PostgreSQL Database Administrator and Developer

Hello! My name is Brian Fehrle and I am an Open Source PostgreSQL Database Administrator and Developer. I've been working in the world of PostgreSQL on Linux since 2008 and have worked on many different projects covering PostgreSQL Administration, Performance Tuning, Advanced Backup and Recovery, Replication, and High Availability to name a few.

Brian Fehrle

303-915-9696
BrianFehrle.com
Denver, CO
wicks-end.com
brian@wicks-end.com
Skills
  • PostgreSQL
  • Scripting
  • SQL
  • Data Warehousing
  • Linux
  • Replication
  • High Availability Options
Technical Summary
  • Languages: Bash, Perl, Python, SQL, PL/pgSQL, PHP, Dart
  • Software: Slony, pgBadger, Pgpool, PgBouncer, Ora2Pg, Flutter, Flask, Docker
  • Services: Amazon AWS, Snowflake, Matillion
  • Databases: PostgreSQL 8.0+, MYSQL, SQLite, SQL Server
  • Operating Systems: Linux (CentOS/Red Hat, Debian, Gentoo), Mac OS X

Work Experience

Projects at Consistent State as a PostgreSQL Database Consultant
  • Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) Project
    JAN 2009 - May 2013
    PostgreSQL Database Consultant

    Customer was Stanford University partnered with the Solar Dynamics Observatory mission by NASA.

    Primary Tasks
    • Replication with Slony and Slony log shipping
    • Installation and configuration of Slony replication.
    • Adding / Removing items from existing Slony replication
    • Troubleshooting the inner workings of Slony when problems occur.
    • Maintain parsing scripts for Slony log shipping to remote slaves.
    • Authoring and maintaining Slony table publish scripts.
    • Postgres Master to Warm Standby failover. (PostgreSQL 8.4)
    • On call for various PostgreSQL assistance.
    • Table partitioning for 100+ million record tables
    • Shadow table development

    Technical Skills used
    • Slony Replication Software
    • PostgreSQL Databases
  • 3Thirds Software
    OCT 2010 - MAR 2012
    PostgreSQL and Application Developer Consultant

    Work as a PostgreSQL database consultant and Application Developer for virtupal machine management.

    Primary Tasks
    • Write code in bash for automated backup of cloud servers.
    • Set up Hot Standby for a PostgreSQL 9.1 Server.
    • Wrote application for backing up a Linux operating system on a cloud virtual machine
    • Perform database and website migration to new servers.
    • Shadow Table development to squeeze out milliseconds of query improvement

    Technical Skills used
    • Interfacing with the Open Hosting INC API using cURL
  • University of Chicago Project
    AUG 2010 - PRESENT
    PostgreSQL Database Administrator / Application Developer

    Customer for project was a professor at the University of Chicago.

    Primary Tasks
    • Programed various scripts to ingest large amounts of data from API feeds, XML feeds, and daily ? Programed various scripts to ingest large amounts of data from API feeds, XML feeds, and daily CSV data dumps.
    • Design database structures for storing and relating the data.
    • Optimization of the database for quick access of the data.

    Technical Skills used
    • Perl Programming
    • PostgreSQL Databases on Windows platform
  • Taos Project
    MAY 2011 - OCT 2011
    PostgreSQL Consultant

    Customer for project was Taos.

    Primary Tasks
    • Perform general PostgreSQL database tuning.
    • Identify slow queries and perform tuning / optimization.
    • Explore connection pooling strategies with pgpool-II.
    • Review security strategy for multiple database systems.

    Technical Skills used
    • Connection pooling with pgpool-II
    • Database tuning using pgfouine for query usage analysis.
  • Hewlett Packard Project
    NOV 2010 - JAN 2011
    Microsoft SQL Server Consultant

    Customer for project was Hewlett Packard

    Primary Tasks
    • Perform SQL Server database tuning.
    • Perform problematic Query tuning / rewriting.
    • Perform database structural analysis, recommend changes based on data access patterns.
    • Perform table partitioning on large high traffic tables.

    Technical Skills used
    • Microsoft SQL Server Installation and Setup
    • Microsoft SQL Server Tuning
  • Vendormate Project
    DEC 2010 - PRESENT
    PostgreSQL Consultant

    Customer for project was Vendormate.

