Mar 25, 2026 | 13 min read
Write-Ahead Logging: How PostgreSQL Survives Crashes, Powers Replication, and Never Loses Your Data
## Introduction Your application writes a row. PostgreSQL says "committed." The server loses power one millisecond lat...
Engineering Notes
Practical writing on distributed systems, databases, and reliability.
I explore how modern systems behave under pressure, document design tradeoffs, and share field notes from building dependable software.
Focus Areas
Consistency models and how they surface in real-world systems.
Storage engines and the tradeoffs inside modern databases.
Reliability patterns for resilient services under failure.
Latest writing
View all postsMar 14, 2026 | 10 min read
Concurrency Control in Databases: How to Handle Many Things Happening at Once
## Introduction Your application has one user. Concurrency is not a problem. That user reads data, writes data, nothin...
Mar 12, 2026 | 10 min read
Data Partitioning in Distributed Databases: How to Split Your Data Without Breaking Everything
## Introduction Your single database server handled your first 100,000 users just fine. Then you hit a million. Querie...