2026-01-27 –, T9:302
Language: English
In this hands-on, 3-hour workshop, participants will learn how to deploy and manage PostgreSQL in Kubernetes using CloudNativePG (CNPG), the open source operator in the CNCF sandbox. The workshop will walk through the main features to manage a PostgreSQL cluster, from deploying the first CNPG cluster to managing configuration, databases, and roles in a declarative way, to enabling continuous backups for recovery from a disaster.
Attendees will manage the PostgreSQL cluster by applying the changes from the YAML manifest definition, demonstrating the declarative nature of the Operator. We will cover basic DBA managements, from DB initialization, to declarative SQL execution and DB import from other PG source, to reading the aggregated logs for investigation. Moreover we will show the benefits of using the CNPG operator for taking and restoring backups, and for its self-healing capabilities in case of incidents. This session is ideal for DevOps engineers, DBAs, and developers looking to operationalize PostgreSQL in Kubernetes.
Following the instructions from the CNPG Playground project, anyone will create Kubernetes clusters on their own laptop using "kind".
While the kind clusters will be created on each laptop, we will introduce the CNPG operator and basic concepts. We will walk the attendees to understand a bit of the Kubernetes world and the problems we are trying to solve with this PostgreSQL operator.
The course will cover the following points:
- Introduction to CloudNativePG (CNPG)
- Installation of the kubectl plugin for CNPG
- First deployment of a CNPG cluster
- PostgreSQL configuration, databases, and roles management
- Database import
- Setup and execution of the first backup
- PostgreSQL Extensions
- Incident simulation (failover showcase)
- Log reading
- Upgrade of the Operator and the PostgreSQL version (minor, and major)
- Restore from a backup.
To speed up the process, we will provide a link to download all the commands to actually follow the workshop in real time, without wasting precious minutes writing them or looking for typos in case of issues.
Requirements
To run the playground environment on their own laptops, participants only need to have one of the following installed:
- Docker Desktop
- Rancher Desktop
Either of these tools ensures that containers run consistently across all major operating systems—Windows, Linux, and macOS—without requiring any additional configuration.
Jonathan Battiato started as a Linux SysAdmin, and became a PostgreSQL administrator and benchmark specialist. Since 2019 he joined the CloudNative Team, working as a QA and automation engineer for CloudNativePG on K8S environments, having earned the CKA and CKS certifications. In 2024 he became a DoKC Ambassador, and organizer of DoKC Tuscany Meetups. In his private life he prefers spending time on DIY projects, playing music, video games, and watching science fiction movies.
CKA and CAKD.Core areas of expertise include Infrastructure automation, Virtualization, Kubernetes and Containers, Automation testing, Python, and Cloud technologies. Also worked as an Automation Engineer, Infrastructure consultant, Performance engineering, and Test framework development. Contributor to CloudNativePG(OpenSource). Currently working on Kubernetes, Go, Ginkgo development, and chaos engineering. My commitment is to bring stable and reliable PostgreSQL to Kubernetes folks.