From b6f23b1145c8a669f9da1c000b659a24ff88356f Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Michele Cereda <cereda.michele@gmail.com>
Date: Thu, 6 Jun 2024 00:16:59 +0200
Subject: [PATCH] chore(kb): start articles for dblab

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 knowledge base/database lab.md | 63 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 knowledge base/dblab.md        | 67 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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+# Database Lab
+
+Database Lab Engine is an open-source platform developed by Postgres.ai to create instant, full-size clones of
+production databases.<br/>
+Use cases of the clones are to test database migrations, optimize SQL, or deploy full-size staging apps.
+
+The website <https://Postgres.ai/> hosts the SaaS version of the Database Lab Engine.
+
+1. [Clones](#clones)
+1. [Further readings](#further-readings)
+   1. [Sources](#sources)
+
+## Clones
+
+Database clones comes in two flavours:
+
+- _Thick_ cloning: the regular way to copy data.<br/>
+  It is also how data is copied to Database Lab the first time a source is added.
+
+  Thick clones can be:
+
+  - _Logical_: do a regular dump and restore using `pg_dump` and `pg_restore`.
+  - _Physical_: done using `pg_basebackup` or restoring data from physical archives created by backup tools such as
+    WAL-E/WAL-G, Barman, pgBackRest, or pg_probackup.
+
+  > Managed PostgreSQL databases in cloud environments (e.g.: AWS RDS) support only the logical clone type.
+
+  The Engine supports continuous synchronization with the source databases.<br/>
+  Achieved by repeating the thick cloning method one initially used for the source.
+
+- _Thin_ cloning: local containerized database clones based on CoW (Copy-on-Write) spin up in few seconds.<br/>
+  They share most of the data blocks, but logically they look fully independent.<br/>
+  The speed of thin cloning does **not** depend on the database size.
+
+  As of 2024-06, Database Lab Engine supports ZFS and LVM for thin cloning.<br/>
+  With ZFS, the Engine periodically creates a new snapshot of the data directory and maintains a set of snapshots. When
+  requesting a new clone, users choose which snapshot to use as base.
+
+## Further readings
+
+- [Website]
+- [Main repository]
+- [Documentation]
+- [`dblab`][dblab]
+
+### Sources
+
+<!--
+  Reference
+  ═╬═Time══
+  -->
+
+<!-- In-article sections -->
+<!-- Knowledge base -->
+[dblab]: dblab.md
+
+<!-- Files -->
+<!-- Upstream -->
+[documentation]: https://postgres.ai/docs/
+[main repository]: https://gitlab.com/postgres-ai/database-lab
+[website]: https://postgres.ai/
+
+<!-- Others -->
diff --git a/knowledge base/dblab.md b/knowledge base/dblab.md
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+# `dblab`
+
+Database Lab Engine client CLI.
+
+1. [TL;DR](#tldr)
+1. [Further readings](#further-readings)
+   1. [Sources](#sources)
+
+## TL;DR
+
+<details>
+  <summary>Installation and configuration</summary>
+
+```sh
+# Initialize CLI configuration.
+# Assumes that 'localhost:2345' forwards to the Database Lab Engine machine's at port 2345'.
+dblab init --environment-id 'tutorial' --url 'http://localhost:2345' --token 'secret_token' --insecure
+```
+
+</details>
+
+<details>
+  <summary>Usage</summary>
+
+```sh
+# Fetch the status of the Engine's instance.
+dblab instance status
+
+# Create clones.
+dblab clone create --username 'dblab_user_1' --password 'secret_password' --id 'my_first_clone'
+```
+
+</details>
+
+<!-- Uncomment if used
+<details>
+  <summary>Real world use cases</summary>
+
+```sh
+```
+
+</details>
+-->
+
+## Further readings
+
+- [Database Lab]
+- [Website]
+- [Main repository]
+
+### Sources
+
+<!--
+  Reference
+  ═╬═Time══
+  -->
+
+<!-- In-article sections -->
+<!-- Knowledge base -->
+[database lab]: database%20lab.md
+
+<!-- Files -->
+<!-- Upstream -->
+[main repository]: https://github.com/project/
+[website]: https://website/
+
+<!-- Others -->