In many database applications, particularly in workflow systems, there’s a common requirement to update the status of records. These statuses could range from “ready to process” to “processing,” “done,” “reprocessing,” or even “urgently needed to be processed.” While updating a row may seem trivial in some databases like Oracle, it becomes more complex and nuanced in PostgreSQL. What may appear as a simple status change at the application level actually involves several hidden processes that can lead to performance degradation over time.

Recently, I embarked on a project to optimize my home server setup by transitioning my disk storage pool from RAID5 using mdadm and XFS to ZFS RAIDZ-1. Honestly, it’s been a huge improvement in both performance and functionality, and I’m pretty excited about the results so far. My home server functions as a lab environment, where I primarily serve videos, experiment with Kubernetes clusters, and run various virtual machines (VMs) — mostly OpenBSD and FreeBSD instances.

As someone who enjoys exploring different operating systems, I often find myself setting up environments in OpenBSD. It’s an elegant and minimalist OS with a strong emphasis on security, which makes it ideal for a variety of use cases. Recently, I worked on creating an OpenBSD box for Vagrant, and I thought I’d share the step-by-step process I followed, along with a few quirks and tips I discovered along the way.