This is interesting. http://www-128.ibm.com/developerworks/db2/library/techarticle/dm-0603wasserman2/ There are a few bugs 1. In the graphic overview PostgreSQL == Progres 2. In description of PostgreSQL database cluster, "After initialization, a database cluster contains a database called postgres, which is a default database used by utilities, users and third party applications. " That doesn't seem to be necessarily true. I don't have that database.... 3. He misses the fact that some configuration options can be set interactively via SET 4. "The VACUUM command must be run on a regular basis to recover disk space occupied by updated or deleted rows and to update data statistics used by the PostgreSQL query planner. " with no mention of autovacuum. He is talking about 8.1. Every time I learn about a big commercial database I am amazed at how much 'bigger' and more complicated than PostgreSQL they are - I guess they have to be for their intended use - and how similar to PostgreSQL they are in actual function.