17.4. Postgres Pro Trial Builds #
Trial builds are free distributions of Postgres Pro Enterprise for testing, development, and evaluation of product functionality before purchasing a commercial license. These builds are functionally identical to the commercial version but have a limited lifetime.
The trial period begins at the build release date, not at the first start, and lasts for 6 months. A corresponding trial build is released with each minor version of Postgres Pro Enterprise.
Trial builds must not be used in production environments.
When the trial period expires, the database switches to read-only mode. The server continues to run and all data is fully preserved.
17.4.1. Key Differences From Commercial Builds #
| Parameter | Commercial Build | Trial Build |
|---|---|---|
| Lifetime | Unlimited | Limited (6 months from the release date) |
| Cost | License purchase required | Free for testing |
| Purpose | Any environments (including production) | Testing and development only |
17.4.1.1. Allowed Use Cases #
With a trial build, you can:
Install and use it in testing and development environments.
Upgrade to newer versions (both major and minor).
Migrate to a commercial version at any time.
17.4.1.2. Limitations #
With a trial build, you cannot:
Use it in production environments.
Use it for commercial activities without purchasing a license.
Important
Do not use trial builds in production environments to prevent service downtimes when the trial period expires.
17.4.2. Trial Period Expiration #
When the trial period expires, the database switches to read-only mode:
New connections operate in read-only mode. Existing sessions run normally to completion to maintain data integrity.
Write operations are blocked and an error is returned on a write attempt.
Data is preserved and can be used after installing a commercial version.
For details on monitoring the expiration date, refer to Section 17.4.6.
17.4.3. Upgrading to a Commercial Version #
To upgrade to a commercial version, install the commercial build over the trial one — the packages replace each other. The commercial Postgres Pro Enterprise version will run at server startup.
All data is fully preserved. No additional configuration or data migration is required.
To upgrade to a new major version, use pg_upgrade in the same way as for commercial Postgres Pro Enterprise versions.
If you need to continue testing after the trial period expires, contact the Postgres Pro sales team for access to the next trial minor release. Existing builds cannot be extended.
For details, refer to Section 17.4.7.
17.4.4. Installation #
Contact the Postgres Pro sales team to obtain access to the trial build repository.
Install the trial build following the standard installation procedure for Postgres Pro Enterprise.
All files are installed into the /opt/pgpro/ent-{version}/ directory, same as the commercial version.
17.4.5. Verifying the Build Version #
For trial builds, the version() function and the pgpro_version configuration parameter return a version name that contains the trial string. For example:
postgres=# select version();
version
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PostgreSQL 17.10-TRIAL on x86_64-pc-linux-gnu, compiled by gcc (Ubuntu 13.3.0-6ubuntu2~24.04.1) 13.3.0, 64-bit
(1 row)
SHOW pgpro_version;
pgpro_version
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Postgres Pro (enterprise) 17.10.1-TRIAL on x86_64-pc-linux-gnu, compiled by gcc (Ubuntu 13.3.0-6ubuntu2~24.04) 13.3.0, 64-bit
(1 row)
When the server starts, a message is also written to the log indicating that a trial build is used:
$ pg_ctl start waiting for server to start....2026-05-29 15:41:01.187 MSK [75194] LOG: Start CFS version 0.55 supported compression algorithms pglz,zlib GC enabled 2026-05-29 15:41:01.189 MSK [75194] LOG: starting PostgreSQL 18.4-TRIAL on x86_64-pc-linux-gnu, compiled by gcc (Ubuntu 13.3.0-6ubuntu2~24.04.1) 13.3.0, 64-bit 2026-05-29 15:41:01.189 MSK [75194] WARNING: This is a trial DBMS build (18.4.1-TRIAL). It should not be used in a product environment. This build should be replaced with the official DBMS version after trial period expiration. The build expires on 2026-08-31 and the database will be switched to a read-only mode. 2026-05-29 15:41:01.189 MSK [75194] LOG: listening on IPv4 address "127.0.0.1", port 5432 2026-05-29 15:41:01.197 MSK [75194] LOG: listening on Unix socket "/tmp/.s.PGSQL.5432" 2026-05-29 15:41:01.202 MSK [75197] LOG: database system was shut down at 2026-05-29 15:35:33 MSK 2026-05-29 15:41:01.207 MSK [75194] LOG: database system is ready to accept connections 2026-05-29 15:41:01.210 MSK [75204] LOG: starting background freezer (worker: enabled, backends: disabled)
17.4.6. Monitoring the Trial Period #
The trial period can be checked using the pgpro_trial_expiration_date configuration parameter:
SHOW pgpro_trial_expiration_date;
pgpro_trial_expiration_date
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2026-08-31
The server log also displays a warning with the expiration date. It is logged at server startup and every hour when less than a month remains before expiration:
2026-05-29 15:41:01.189 MSK [75194] WARNING: This is a trial DBMS build (18.4.1-TRIAL). It should not be used in a product environment. This build should be replaced with the official DBMS version after trial period expiration. The build expires on 2026-08-31 and the database will be switched to a read-only mode.
17.4.7. Upgrade Scenarios #
Before performing any upgrade, stop the server. After installing the new packages, start the server. Your data is preserved in all upgrade scenarios.
17.4.7.1. Upgrading to a Commercial Build #
To upgrade to a commercial version, install it over the trial build:
If the commercial build has the same major version as the trial build, install the build and start the server.
If the commercial build has a different major version, perform a standard upgrade using pg_upgrade.
17.4.7.2. Upgrading to Postgres Pro Enterprise Trial Build #
To test Postgres Pro Enterprise functionality, the trial build can be installed over another installed edition, such as Postgres Pro Standard or Postgres Pro Enterprise for 1C. The packages replace each other in the /opt/pgpro/ent-{version}/ directory:
For Postgres Pro Enterprise for 1C, install the build and start the server.
For Postgres Pro Standard, perform a standard upgrade using pg_upgrade.
After installation, the server starts using the same data, now with the Postgres Pro Enterprise functionality.
17.4.7.3. Upgrading to a Newer Trial Build #
If a trial build of a newer minor version is available, install the build and start the server.
If a new major version is available, perform a standard upgrade using pg_upgrade.
The expiration date is updated.