pg_upgrade
pg_upgrade — upgrade a Postgres Pro server instance
Synopsis
pg_upgrade
-b
oldbindir
-B
newbindir
-d
olddatadir
-D
newdatadir
[option
...]
Description
pg_upgrade (formerly called pg_migrator) allows data stored in PostgreSQL or Postgres Pro data files to be upgraded to a later Postgres Pro major version without the data dump/reload typically required for major version upgrades, e.g., from 8.4.7 to the current major release of Postgres Pro. It is not required for minor version upgrades, e.g., from 9.0.1 to 9.0.4.
Major Postgres Pro releases regularly add new features that often change the layout of the system tables, but the internal data storage format rarely changes. pg_upgrade uses this fact to perform rapid upgrades by creating new system tables and simply reusing the old user data files. If a future major release ever changes the data storage format in a way that makes the old data format unreadable, pg_upgrade will not be usable for such upgrades. (The community will attempt to avoid such situations.)
pg_upgrade does its best to make sure the old and new clusters are binary-compatible, e.g., by checking for compatible compile-time settings, including 32/64-bit binaries. It is important that any external modules are also binary compatible, though this cannot be checked by pg_upgrade.
pg_upgrade supports upgrades from 8.4.X and later to the current major release of Postgres Pro, including snapshot and alpha releases.
Options
pg_upgrade accepts the following command-line arguments:
-b
bindir
--old-bindir=
bindir
the old Postgres Pro executable directory; environment variable
PGBINOLD
-B
bindir
--new-bindir=
bindir
the new Postgres Pro executable directory; environment variable
PGBINNEW
-c
--check
check clusters only, don't change any data
-d
datadir
--old-datadir=
datadir
the old cluster data directory; environment variable
PGDATAOLD
-D
datadir
--new-datadir=
datadir
the new cluster data directory; environment variable
PGDATANEW
-j
njobs
--jobs=
njobs
number of simultaneous processes or threads to use
-k
--link
use hard links instead of copying files to the new cluster
-o
options
--old-options
options
options to be passed directly to the old
postgres
command; multiple option invocations are appended-O
options
--new-options
options
options to be passed directly to the new
postgres
command; multiple option invocations are appended-p
port
--old-port=
port
the old cluster port number; environment variable
PGPORTOLD
-P
port
--new-port=
port
the new cluster port number; environment variable
PGPORTNEW
-r
--retain
retain SQL and log files even after successful completion
-U
username
--username=
username
cluster's install user name; environment variable
PGUSER
-v
--verbose
enable verbose internal logging
-V
--version
display version information, then exit
-?
--help
show help, then exit
Usage
These are the steps to perform an upgrade with pg_upgrade:
Optionally move the old cluster
If you are using a version-specific installation directory, e.g.,
/opt/PostgreSQL/9.1
, you do not need to move the old cluster. The graphical installers all use version-specific installation directories.If your installation directory is not version-specific, e.g.,
/usr/local/pgsql
, it is necessary to move the current Postgres Pro install directory so it does not interfere with the new Postgres Pro installation. Once the current Postgres Pro server is shut down, it is safe to rename the Postgres Pro installation directory; assuming the old directory is/usr/local/pgsql
, you can do:mv /usr/local/pgsql /usr/local/pgsql.old
to rename the directory.
Install the new Postgres Pro binaries
Install the new server's binaries and support files. pg_upgrade is included in a default installation.
Initialize the new Postgres Pro cluster
Initialize the new cluster using
initdb
. Use compatibleinitdb
flags that match the old cluster. Many prebuilt installers do this step automatically. There is no need to start the new cluster.Install extension shared object files
Many extensions and custom modules, whether from
contrib
or another source, use shared object files (or DLLs), e.g.,pgcrypto.so
. If the old cluster used these, shared object files matching the new server binary must be installed in the new cluster, usually via operating system commands. Do not load the schema definitions, e.g.,CREATE EXTENSION pgcrypto
, because these will be duplicated from the old cluster. If extension updates are available, pg_upgrade will report this and create a script that can be run later to update them.Copy custom full-text search files
Copy any custom full text search files (dictionary, synonym, thesaurus, stop words) from the old to the new cluster.
Adjust authentication
pg_upgrade
will connect to the old and new servers several times, so you might want to set authentication topeer
inpg_hba.conf
or use a~/.pgpass
file (see Section 30.15).Stop both servers
Make sure both database servers are stopped using, on Unix, e.g.:
pg_ctl -D /opt/PostgreSQL/8.4 stop pg_ctl -D /opt/PostgreSQL/9.0 stop
or on Windows, using the proper service names:
NET STOP postgresql-8.4 NET STOP postgresql-9.0
Streaming replication and log-shipping standby servers can remain running until a later step.
