diff --git a/cluster/pulumi/common/src/index.ts b/cluster/pulumi/common/src/index.ts
index 5f9a04b202..2c66af56cb 100644
--- a/cluster/pulumi/common/src/index.ts
+++ b/cluster/pulumi/common/src/index.ts
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@ export * from './dockerConfig';
 export * from './serviceAccount';
 export * from './participantKms';
 export * from './config/migrationSchema';
+export * from './postgres';
 export * from './pruning';
 export * from './config/loadTesterConfig';
 export * from './config/networkWideConfig';
diff --git a/cluster/pulumi/common/src/postgres.ts b/cluster/pulumi/common/src/postgres.ts
index c20bb18ba8..26421f4176 100644
--- a/cluster/pulumi/common/src/postgres.ts
+++ b/cluster/pulumi/common/src/postgres.ts
@@ -65,7 +65,12 @@ export class CloudPostgres extends pulumi.ComponentResource implements Postgres
     secretName: string,
     cloudSqlConfig: CloudSqlConfig,
     active: boolean = true,
-    opts: { disableProtection?: boolean; migrationId?: string; logicalDecoding?: boolean } = {}
+    opts: {
+      disableProtection?: boolean;
+      migrationId?: string;
+      logicalDecoding?: boolean;
+      disableBackups?: boolean;
+    } = {}
   ) {
     const instanceLogicalName = xns.logicalName + '-' + instanceName;
     const instanceLogicalNameAlias = xns.logicalName + '-' + alias; // pulumi name before #12391
@@ -93,8 +98,8 @@ export class CloudPostgres extends pulumi.ComponentResource implements Postgres
             ...(opts.logicalDecoding ? [{ name: 'cloudsql.logical_decoding', value: 'on' }] : []),
           ],
           backupConfiguration: {
-            enabled: true,
-            pointInTimeRecoveryEnabled: true,
+            enabled: !opts.disableBackups,
+            pointInTimeRecoveryEnabled: !opts.disableBackups,
             ...(spliceConfig.pulumiProjectConfig.cloudSql.backupsToRetain
               ? {
                   backupRetentionSettings: {
diff --git a/cluster/pulumi/gha/src/performanceTests.ts b/cluster/pulumi/gha/src/performanceTests.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..0677b50292
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cluster/pulumi/gha/src/performanceTests.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+// Copyright (c) 2024 Digital Asset (Switzerland) GmbH and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.
+// SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+import { CloudPostgres, ExactNamespace } from '@lfdecentralizedtrust/splice-pulumi-common';
+
+export function createCloudSQLInstanceForPerformanceTests(
+  ghaNamespace: ExactNamespace
+): CloudPostgres {
+  return new CloudPostgres(
+    ghaNamespace,
+    'performance-test-db',
+    'performance-test-db',
+    'performance-test-db-secret',
+    {
+      enabled: true,
+      maintenanceWindow: { day: 2, hour: 8 },
+      protected: false,
+      tier: 'db-custom-2-7680', // same as devnet & testnet as of Jan 2026
+      enterprisePlus: false,
+    },
+    true,
+    {
+      disableProtection: true,
+      disableBackups: true,
+      logicalDecoding: false,
+    }
+  );
+}
diff --git a/cluster/pulumi/gha/src/runners.test.ts b/cluster/pulumi/gha/src/runners.test.ts
index 668889c260..516cf795be 100644
--- a/cluster/pulumi/gha/src/runners.test.ts
+++ b/cluster/pulumi/gha/src/runners.test.ts
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@ jest.mock('./config', () => ({
     runnerHookVersion: '1.1',
   },
 }));
+class FakeCloudPostgres extends pulumi.Resource {}
 jest.mock('@lfdecentralizedtrust/splice-pulumi-common', () => ({
   __esModule: true,
   appsAffinityAndTolerations: {},
@@ -22,6 +23,9 @@ jest.mock('@lfdecentralizedtrust/splice-pulumi-common', () => ({
   HELM_MAX_HISTORY_SIZE: 42,
   imagePullSecretByNamespaceNameForServiceAccount: () => [],
   infraAffinityAndTolerations: {},
+  CloudPostgres: function CloudPostgres() {
+    return new FakeCloudPostgres('CloudPostgres', 'cloud-postgres', true);
+  },
 }));
 jest.mock('@lfdecentralizedtrust/splice-pulumi-common/src/config/envConfig', () => ({
   __esModule: true,
diff --git a/cluster/pulumi/gha/src/runners.ts b/cluster/pulumi/gha/src/runners.ts
index 71f1514c6d..b1e1907d62 100644
--- a/cluster/pulumi/gha/src/runners.ts
+++ b/cluster/pulumi/gha/src/runners.ts
@@ -3,7 +3,9 @@
 import * as k8s from '@pulumi/kubernetes';
 import {
   appsAffinityAndTolerations,
+  CloudPostgres,
   DOCKER_REPO,
+  ExactNamespace,
   HELM_MAX_HISTORY_SIZE,
   imagePullSecretByNamespaceNameForServiceAccount,
   infraAffinityAndTolerations,
@@ -18,6 +20,7 @@ import yaml from 'js-yaml';
 
