Cosmos Postgresql DB Global regional write support

Question

Cosmos Postgresql DB Global regional write support

Vipal Mehta 45

Hi Team,

I would like to understand if there is a way where we can enable multi region writes on CosmosDB for postgresql since this is one of the features on CosmosDB -

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cosmos-db/nosql/how-to-multi-master?tabs=api-async

Kindly advise if this can be a feature on Postgresql?

Adithya Prasad K 745 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff

2025-03-18T14:28:19.1666667+00:00
Hi Vipal Mehta,
Azure Cosmos DB offers a feature for multi-region writes, allowing applications to write to the nearest region for better performance. However, PostgreSQL does not natively support multi-region writes in the same way.
Azure Cosmos DB Multi-Region Writes

Feature Overview:

Allows writing to multiple regions simultaneously.

Automatically handles data replication across regions.

Configuration is done via the Azure portal or SDKs.

Configuration Steps:

Enable multi-region writes in the Azure portal.

Set UseMultipleWriteLocations to true in your application’s connection policy.

Specify the preferred regions for your application.

PostgreSQL Multi-Region Writes

Feature Overview:

PostgreSQL does not have built-in support for multi-region writes like Cosmos DB.

It typically uses a primary-replica architecture where writes occur on the primary node, and replicas are updated asynchronously.

Possible Workarounds:

Logical Replication: You can set up logical replication to replicate data across different PostgreSQL instances in various regions, but this does not allow for simultaneous writes.

Citus: An extension for PostgreSQL that allows for distributed databases, but it still requires a primary node for writes.

Custom Solutions: Implementing a custom application layer to handle writes and manage conflicts across regions.

Azure Cosmos DB: Supports multi-region writes natively with automatic replication.
PostgreSQL: Lacks native support for multi-region writes; requires workarounds .

If multi-region writes are a critical requirement for your application, Azure Cosmos DB would be the more suitable choice. For PostgreSQL, consider your architecture and whether the trade-offs of using replication or distributed solutions meet your needs.
Vipal Mehta 45 Reputation points

2025-03-19T05:08:37.54+00:00

Hi @Adithya Prasad K
Just to rule out any confusions, I am referring to CosmosDB for Postgresql. Not the Azure Postgresql.
Reference -
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cosmos-db/postgresql/introduction
Vijayalaxmi Kattimani 2,225 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff

2025-03-19T16:58:42.5733333+00:00

Hi @Vipal Mehta,

Greetings!

We would like to inform you that, enable multi-region writes on CosmosDB for PostgreSQL, this feature is currently available for CosmosDB NoSQL, MongoDB, Cassandra, Gremlin, and Table APIs. Multi-region writes allow you to achieve near-zero downtime in partial or total outage scenarios by configuring your account for multi-region writes. This involves setting up a hub region and satellite regions, where writes in satellite regions are quorum committed locally and then sent to the hub region for conflict resolution.

However, for PostgreSQL, the documentation does not explicitly mention support for multi-region writes. It is advisable to check the latest updates on the official Azure documentation.

Please refer to the below mentioned links for more information.

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cosmos-db/multi-region-writes

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cosmos-db/nosql/how-to-multi-master?tabs=api-async

I hope this information helps. Please do let us know if you have any further queries.
Vipal Mehta 45 Reputation points

2025-03-20T03:54:35.76+00:00

Hi @Vijayalaxmi Kattimani
Thanks for the response!
Can you confirm if there are any plans to introduce the same on CosmosDB for Postgresql?
Or if there are any ways we can achieve that for the same on the setup?
PratikLad 875 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff

2025-03-24T12:05:15.2533333+00:00

Hi @Vipal Mehta,

We haven’t heard from you on the last response and was just checking back to see if you have a resolution yet. In case if you have any resolution please do share that same with the community as it can be helpful to others. Otherwise, will respond with more details and we will try to help.
Vipal Mehta 45 Reputation points

2025-03-24T12:25:25.7233333+00:00

Hi @PratikLad
Thanks for the information!
As per above response, it seems there are no workarounds or ways to have multi region writes on the Cosmos DB for Postgresql.

Is my understanding correct?
PratikLad 875 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff

2025-03-24T17:29:33.5566667+00:00

Hi @Vipal Mehta,

As of now, there are no workarounds or methods to enable multi-region writes on Cosmos DB for PostgreSQL.
Vipal Mehta 45 Reputation points

2025-03-25T05:58:39.1066667+00:00

Thanks for the confirmation and update.
We can mark this as closed

1 answer

Your answer

Adithya Prasad K 745 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff

2025-03-18T14:28:19.1666667+00:00

Hi Vipal Mehta,
Azure Cosmos DB offers a feature for multi-region writes, allowing applications to write to the nearest region for better performance. However, PostgreSQL does not natively support multi-region writes in the same way.
Azure Cosmos DB Multi-Region Writes

Feature Overview:

Allows writing to multiple regions simultaneously.