Prepare for standby server upgrades
If you are upgrading standby servers using methods outlined in section Step 10, verify that the old standby servers are caught up by running pg_controldata against the old primary and standby clusters. Verify that the “Latest checkpoint location” values match in all clusters. (There will be a mismatch if old standby servers were shut down before the old primary or if the old standby servers are still running.) Also, make sure
wal_level
is not set tominimal
in thepostgresql.conf
file on the new primary cluster.Run pg_upgrade
Always run the pg_upgrade binary of the new server, not the old one. pg_upgrade requires the specification of the old and new cluster's data and executable (
bin
) directories. You can also specify user and port values, and whether you want the data linked instead of copied (the default).If you use link mode, the upgrade will be much faster (no file copying) and use less disk space, but you will not be able to access your old cluster once you start the new cluster after the upgrade. Link mode also requires that the old and new cluster data directories be in the same file system. (Tablespaces and
pg_xlog
can be on different file systems.) Seepg_upgrade --help
for a full list of options.The
--jobs
option allows multiple CPU cores to be used for copying/linking of files and to dump and reload database schemas in parallel; a good place to start is the maximum of the number of CPU cores and tablespaces. This option can dramatically reduce the time to upgrade a multi-database server running on a multiprocessor machine.For Windows users, you must be logged into an administrative account, and then start a shell as the
postgres
user and set the proper path:RUNAS /USER:postgres "CMD.EXE" SET PATH=%PATH%;C:\Program Files\PostgreSQL\9.0\bin;
and then run pg_upgrade with quoted directories, e.g.:
pg_upgrade.exe --old-datadir "C:/Program Files/PostgreSQL/8.4/data" --new-datadir "C:/Program Files/PostgreSQL/9.0/data" --old-bindir "C:/Program Files/PostgreSQL/8.4/bin" --new-bindir "C:/Program Files/PostgreSQL/9.0/bin"
Once started,
pg_upgrade
will verify the two clusters are compatible and then do the upgrade. You can usepg_upgrade --check
to perform only the checks, even if the old server is still running.pg_upgrade --check
will also outline any manual adjustments you will need to make after the upgrade. If you are going to be using link mode, you should use the--link
option with--check
to enable link-mode-specific checks.pg_upgrade
requires write permission in the current directory.Obviously, no one should be accessing the clusters during the upgrade. pg_upgrade defaults to running servers on port 50432 to avoid unintended client connections. You can use the same port number for both clusters when doing an upgrade because the old and new clusters will not be running at the same time. However, when checking an old running server, the old and new port numbers must be different.
If an error occurs while restoring the database schema,
pg_upgrade
will exit and you will have to revert to the old cluster as outlined in Step 16 below. To trypg_upgrade
again, you will need to modify the old cluster so the pg_upgrade schema restore succeeds. If the problem is acontrib
module, you might need to uninstall thecontrib
module from the old cluster and install it in the new cluster after the upgrade, assuming the module is not being used to store user data.Upgrade Streaming Replication and Log-Shipping standby servers
If you used link mode and have Streaming Replication (see Section 25.2.5) or Log-Shipping (see Section 25.2) standby servers, you can follow these steps to quickly upgrade them. You will not be running pg_upgrade on the standby servers, but rather rsync on the primary. Do not start any servers yet.
If you did not use link mode, do not have or do not want to use rsync, or want an easier solution, skip the instructions in this section and simply recreate the standby servers once pg_upgrade completes and the new primary is running.
Install the new Postgres Pro binaries on standby servers
Make sure the new binaries and support files are installed on all standby servers.
Make sure the new standby data directories do not exist
Make sure the new standby data directories do not exist or are empty. If initdb was run, delete the standby servers' new data directories.
Install extension shared object files
Install the same extension shared object files on the new standbys that you installed in the new primary cluster.
Stop standby servers
If the standby servers are still running, stop them now using the above instructions.
Save configuration files
Save any configuration files from the old standbys' configuration directories you need to keep, e.g.,
postgresql.conf
(and any files included by it),postgresql.auto.conf
,recovery.conf
,pg_hba.conf
, because these will be overwritten or removed in the next step.Run rsync
When using link mode, standby servers can be quickly upgraded using rsync. To accomplish this, from a directory on the primary server that is above the old and new database cluster directories, run this on the primary for each standby server:
rsync --archive --delete --hard-links --size-only --no-inc-recursive old_cluster new_cluster remote_dir
where
old_cluster
andnew_cluster
are relative to the current directory on the primary, andremote_dir
is above the old and new cluster directories on the standby. The directory structure under the specified directories on the primary and standbys must match. Consult the rsync manual page for details on specifying the remote directory, e.g.,rsync --archive --delete --hard-links --size-only --no-inc-recursive /opt/PostgreSQL/9.5 \ /opt/PostgreSQL/9.6 standby.example.com:/opt/PostgreSQL
You can verify what the command will do using rsync's
--dry-run
option. While rsync must be run on the primary for at least one standby, it is possible to run rsync on an upgraded standby to upgrade other standbys, as long as the upgraded standby has not been started.What this does is to record the links created by pg_upgrade's link mode that connect files in the old and new clusters on the primary server. It then finds matching files in the standby's old cluster and creates links for them in the standby's new cluster. Files that were not linked on the primary are copied from the primary to the standby. (They are usually small.) This provides rapid standby upgrades. Unfortunately, rsync needlessly copies files associated with temporary and unlogged tables because these files don't normally exist on standby servers.
