PostgreSQL performance audit
A fixed-price, fixed-scope audit of your production PostgreSQL database — self-hosted or managed (RDS, Aurora) — for teams with a backend but no dedicated DBA.
Last updated:A PostgreSQL performance audit is a fixed-scope assessment of a production database: query load, index strategy, autovacuum and bloat, configuration, replication and backup health, and storage overhead. Revenant Systems delivers a severity-ranked findings report with a prioritised remediation roadmap — at a fixed price agreed up front.
Who is a PostgreSQL audit for?
A PostgreSQL performance audit fits companies running PostgreSQL in production — typically eCommerce, SaaS, or data-heavy platforms — with a capable backend team but no dedicated DBA. The usual symptoms: slow or unpredictable queries, rising instance costs, or no clear picture of database health.
- Production PostgreSQL, self-hosted or managed (RDS, Aurora)
- Backend team, no dedicated DBA
- Single instances to multi-terabyte estates
Who is the audit not for?
Teams with a dedicated DBA already running this analysis, or databases that aren't in production yet. The audit fits a live database with real query load and a backend team that needs evidence — a system still waiting for users is better served by getting the data model right first.
What does the audit assess?
The audit examines the areas where production PostgreSQL problems concentrate: the top queries by total load and latency, index strategy, autovacuum configuration and table bloat, server configuration against workload-appropriate baselines, replication and backup health, storage-level overheads such as TOAST and oversized rows, and headline cost observations for managed instances.
Revenant Systems runs PostgreSQL as its default transactional store, and the audit applies the same audit-first methodology — drawing on the founder's twenty years of running production data systems at scale.
- Top queries by total load and latency
- Missing, redundant, and unused indexes
- Autovacuum configuration and table bloat
- Memory, WAL, checkpoint, and connection configuration
- Replication and backup/recovery health
- TOAST overhead, oversized rows, partitioning candidates
- Cost observations for managed instances
What you receive
- A written findings report — severity-ranked, each issue with estimated impact and a concrete recommendation
- A prioritised remediation roadmap — quick wins vs structural work
- A findings walkthrough call
- A “further investigation recommended” section for anything material outside the fixed scope
How the engagement runs
- Typical turnaround: two weeks from start to report
- Fixed scope and fixed price, agreed before work starts
What we need from you
- Read-only database statistics — pg_stat_statements and catalog views, or exports
- Server configuration and instance details (or read access to the RDS/Aurora console)
- Slow-query logs where available
- A short walkthrough with the backend owner
Access and client data are handled under our information security statement.
Frequently asked questions
Is the price really fixed?
Yes. Scope and price are agreed before work starts, and both stay fixed — no day-rate ambiguity, no scope creep.
What happens if you find something outside the scope?
Anything material discovered outside the agreed scope is noted in the report under further investigation, with enough context to judge whether it matters. It can then be scoped separately — or left with your team to pursue.
Can you implement the fixes too?
Yes, as separately scoped follow-on work: fixed-price implementation of selected findings, or ongoing database health support. The audit stands alone regardless — the report and roadmap are written so your own team can action them without any further engagement.
Each package is an audit or assessment offered on its own — the process behind it is covered in how we work.