting to Your PostgreSQL Cluster with pgAdmin4]({{< relref "../20240322-pgadmin4/index.md" >}})**
+5. **[Kubernetes Just Turned Ten: Where Does PostgreSQL Stand?]({{< relref "../20240625-kubernetes-just-turned-10-where-does-postgresql-stand/index.md" >}})**
+
+I also want to spotlight an insightful article by Shaun Thomas, a former
+colleague at 2ndQuadrant and EDB, a friend and one of the foremost experts in
+PostgreSQL High Availability. In his piece,
+["Kubernetes Killed the High Availability Star"](https://bonesmoses.org/2024/pg-phriday-kubernetes-killed-the-high-availability-star/),
+Shaun draws on years of experience deploying enterprise-level PostgreSQL in
+bare metal and VM environments. He makes a compelling case for why Kubernetes
+is now the go-to platform for high-availability PostgreSQL deployments.
+
+Shaun’s article perfectly aligns with my ideas in
+["The Urge for ‘T-Shaped’ Profiles to Smooth the Challenges of Running Postgres in Kubernetes"]({{< relref "../20240812-tshaped/index.md" >}}).
+In this post, I discuss the vast opportunities for PostgreSQL DBAs to adapt and
+thrive in the Kubernetes era. Thank you, Shaun, for reinforcing this message!
+
+## Application to the CNCF Sandbox
+
+In September, [CloudNativePG submitted its second application to the CNCF Sandbox](https://github.com/cncf/sandbox/issues/128),
+marking an exciting step forward for the project. We are optimistic that it
+will be accepted this time, setting the stage for CloudNativePG to become the
+first PostgreSQL database project to embark on the
+[CNCF graduation process](https://www.cncf.io/projects/).
+If the Sandbox application is approved in January, our next milestone will be
+achieving incubation status, further cementing CloudNativePG’s role as a
+foundational solution in the cloud-native database ecosystem and advancing the
+democratisation of PostgreSQL access.
+
+## Reflections on 2024
+
+On a personal note, 2024 has been a challenging year. In March, I faced the
+heartbreaking loss of my friend, mentor, and leader
+[Simon Riggs]({{< relref "../20240521-2ndquadrant-italy-16th-anniversary/index.md" >}}).
+Simon’s untimely passing left an unfillable void but also a lasting legacy for
+those of us who had the privilege of growing as PostgreSQL professionals and
+human beings under his guidance and example. His unwavering dedication to
+making PostgreSQL the best database in the world inspires me every day.
+
+Simon was a staunch advocate for PostgreSQL extensions, and it feels fitting to
+mention ongoing efforts in this area. One such initiative is the
+``extension_control_path`` patch, being developed for PostgreSQL 18 by Peter
+Eisentraut. This improvement will provide a foundation for running immutable,
+self-contained container images of PostgreSQL extensions, enabling them to be
+loaded at runtime in CloudNativePG. While this effort will hopefully come to
+fruition in 2025, it represents an exciting step forward for extension
+management and flexibility. David Wheeler from Tembo recapped the status of
+this work in his blog post ["RFC: Extension Packaging & Lookup"](https://justatheory.com/2024/11/rfc-extension-packaging-lookup/).
+
+## Looking Ahead
+
+After reflecting on the measurable achievements of the past year, I want to
+conclude with a more personal perspective. Having been part of the PostgreSQL
+and Kubernetes ecosystem for quite some time, it’s clear to me that something
+extraordinary is happening around CloudNativePG. A vibrant, dynamic community
+is emerging, and the convergence of PostgreSQL and Kubernetes is opening
+unprecedented opportunities for both new and seasoned PostgreSQL users.
+
+As we enter 2025, I’m optimistic about the future. CloudNativePG and the
+broader PostgreSQL-on-Kubernetes movement are poised for remarkable growth.
+Let’s keep building, innovating, and growing together. **Happy New Year!**
+
+---
+
+Stay tuned for the upcoming recipes! For the latest updates, consider
+subscribing to my [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/gbartolini/) and
+[Twitter](https://twitter.com/_GBartolini_) channels.
+
+If you found this article informative, feel free to share it within your
+network on social media using the provided links below. Your support is
+immensely appreciated!
+
+_Cover Picture: [“Herd Of Elephants in African Bush“](https://www.needpix.com/photo/163800/)._
+