    Primary Tasks
    • Write / maintain scripts for easier interface with Slony replication cluster.
    • Slony management with high traffic & low bandwidth nodes.
    • Performance tune PostgreSQL databases with high traffic
    • Write Materialized View that covered 12 relations

    Technical Skills used
    • PostgreSQL Server Management
    • Slony Replication and management
  • Gridpoint Project
    JAN 2012 - November 2013
    PostgreSQL Database Consultant

    Customer for project is Gridpoint

    Primary Tasks
    • PostgreSQL Database performance tuning on high traffic system
    • Advanced backup strategy for various levels of PITR backups
    • Table Partitioning for 90+ million row table with high activity
    • Stored Procedure performance improvements
    • Advanced autovacuum management

    Technical Skills used
    • Bash, Perl, and multi-threaded Python programming to perform database maintenance tasks
  • W.J. Bradley
    MAY 2012 - PRESENT
    PostgreSQL Database Consultant

    Customer for project is W.J. Bradley Mortgage Capital, LLC

    Primary Tasks
    • Query and Performance tune multiple critical database systems
    • Migration of terabytes of binary data with minimal downtime
    • Slony repliation setup and maintanence
    • Table partitioning for 1TB+ sized table

    Technical Skills used
    • Slony setup and administration
    • Advanced scripting for bytea table migration / replication
  • Knowledge Factor Project
    JUNE 2013 - PRESENT
    PostgreSQL Database Consultant

    Customer for project is Knowledge Factor

    Primary Tasks
    • PostgreSQL Database performance tuning on high traffic system
    • Slony Replication setup and management
    • Create and deploy patches to the database for ongoing development in agile work environment
    • Assisting multiple development teams with database knowledge and support

    Technical Skills used
    • Bash
    • PG Bouncer
    • Slony management
    • Ongoing performance monitoring.
  • iControl ESI
    JAN 2013 - FEB 2015
    PostgreSQL Database Consultant

    Customer for project is iControl ESI

    Primary Tasks
    • Hot standby replicatino setup and management
    • Upgrading database systems using Slony
    • Support for various system errors and issues.

    Technical Skills used
    • Streaming replication
  • Other Experience
    AUG 2008 - PRESENT
    PostgreSQL DBA & Linux Systems Admin

    General other tasks performed as part of PostgreSQL consultant company.

    General Database Administration
    • Large data migration into Snowflake
    • Experience with Data warehouse concepts and designs.
    • Installing / Configuring PostgreSQL from source or packages on Linux machines.
    • Experience designing database structures, indexes, views, partitioning and data rollup strategies, federation, and stored procedures.
    • Data migration while upgrading database versions.
    • Extensive experience with Warm Standby (PostgreSQL 8.x and earlier), and Hot Standby (PostgreSQL (9.x and greater).
    • Maintaining custom vacuum strategies for high volume databases.
    • Performed heavy query and database design analysis for multiple SQL Server databases to improve performance.
    • Experience with Ora2pg, a tool for migrating databases from Oracle to PostgreSQL.
    • Use of the Git Version Control System for code repositories.
    • Built master to warm standby failover scripts on Amazon EC2 cloud servers and PostgreSQL 8.4.
    • Utilized the Amazon EC2 API Developer Tools to interface with cloud server management.
    • Wrote custom scripts in Bash to automate failover to warm standby upon master failure.

    General Coding Experience
    • Maintaining custom vacuum strategies for high volume databases.
    • Programing various scripts to load data into a database and process it from various sources, (XML, CSV, JSON, API data feeds, Database dumps).
    • Experienced writing Perl to run on both Linux and Windows environments.
    • Experienced with using DBD::Pg in perl, Psycopg in Python.
    • Experienced in shell programming for database and linux system tasks.
    • Programming advanced data mining programs using Python to mine data from RESTful APIs with JSON data types
    • Experience with developing websites with Django Web Framework
    • Experience setting up and managing Amazon EC3, S3, RDS, and Route 53 in Amazon's AWS system.
Employment Timeline
  • 2008
  • 2010
  • 2012
  • 2014
  • 2016
  • 2018
  • 2020
  • 2022