Message-ID: <42114.192.168.8.16.1224167354.squirrel@sm.tbruce.com>
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References: <5A6C6B35-B5FF-4C4A-B976-A5B4522AB6B3@indiana.edu>
	<48F4D554.8090507@uvic.ca>
	<3F0C96CA-0996-486C-ADAF-E56EAD049984@indiana.edu>
Date: Thu, 16 Oct 2008 07:29:14 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: Re: Upgrade in same major version
From: "Tim Bruce - Postgres" <postgres@tbruce.com>
To: "Carol Walter" <walterc@indiana.edu>
Cc: "Evan Rempel" <erempel@uvic.ca>,
	"pgsql-admin@postgresql.org" <pgsql-admin@postgresql.org>
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On Thu, October 16, 2008 06:47, Carol Walter wrote:
> Let me see if I understand this correctly.
> Always do a backup before doing any destructive sys admin functions.  =)
> First, I run configure, taking care to make sure all the options point
> to the right places.
> Second, I run gmake
> Third, I run gmake install.
>
> Thanks,
> Carol
>
> On Oct 14, 2008, at 1:22 PM, Evan Rempel wrote:
>
>> What this means is that you do not have to "update" the data
>> repository (wherever your
>> postgresql database is stored). All that needs to be done is to
>> uninstall the old version,
>> and install the new version. Start the new version and use the data
>> where it sits.
>>
>> Now, that all sound fine when I say it fast. There are a number of
>> precautions that
>> you may prefer to take, and the steps may differ significantly
>> depending on your system.
>>
>> 1. Probably take a complete backup of your database should something
>> go wrong.
>> 2. Ensure that you have a way to "get back" to the previous version,
>> or have
>>      a very reliable way to move forward, such as taking a pgdump
>> that can be loaded
>>      back into the database, nearly regardless of version.
>> 3. Your uninstall may be a package management step such as rpm, or
>> you may
>>      just delete the files if your install was done from source.
>> 4. Your install may be a package management step such as rpm, or you
>> may
>>      require a "sudo make install" if your install was done from
>> source.
>>
>> I hope this points you in mostly the right direction without begin
>> to long
>> winded.
>>
>> Evan.
>>
>> Carol Walter wrote:
>>> Hello,
>>>
>>> I'm doing an upgrade from 8.2.4 to 8.2.10.  The documentation says,
>>> "When you update between compatible versions, you can simply replace
>>> the executables and reuse the data directory on disk."  I guess I
>>> don't quite understand what this means.  Replace them by running some
>>> parts of the installation process?  Replace them by copying them.
>>> Are you talking about those files that usually reside in /usr/local/
>>> pgsql/bin and include psql and pg_ctl?
>>>
>>> I know these may seem like dumb questions to those of you who are old
>>> hands at this.  I'd be glad to read more documentation if there is
>>> some that is more explicit than what I quoted above.
>>>
>>> Thanks so much,
>>>
>>> Carol
>>>
>>> --
>>> Sent via pgsql-admin mailing list (pgsql-admin@postgresql.org)
>>> To make changes to your subscription:
>>> http://www.postgresql.org/mailpref/pgsql-admin
>>
>>
>> --
>> Evan Rempel                       erempel@uvic.ca
>> Senior Programmer Analyst            250.721.7691
>> University Systems,        University of Victoria
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Sent via pgsql-admin mailing list (pgsql-admin@postgresql.org)
>> To make changes to your subscription:
>> http://www.postgresql.org/mailpref/pgsql-admin
>
>
> --
> Sent via pgsql-admin mailing list (pgsql-admin@postgresql.org)
> To make changes to your subscription:
> http://www.postgresql.org/mailpref/pgsql-admin
>

As part of your backup, make sure you also backup your postgresql.conf and
pg_hba.conf if they are in your data directory.  These are done at the
Operating System level using the cp (copy) command.  They shouldn't be
overwritten, but having a backup copy of those is always nice for when
Murphy strikes.

Tim
-- 
Timothy J. Bruce

visit my Website at: http://www.tbruce.com
Registered Linux User #325725