What is Azure Cosmos DB for PostgreSQL?

APPLIES TO: Azure Cosmos DB for PostgreSQL (powered by the Citus database extension to PostgreSQL)

Azure Cosmos DB for PostgreSQL is a managed service for PostgreSQL extended with the Citus open source superpower of distributed tables. This superpower enables you to build highly scalable relational apps. You can start building apps on a single node cluster, the same way you would with PostgreSQL. As your app's scalability and performance requirements grow, you can seamlessly scale to multiple nodes by transparently distributing your tables.

Real-world customer applications built on Azure Cosmos DB for PostgreSQL include software-as-a-service (SaaS) apps, real-time operational analytics apps, and high throughput transactional apps. These apps span various verticals such as sales and marketing automation, healthcare, Internet of Things (IoT) data, finance, logistics, and search.

Diagram that shows distributed architecture.

Implementation checklist

As you're looking to create applications with Azure Cosmos DB for PostgreSQL, ensure you've reviewed the following articles:

Fully managed, resilient database

As Azure Cosmos DB for PostgreSQL is a fully managed service, it has all the features for worry-free operation in production. Features include:

  • automatic high availability
  • backups
  • built-in pgBouncer
  • read-replicas
  • easy monitoring
  • private endpoints
  • encryption
  • and more

Always the latest PostgreSQL features

Azure Cosmos DB for PostgreSQL is powered by the Citus open source extension to PostgreSQL. Because Citus isn't a fork of Postgres, the Citus extension always supports the latest PostgreSQL major version within a week of release--with support added to our managed service on Azure at most a few weeks later.

Your apps can use the newest PostgreSQL features and extensions, such as native partitioning for performance, JSONB support to store and query unstructured data, and geospatial functionality via the PostGIS extension. It's the speed you need, on the database you love.

Start simply, scale seamlessly

A database cluster can begin as a single node, while having the superpower of distributing tables. At a few dollars a day, it's the most cost-effective way to experience Azure Cosmos DB for PostgreSQL. Later, if your application requires greater scale, you can add nodes and rebalance your data.

Next steps