Automatically handles data replication across regions.

Configuration is done via the Azure portal or SDKs.

Configuration Steps:

Enable multi-region writes in the Azure portal.

Set UseMultipleWriteLocations to true in your application’s connection policy.

Specify the preferred regions for your application.

PostgreSQL Multi-Region Writes

Feature Overview:

PostgreSQL does not have built-in support for multi-region writes like Cosmos DB.

It typically uses a primary-replica architecture where writes occur on the primary node, and replicas are updated asynchronously.

Possible Workarounds:

Logical Replication: You can set up logical replication to replicate data across different PostgreSQL instances in various regions, but this does not allow for simultaneous writes.

Citus: An extension for PostgreSQL that allows for distributed databases, but it still requires a primary node for writes.

Custom Solutions: Implementing a custom application layer to handle writes and manage conflicts across regions.

Azure Cosmos DB: Supports multi-region writes natively with automatic replication.
PostgreSQL: Lacks native support for multi-region writes; requires workarounds .

If multi-region writes are a critical requirement for your application, Azure Cosmos DB would be the more suitable choice. For PostgreSQL, consider your architecture and whether the trade-offs of using replication or distributed solutions meet your needs.
Vipal Mehta 45 Reputation points

2025-03-19T05:08:37.54+00:00

Hi @Adithya Prasad K
Just to rule out any confusions, I am referring to CosmosDB for Postgresql. Not the Azure Postgresql.
Reference -
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cosmos-db/postgresql/introduction
Vijayalaxmi Kattimani 2,225 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff

2025-03-19T16:58:42.5733333+00:00

Hi @Vipal Mehta,

Greetings!

We would like to inform you that, enable multi-region writes on CosmosDB for PostgreSQL, this feature is currently available for CosmosDB NoSQL, MongoDB, Cassandra, Gremlin, and Table APIs. Multi-region writes allow you to achieve near-zero downtime in partial or total outage scenarios by configuring your account for multi-region writes. This involves setting up a hub region and satellite regions, where writes in satellite regions are quorum committed locally and then sent to the hub region for conflict resolution.

However, for PostgreSQL, the documentation does not explicitly mention support for multi-region writes. It is advisable to check the latest updates on the official Azure documentation.

Please refer to the below mentioned links for more information.

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cosmos-db/multi-region-writes

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cosmos-db/nosql/how-to-multi-master?tabs=api-async

I hope this information helps. Please do let us know if you have any further queries.
Vipal Mehta 45 Reputation points

2025-03-20T03:54:35.76+00:00

Hi @Vijayalaxmi Kattimani
Thanks for the response!
Can you confirm if there are any plans to introduce the same on CosmosDB for Postgresql?
Or if there are any ways we can achieve that for the same on the setup?
PratikLad 875 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff

2025-03-24T12:05:15.2533333+00:00

Hi @Vipal Mehta,

We haven’t heard from you on the last response and was just checking back to see if you have a resolution yet. In case if you have any resolution please do share that same with the community as it can be helpful to others. Otherwise, will respond with more details and we will try to help.
Vipal Mehta 45 Reputation points

2025-03-24T12:25:25.7233333+00:00

Hi @PratikLad
Thanks for the information!
As per above response, it seems there are no workarounds or ways to have multi region writes on the Cosmos DB for Postgresql.

Is my understanding correct?
PratikLad 875 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff

2025-03-24T17:29:33.5566667+00:00

Hi @Vipal Mehta,

As of now, there are no workarounds or methods to enable multi-region writes on Cosmos DB for PostgreSQL.
Vipal Mehta 45 Reputation points

2025-03-25T05:58:39.1066667+00:00

Thanks for the confirmation and update.
We can mark this as closed

Answer 1

Hi @Vipal Mehta,

As per MS Document multi-region writes in Azure Cosmos DB is supported in Cosmos DB NoSQL API

enter image description here

if there are any ways we can achieve that for the same on the setup?

If your application has read-intensive workload you can leverage the Read replicas - Azure Cosmos DB for PostgreSQL it allows you to replicate data from a cluster to a read-only cluster. Replicas are updated asynchronously with PostgreSQL physical replication technology while write workloads can be directed to the primary.

enter image description here

If this answers your query, do click Accept Answer and Yes for was this answer helpful. And, if you have any further query do let us know.

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Cosmos Postgresql DB Global regional write support

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