Sukhpreet Kaur Bedi

Managing query performance across composite indexes, diagnosing memory spills in materialized CTEs, and upgrading major versions without plan regressions are everyday challenges for PostgreSQL users. PostgreSQL 18 addresses each of these directly with skip scan optimization that removes redundant indexes, EXPLAIN enhancements that expose storage behavior, and optimizer statistics that survive major version upgrades.

AWS Database Blog In Part 1 of this series, we explored the performance enhancements in PostgreSQL 18, including skip scan optimization, enhanced EXPLAIN output, automatic self-join removal, and vacuum/autovacuum improvements. In this second part, we focus on security, monitoring, developer productivity, and logical replication enhancements that improve operational efficiency and the overall developer experience.

Data security remains a top priority for organizations of all sizes, with encryption at rest being a critical component of any organization’s security strategy. Encryption at rest protects your data from unauthorized access at the storage level, so that even if someone gains physical access to storage media, they can’t read your sensitive information without the appropriate encryption keys. This protection mitigates risks from media theft and improper disposal of physical storage devices.