How do I design multi-tenant databases with PostgreSQL schemas?

In this guide, we will design a multi-tenant database system using PostgreSQL schemas. We will use Pulumi to automate the provisioning of schemas for different tenants. Each tenant will have its own schema within a single PostgreSQL database.

Key Points

• Database: A single PostgreSQL database will be used.
• Schemas: Each tenant will have a separate schema.
• Pulumi: Infrastructure as Code tool to automate the provisioning of the schemas.

Steps

1. Create a PostgreSQL Database: Define a PostgreSQL database instance.
2. Create Schemas: Define schemas for each tenant within the database.

Code Explanation

The code below demonstrates how to create a PostgreSQL database and multiple schemas for different tenants using Pulumi.

import * as pulumi from "@pulumi/pulumi";
import * as postgresql from "@pulumi/postgresql";

// Define the PostgreSQL database
const database = new postgresql.Database("multiTenantDB", {
    name: "multi_tenant_db",
    owner: "postgres",
    encoding: "UTF8",
    lcCollate: "en_US.UTF-8",
    lcCtype: "en_US.UTF-8",
    template: "template0",
    isTemplate: false,
    allowConnections: true,
});

// Define schemas for each tenant
const tenant1Schema = new postgresql.Schema("tenant1Schema", {
    name: "tenant1",
    owner: "postgres",
    database: database.name,
});

const tenant2Schema = new postgresql.Schema("tenant2Schema", {
    name: "tenant2",
    owner: "postgres",
    database: database.name,
});

const tenant3Schema = new postgresql.Schema("tenant3Schema", {
    name: "tenant3",
    owner: "postgres",
    database: database.name,
});

// Export the database and schema names
export const databaseName = database.name;
export const tenant1SchemaName = tenant1Schema.name;
export const tenant2SchemaName = tenant2Schema.name;
export const tenant3SchemaName = tenant3Schema.name;

Summary

In this guide, we created a multi-tenant PostgreSQL database using Pulumi. We defined a single PostgreSQL database and created schemas for different tenants within that database. This setup allows each tenant to have its own isolated schema while sharing the same database instance. This approach is useful for applications that need to manage multiple tenants with separate data storage requirements.