Today, we’re announcing heroku data:labs, an extension of the Heroku Data client plugin. This plugin allows you to make configuration changes to your Heroku Postgres addons. Previously, you could only enable these features by opening a ticket with Heroku Support. With heroku data:labs, you’ll save time by turning these features on and off yourself.
heroku data:labs features are experimental beta features. Upon its release, you can enable and disable two features, and we plan to add more in the future. The initial features are:
- WAL Compression - Write-Ahead Log (WAL) compression is a feature of Postgres databases that shrinks the size of write-ahead logs in your Postgres database. This compression trades off I/O load on your database for increased CPU load. The benefit of WAL compression on your database is dependent on a variety of factors including how your database is used, the amount of used disk space, and if your database has followers. Make sure to monitor your database to understand if WAL compression is right for you.
- Enhanced Certificates - Enhanced Certificates is a feature of Postgres databases that provides protection against man-middle-attacks and eavesdropping by using SSL-secured connections. The Enhanced Certificates feature enables the SSL mode of
verify-full, which ensures that data is encrypted and server connections are made between trusted and verified entities. Enhanced Certificates provide many benefits for your Heroku Postgres add-ons.
You can easily enable an experimental feature by using the heroku data:labs:enable command
$ heroku data:labs:enable wal-compression -a example-app --addon=ADDON_NAME
$ heroku data:labs:enable enhanced-certificates -a example-app --addon=ADDON_NAME
Similarly, you can disable the feature on your Heroku add-on using the heroku data:labs:disable command
$heroku data:labs:disable wal-compression -a example-app --addon=ADDON_NAME
$ heroku data:labs:disable enhanced-certificates -a example-app --addon=ADDON_NAME
You can read more about this feature in our documentation here. If you have any questions or concerns about this feature, feel free to reach out and also engage with us on our roadmap website.
Happy coding!