 import { createCachePvc } from './cache';
 import { ghaConfig } from './config';
+import { createCloudSQLInstanceForPerformanceTests } from './performanceTests';
 
 type ResourcesSpec = {
   requests?: {
@@ -403,7 +406,8 @@ function installK8sRunnerScaleSet(
   cachePvcName: string,
   resources: ResourcesSpec,
   serviceAccountName: string,
-  dependsOn: Resource[]
+  dependsOn: Resource[],
+  performanceTestsDb: CloudPostgres
 ): Release {
   const podConfigMapName = `${name}-pod-config`;
   // A configMap that will be mounted to runner pods and provide additional pod spec for the workflow pods
@@ -534,6 +538,21 @@ function installK8sRunnerScaleSet(
                     name: 'ACTIONS_RUNNER_CONTAINER_HOOK_TEMPLATE',
                     value: '/pod.yaml',
                   },
+                  {
+                    name: 'PERFORMANCE_TESTS_DB_HOST',
+                    value: performanceTestsDb.address,
+                  },
+                  {
+                    name: 'PERFORMANCE_TESTS_DB_USER',
+                    value: 'cnadmin',
+                  },
+                  {
+                    name: 'PERFORMANCE_TESTS_DB_PASSWORD',
+                    valueFrom: {
+                      key: 'postgresPassword',
+                      name: performanceTestsDb.secretName,
+                    },
+                  },
                 ],
                 volumeMounts: [
                   {
@@ -701,9 +720,10 @@ function installK8sRunnerScaleSets(
   runnersNamespace: Namespace,
   tokenSecret: Secret,
   cachePvcName: string,
-  serviceAccountName: string
+  serviceAccountName: string,
+  performanceTestsDb: CloudPostgres
 ): void {
-  const dependsOn = [controller, runnersNamespace, tokenSecret];
+  const dependsOn = [controller, runnersNamespace, tokenSecret, performanceTestsDb];
 
   runnerSpecs
     .filter(spec => spec.k8s)
@@ -715,7 +735,8 @@ function installK8sRunnerScaleSets(
         cachePvcName,
         spec.resources,
         serviceAccountName,
-        dependsOn
+        dependsOn,
+        performanceTestsDb
       );
     });
 }
@@ -754,12 +775,17 @@ function installPodMonitor(runnersNamespace: Namespace) {
   );
 }
 
+const GHA_NAMESPACE_NAME = 'gha-runners';
 export function installRunnerScaleSets(controller: k8s.helm.v3.Release): void {
-  const runnersNamespace = new Namespace('gha-runners', {
+  const runnersNamespace = new Namespace(GHA_NAMESPACE_NAME, {
     metadata: {
-      name: 'gha-runners',
+      name: GHA_NAMESPACE_NAME,
     },
   });
+  const exactNs: ExactNamespace = {
+    ns: runnersNamespace,
+    logicalName: GHA_NAMESPACE_NAME,
+  };
 
   const tokenSecret = new k8s.core.v1.Secret(
     'gh-access-token',
@@ -791,7 +817,15 @@ export function installRunnerScaleSets(controller: k8s.helm.v3.Release): void {
   const saName = 'k8s-runners';
   installRunnersServiceAccount(runnersNamespace, saName);
 
+  const performanceTestsDb = createCloudSQLInstanceForPerformanceTests(exactNs);
   installDockerRunnerScaleSets(controller, runnersNamespace, tokenSecret, cachePvc, saName);
-  installK8sRunnerScaleSets(controller, runnersNamespace, tokenSecret, cachePvcName, saName);
+  installK8sRunnerScaleSets(
+    controller,
+    runnersNamespace,
+    tokenSecret,
+    cachePvcName,
+    saName,
+    performanceTestsDb
+  );
   installPodMonitor(runnersNamespace);
 }