9 quick references · evidence before action
Your returning operator toolkit.
Start with the symptom. Return during real work or after certification to refresh a safe response sequence. Every runbook then makes prerequisites, verification, rollback, and escalation explicit.
Map a quick reference to its certification competency →Queries suddenly became slow
Separate broad resource pressure, blocking, and a query-plan regression before changing configuration or indexes.
Open runbook →Writes are blocked
Map the lock chain, find the root transaction, and choose the least damaging way to restore progress.
Open runbook →The replica is falling behind
Separate WAL generation, transport, flush, and replay before deciding whether the replica needs load relief, conflict resolution, or capacity.
Open runbook →Disk usage keeps growing
Attribute growth to tables, indexes, WAL, temporary work, or logs before attempting reclamation.
Open runbook →Connections are exhausted
Find which applications and states consume connection capacity, then restore admission without hiding a queueing problem.
Open runbook →Autovacuum is not keeping up
Determine whether scheduling thresholds, worker capacity, table churn, or old horizons prevent maintenance from advancing.
Open runbook →Backup or restore tests are failing
Protect the recovery chain, locate the failing stage, and prove recovery objectives with a fresh rehearsal.
Open runbook →Checkpoints are driving I/O pressure
Correlate checkpoint work, WAL generation, buffer writes, and host storage queues before tuning.
Open runbook →A deployment changed database behaviour
Tie timing, query shapes, plans, locks, and resource changes to a compatible mitigation or rollback.
Open runbook →