Thread: upgrade requires dump/restore?
While reading FAQ at http://www.ca.postgresql.org/docs/faq-english.html#3.10, the following advice is given: "The PostgreSQL team makes only small changes between minor releases, so upgrading from 7.2 to 7.2.1 does not require a dump and restore. However, major releases (e.g. from 7.2 to 7.3) often change the internal format of system tables and data files." Our question is, how do we determine if we need a dump/restore or not? We have several hundred boxes that are currently running 7.2, and we're in the process of putting together a new software update that will (among other things) upgrade the database to 7.2.3. Is a dump/restore required from 7.2 to 7.2.3? What if we were to go from 7.2 to 7.2.4, or even from 7.2 to the latest, 7.3.2? How can we tell when a dump/restore is required? Thanks, Stephane Charette stephanecharette <nospam> at telus <nospam> dot net
On 10 Feb 2003, Stephane Charette wrote: > "The PostgreSQL team makes only small changes between minor releases, > so upgrading from 7.2 to 7.2.1 does not require a dump and restore. This says that you don't need to dump/restore when you are just upgrading 7.2 => 7.2.4, or 7.3.1 => 7.3.2. Minor releases contain mainly bug fixes. > However, major releases (e.g. from 7.2 to 7.3) often change the internal > format of system tables and data files." This sentence says that "Often new major versions have incompatible on-disk formats and thus most of major versions WILL ALWAYS require dump/restore when upgrading". The reason why there's often is that there MAY be some future releases that don't need dump/restore, not that it could be made optional in some cases. For example you need always dump/restore when upgrading from 7.2.x to 7.3.y. And of course you shouldn't use 7.2.3 anymore. Instead you should update directly to 7.2.4. -- Antti Haapala
> Is a dump/restore required from 7.2 to 7.2.3? What if we were to go > from 7.2 to 7.2.4, or even from 7.2 to the latest, 7.3.2? How can we > tell when a dump/restore is required? In answer to my own question, I found that the HISTORY file within the source archive (http://www.ca.postgresql.org/ftpsite/source/v7.3.2/postgresql-7.3.2.tar.gz) contains all of the necessary information about _exactly_ when a dump/restore is required. Here is a summary of what I found going back to PostgreSQL version 7.2: Migration to version 7.3.2 A dump/restore is *not* required for those running 7.3.*. Migration to version 7.3.1 A dump/restore is *not* required for those running 7.3. However, it should be noted that the main PostgreSQL interface library, libpq, has a new major version number for this release, which will require that client code using libpq be relinked. Migration to version 7.3 A dump/restore using pg_dump is required for those wishing to migrate data from any previous release. If your application examines the system catalogs, additional changes will be required due to the introduction of schemas in 7.3; for more information, see: http://www.ca.postgresql.org/docs/momjian/upgrade_tips_7.3. Migration to version 7.2.4 A dump/restore is *not* required for those running 7.2.X. Migration to version 7.2.3 A dump/restore is *not* required for those running 7.2.X. Migration to version 7.2.2 A dump/restore is *not* required for those running 7.2.X. Migration to version 7.2.1 A dump/restore is *not* required for those running 7.2. Migration to version 7.2 A dump/restore using "pg_dump" is required for those wishing to migrate data from any previous release. Best regards, Stephane Charette stephanecharette <nospam> at telus <nospam> dot net