SCaLE 23x and CloudNativePG: Robust, Self-Healing PostgreSQL on Kubernetes

Obligatory selfie from SCaLE 23x Obligatory selfie from SCaLE 23x

The 23rd edition of the Southern California Linux Expo, or SCaLE 23x, took place from March 5-8, 2026, in Pasadena, California. It was another fantastic community-run event with talks you don't get to hear anywhere else, and that incredible open-source community spirit.

One of the major bonuses of the event was attending one of the legendary fathers of the Internet's closing keynote, Doug Comer's talk "Software Distribution Now and Then: Why and How the Internet Changed".

While I didn't broadcast any live streams from the conference floor this year, I did end up catching some great talks (fortunately everything's recorded!) and having some deeply rewarding hallway track conversations. A highlight was catching up with folks from LPI, the legendary Jon "maddog" Hall, and Henrietta Dombrovskaya. We had a great discussion around our ongoing PostgreSQL Compatibility initiative: We are continuing to define what "Postgres Compatible" truly means to prevent market confusion and ensure a reliable "standard" for users. If you are interested in contributing to this effort, come join the conversation on our new Discord server:

PostgreSQL @ SCaLE 23x

Postgres once again had a stellar presence at SCaLE with a dedicated PostgreSQL track. We had an entire lineup of trainings and talks, plus a PostgreSQL Booth in the expo hall and the always-popular SCaLE 23x PostgreSQL Ask Me Anything session. A massive thank you to the organizers of PostgreSQL@SCaLE, the trainers, speakers, and all the volunteers who made it happen!

On Friday, March 6th, I had the pleasure of delivering my talk, "CloudNativePG: Robust, Self-Healing PostgreSQL on Kubernetes".

Great slide transition as Jimmy is presenting CloudNativePG at SCaLE 23x Great slide transition as Jimmy is presenting CloudNativePG at SCaLE 23x. Many thanks to Josh Lee for the photo!

The session offered insight into how we can stop treating database instances like delicate flowers and utilize modern infrastructure-as-code. We covered:

  • CloudNativePG (CNPG) as an open-source Kubernetes operator for PostgreSQL.
  • How CNPG embraces Kubernetes natively, using a declarative approach rather than fighting the orchestrator.
  • The recommended shared-nothing architecture across 3+ availability zones.
  • A live demo where we spun up a cluster and actively broke it to watch the operator's reconciliation loop and self-healing in real-time.

If you missed it, you can catch the recording and the slides below:

As always, a huge thanks to the SCaLE organizers and the community for making this such a welcoming and educational space.

On the occasion of the conference, Manning Publications has been kind enough to create a discount code. You can use scale23x to get 45% off any product (including my book, PostgreSQL Mistakes and How to Avoid Them) until March 22nd, 2026!
After that, you can use my regular promo code au35ang for a 35% discount.

PostgreSQL Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
PostgreSQL Mistakes and How to Avoid Them