If you have tablespaces, you will need to run a similar rsync command for each tablespace directory, e.g.:
rsync --archive --delete --hard-links --size-only --no-inc-recursive /vol1/pg_tblsp/PG_9.5_201510051 \ /vol1/pg_tblsp/PG_9.6_201608131 standby.example.com:/vol1/pg_tblsp
If you have relocated
pg_xlog
outside the data directories, rsync must be run on those directories too.Configure streaming replication and log-shipping standby servers
Configure the servers for log shipping. (You do not need to run
pg_start_backup()
andpg_stop_backup()
or take a file system backup as the standbys are still synchronized with the primary.)
Restore
pg_hba.conf
If you modified
pg_hba.conf
, restore its original settings. It might also be necessary to adjust other configuration files in the new cluster to match the old cluster, e.g.,postgresql.conf
(and any files included by it),postgresql.auto.conf
.Start the new server
The new server can now be safely started, and then any rsync'ed standby servers.
Post-Upgrade processing
If any post-upgrade processing is required, pg_upgrade will issue warnings as it completes. It will also generate script files that must be run by the administrator. The script files will connect to each database that needs post-upgrade processing. Each script should be run using:
psql --username postgres --file script.sql postgres
The scripts can be run in any order and can be deleted once they have been run.
Caution
In general it is unsafe to access tables referenced in rebuild scripts until the rebuild scripts have run to completion; doing so could yield incorrect results or poor performance. Tables not referenced in rebuild scripts can be accessed immediately.
Statistics
Because optimizer statistics are not transferred by
pg_upgrade
, you will be instructed to run a command to regenerate that information at the end of the upgrade. You might need to set connection parameters to match your new cluster.Delete old cluster
Once you are satisfied with the upgrade, you can delete the old cluster's data directories by running the script mentioned when
pg_upgrade
completes. (Automatic deletion is not possible if you have user-defined tablespaces inside the old data directory.) You can also delete the old installation directories (e.g.,bin
,share
).Reverting to old cluster
If, after running
pg_upgrade
, you wish to revert to the old cluster, there are several options:If the
--check
option was used, the old cluster was unmodified; it can be restarted.If the
--link
option was not used, the old cluster was unmodified; it can be restarted.If the
--link
option was used, the data files might be shared between the old and new cluster:If
pg_upgrade
aborted before linking started, the old cluster was unmodified; it can be restarted.If you did not start the new cluster, the old cluster was unmodified except that, when linking started, a
.old
suffix was appended to$PGDATA/global/pg_control
. To reuse the old cluster, remove the.old
suffix from$PGDATA/global/pg_control
; you can then restart the old cluster.If you did start the new cluster, it has written to shared files and it is unsafe to use the old cluster. The old cluster will need to be restored from backup in this case.
Notes
pg_upgrade does not support upgrading of databases containing these reg*
OID-referencing system data types: regproc
, regprocedure
, regoper
, regoperator
, regconfig
, and regdictionary
. (regtype
can be upgraded.)
All failure, rebuild, and reindex cases will be reported by pg_upgrade if they affect your installation; post-upgrade scripts to rebuild tables and indexes will be generated automatically. If you are trying to automate the upgrade of many clusters, you should find that clusters with identical database schemas require the same post-upgrade steps for all cluster upgrades; this is because the post-upgrade steps are based on the database schemas, and not user data.
For deployment testing, create a schema-only copy of the old cluster, insert dummy data, and upgrade that.
If you are upgrading a pre-PostgreSQL 9.2 cluster that uses a configuration-file-only directory, you must pass the real data directory location to pg_upgrade, and pass the configuration directory location to the server, e.g., -d /real-data-directory -o '-D /configuration-directory'
.
If using a pre-9.1 old server that is using a non-default Unix-domain socket directory or a default that differs from the default of the new cluster, set PGHOST
to point to the old server's socket location. (This is not relevant on Windows.)
If you want to use link mode and you do not want your old cluster to be modified when the new cluster is started, make a copy of the old cluster and upgrade that in link mode. To make a valid copy of the old cluster, use rsync
to create a dirty copy of the old cluster while the server is running, then shut down the old server and run rsync --checksum
again to update the copy with any changes to make it consistent. (--checksum
is necessary because rsync
only has file modification-time granularity of one second.) You might want to exclude some files, e.g., postmaster.pid
, as documented in Section 24.3.3. If your file system supports file system snapshots or copy-on-write file copies, you can use that to make a backup of the old cluster and tablespaces, though the snapshot and copies must be created simultaneously or while the database server is down.