Seamless Migration from Informix to PostgreSQL 14 with Automatic Failover and Performance Tuning

Client Overview

A large enterprise relying on legacy Informix databases was facing rising costs, limited scalability, and performance bottlenecks. Their infrastructure lacked high availability and modern failover capabilities, putting mission-critical operations at risk. They partnered with Simple Logic to migrate to a modern, open-source solution—PostgreSQL 14—with built-in resilience and performance optimization.

Challenges

• Legacy Lock-In: Informix was expensive and inflexible, limiting innovation.
• Downtime Risk: No automatic failover mechanism in place.
• Performance Bottlenecks: Server parameters were not tuned for workload demands.
• Migration Complexity: Large datasets and critical applications required zero data loss and minimal downtime.

Our Approach

Simple Logic executed a phased migration strategy focused on reliability, performance, and business continuity.

🔹 Step 1: Assessment & Planning

• Audited Informix schema, data types, and dependencies.
• Designed a migration roadmap with rollback and validation checkpoints.

🔹 Step 2: Data Migration

• Used custom ETL scripts and tools to transfer data securely.
• Validated data integrity using checksum and row-level comparisons.

🔹 Step 3: Automatic Failover Setup

• Deployed PostgreSQL streaming replication with pg_auto_failover.
• Configured health checks and monitoring for seamless failover.
• Achieved RTO < 1 minute and RPO = 0.

🔹 Step 4: Server Parameter Tuning

• Tuned PostgreSQL parameters including:
  • work_mem
  • shared_buffers
  • effective_cache_size
  • checkpoint_segments
• Reduced query latency by 40% and improved throughput by 60%.

Results

Client Impact

• Modernized Infrastructure: Transitioned to a scalable, open-source database.
• Improved Reliability: Automatic failover ensured business continuity.
• Enhanced Performance: Fine-tuned PostgreSQL delivered faster response times.
• Cost Efficiency: Reduced licensing and support costs.

📩 Let’s Talk

If your organization is planning to move away from legacy databases like Informix, Simple Logic can help you migrate with confidence.
👉 Contact Us for a free consultation.