Do Son 
PostgreSQL has introduced the long-anticipated asynchronous I/O mechanism — IO_uring. Though currently implemented in its most basic form, its inclusion in the project’s main branch as of March 26 marks a significant milestone toward substantial performance gains, particularly on Linux-based servers.
IO_uring is a modern asynchronous I/O interface crafted specifically for the Linux kernel. It dramatically reduces context-switching overhead and circumvents limitations tied to the number of concurrent I/O threads. Within PostgreSQL, it now emerges as a compelling alternative to the existing io_method=worker, which falls short when handling a high volume of small, frequent operations.
To enable this feature, PostgreSQL must be compiled with liburing support by passing the --with-liburing flag during configuration. Once compiled, administrators can activate the feature by setting io_method=io_uring in the server configuration. This capability is currently exclusive to Linux and introduces an additional compilation dependency.
The developers themselves emphasize that the present implementation is still quite rudimentary, leaving considerable room for future optimization. Nonetheless, early benchmarking reveals notable improvements in throughput, particularly under heavy I/O workloads.
Comprehensive support for IO_uring is expected to be a headline feature in PostgreSQL 18, slated for release in September. Until then, ongoing development efforts will focus on refining the integration of this cutting-edge I/O mechanism, ensuring it fully delivers on its promise of elevated performance.
