Karen Jex

Senior Solutions Architect at Crunchy Data

Karen was a database administrator for over 20 years and was once described as "quite personable for a DBA", which she decided to take as a compliment! She's now a Senior Solutions Architect, helping her customers to design and manage their (PostgreSQL) database environments. Karen is on the PostgreSQL Europe board, co-organises the pgDay Paris event and helps out as a volunteer at other PostgreSQL community events. Karen gives talks about databases at PostgreSQL and developer conferences because she loves sharing knowledge.

POSETTE 2024 Talk

You Don't Need a Database Backup Policy

local CEST (Livestream 4)

I can hear what you’re thinking: “Don’t be ridiculous, Karen! Of course I need a database backup policy. All hell will break loose if I don’t backup my Postgres databases.”

Hear me out. A backup policy specifies things like

type and frequency of backups
backup tool(s)
backup storage and retention

But how do you decide those things? Finger in the air? Copy what you put in place for your other Postgres databases?

Since the primary goal of backing up your Postgres databases is probably to recover data in case of failure, it makes more sense to consider

the types of failure you need to be able to recover from
how quickly you need to recover
how much data you can afford to lose

The answers to these recovery-based questions will determine how and when you take backups. In this talk, we’ll look at the different things you need to consider in order to be confident in your ability to recover your Postgres database from disaster.

View the slides

Speaker Interview

About the Speaker

Tell us about yourself: career, family, passions

Although I'm originally from the North West of England, I now live in a small village in the French Alps. My husband and I moved here almost 20 years ago to be near to the mountain bike trails! I still enjoy mountain biking, but you're just as likely to find me on my gravel bike or my road bike these days.
What is your icebreaker for PostgreSQL events?

As an introvert, I used to find it quite difficult to engage in conversation with people I didn't know at PostgreSQL events. Becoming a speaker was one of the best things I did to help with that—people will spontaneously come and chat to me about my talk so I don't have to try to think of a witty topic of conversation! Volunteering at events is also a great method to get to know people and integrate with a new community.
Which book are you reading right now?

I'm re-reading one of my favourites—Terry Pratchett's The Colour of Magic—with my teen, who still loves us to read together!
What is your favorite hobby?

I love making things, and especially amigurumi (little crocheted toys). I usually travel with some yarn and my crochet hooks so I can relax whilst making cute little gifts for my friends

About the Talk

What will your talk be about, exactly? Why this topic?

The title of my talk is "You don't need a database backup policy". Don't worry though—I'm definitely not suggesting that you shouldn't take backups of your database. I was a DBA for over 20 years, after all! I talk about things like why you take backups, and how you decide what type of backups you need and how often to take them.
What is the audience for your talk?

Anyone who has a database that contains data they don't want to lose!
What existing knowledge should the attendee have?

There's no need to have any existing knowledge.
Which other talk at this year’s conference would you like to watch?

I'm looking forward to Jimmy Angelakos and Floor Drees' talk "How to Work with Other People". We definitely need to be talking more about mental health and neurodiversity in the workplace.

About PostgreSQL

What inspired you to work with PostgreSQL?

I started working with PostgreSQL entirely by accident! A previous employer decided that they were going to use PostgreSQL for their next project and since I was the designated "database expert", it was my job to learn about PostgreSQL, get it up and running, and teach the rest of the team about it. I went to my first PostgreSQL community event as part of my learning process, was introduced to the PostgreSQL community, and have worked exclusively with PostgreSQL ever since.
What advice would you give to someone starting their journey with PostgreSQL?

Seek out, interact with, and become part of the PostgreSQL community.
What are your favorite resources for learning about PostgreSQL?

The talks at the various PostgreSQL conferences, and the all-important hallway track, of course. I also love the free tutorials at the Crunchy Data Postgres Playground—it runs PostgreSQL directly in your browser so you can get straight into it without having to set anything up.

About POSETTE & Events

Have you enjoyed previous POSETTE (formerly Citus Con) conferences, either as an attendee or as a speaker?

Yes! I gave a talk at Citus Con 2023 (Divide and Conquer: Multi-tenancy in Postgres) where I used cakes as a way to describe different multi-tenant PostgreSQL architectures
What other PostgreSQL events in 2024 are you excited about?

I have to admit that I've hardly had time to stop and think about the rest of 2024 because I've been so busy recently traveling to various PostgreSQL and developer events. It's been great fun, but I'm looking forward to spending some time at home in July and August. As always, I'm looking forward to PGConf.EU (being held this year in Athens, Greece on October 22–25) because it feels as though the entire PostgreSQL community gathers in one place for a week.
What would be helpful for a first-time speaker?

Have fun! If you're passionate about the story you're telling, the audience is sure to enjoy it.

Past Talks

Divide and Conquer: Multi-tenancy in Postgres (Citus Con 2023)

Video: Watch the talk on YouTube

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The Postgres team at Microsoft is proud to be the organizer of POSETTE: An Event for Postgres (formerly Citus Con).