Real-Time Data Replication for Postgres using WAL Event Capture and Its usage in E-Commerce Inventory Management

Abstract

Real-time data replication is a core need for distributed systems, considering that data-centric applications are developing rapidly and that high availability, scalability, and consistency need to be ensured. This paper proposes a robust, scalable architecture based on PostgreSQL's WAL mechanism to capture and replicate changes across different regions. The architecture uses AWS Lambda for event-driven processing and Kinesis Firehose to streamline the delivery of data to multiple targets, including Redshift and Snowflake. We delve into the detailed technical aspects and considerations needed to build such a system, challenges faced, and benefits from this approach when it comes to real-time data replication.