Log shipping is a replication technique used by many database management systems. The master records change in its transaction log (WAL), and then the log data is shipped from the master to the standby, where the log is replayed.

In PostgreSQL, streaming replication transfers WAL data directly from the master to the standby, giving us integrated security and reduced replication delay.

There are two main ways to set up streaming replication: with or without an additional archive. Setting it up without an external archive is presented here, as it is the more simple and efficient way. However, there is one downside that suggests that the simple approach may not be appropriate for larger databases, which is explained later in the recipe.