The PostgreSQL binary protocol is faster and more compact than text-based queries. It avoids parsing costs. It keeps message framing tight. But proxying this protocol is not trivial. You need a system that understands startup messages, authentication flows, and row description formats — all while handling large-scale concurrent connections without breaking atomicity.
Rasp is built to proxy PostgreSQL binary traffic end‑to‑end. It reads and writes packets at the byte level. It passes through authentication messages without tampering. It forwards bind, execute, and sync commands with zero translation. It manages backend connections to keep latency low under heavy load. This is protocol‑native proxying, not SQL parsing, and it means your clients see no performance penalty.
By handling the binary protocol directly, Rasp avoids the bottlenecks seen in generic TCP proxies. It can optimize connection pooling at the protocol level, track prepared statements, and maintain transaction boundaries across multiplexed sessions. It also supports TLS termination and re‑initiation for secure deployments without slowing message flow.