1 <!-- doc/src/sgml/pgupgrade.sgml -->
3 <sect1 id="pgupgrade" xreflabel="pg_upgrade">
4 <title>pg_upgrade</title>
6 <indexterm zone="pgupgrade">
7 <primary>pg_upgrade</primary>
11 <application>pg_upgrade</> (formerly called <application>pg_migrator</>) allows data
12 stored in <productname>PostgreSQL</> data files to be upgraded to a later <productname>PostgreSQL</>
13 major version without the data dump/reload typically required for
14 major version upgrades, e.g. from 8.4.7 to the current major release
15 of <productname>PostgreSQL</>. It is not required for minor version upgrades, e.g. from
20 Major PostgreSQL releases regularly add new features that often
21 change the layout of the system tables, but the internal data storage
22 format rarely changes. <application>pg_upgrade</> uses this fact
23 to perform rapid upgrades by creating new system tables and simply
24 reusing the old user data files. If a future major release ever
25 changes the data storage format in a way that makes the old data
26 format unreadable, <application>pg_upgrade</> will not be usable
27 for such upgrades. (The community will attempt to avoid such
32 <application>pg_upgrade</> does its best to
33 make sure the old and new clusters are binary-compatible, e.g. by
34 checking for compatible compile-time settings, including 32/64-bit
35 binaries. It is important that
36 any external modules are also binary compatible, though this cannot
37 be checked by <application>pg_upgrade</>.
41 <title>Supported Versions</title>
44 pg_upgrade supports upgrades from 8.3.X and later to the current
45 major release of <productname>PostgreSQL</>, including snapshot and alpha releases.
52 <title><application>pg_upgrade</> Options</title>
55 <application>pg_upgrade</application> accepts the following command-line arguments:
60 <term><option>-b</option> <replaceable>old_bindir</></term>
61 <term><option>--old-bindir=</option><replaceable>old_bindir</></term>
62 <listitem><para>the old cluster executable directory;
63 environment variable <envar>PGBINOLD</></para></listitem>
67 <term><option>-B</option> <replaceable>new_bindir</></term>
68 <term><option>--new-bindir=</option><replaceable>new_bindir</></term>
69 <listitem><para>the new cluster executable directory;
70 environment variable <envar>PGBINNEW</></para></listitem>
74 <term><option>-c</option></term>
75 <term><option>--check</option></term>
76 <listitem><para>check clusters only, don't change any data</para></listitem>
80 <term><option>-d</option> <replaceable>old_datadir</></term>
81 <term><option>--old-datadir=</option><replaceable>old_datadir</></term>
82 <listitem><para>the old cluster data directory; environment
83 variable <envar>PGDATAOLD</></para></listitem>
87 <term><option>-D</option> <replaceable>new_datadir</></term>
88 <term><option>--new-datadir=</option><replaceable>new_datadir</></term>
89 <listitem><para>the new cluster data directory; environment
90 variable <envar>PGDATANEW</></para></listitem>
94 <term><option>-g</option></term>
95 <term><option>--debug</option></term>
96 <listitem><para>enable debugging</para></listitem>
100 <term><option>-G</option> <replaceable>debug_filename</></term>
101 <term><option>--debugfile=</option><replaceable>debug_filename</></term>
102 <listitem><para>output debugging activity to file</para></listitem>
106 <term><option>-k</option></term>
107 <term><option>--link</option></term>
108 <listitem><para>use hard links instead of copying files to the new cluster</para></listitem>
112 <term><option>-l</option> <replaceable>log_filename</></term>
113 <term><option>--logfile=</option><replaceable>log_filename</></term>
114 <listitem><para>log internal activity to file</para></listitem>
118 <term><option>-o</option> <replaceable class="parameter">options</replaceable></term>
119 <term><option>--old-options</option> <replaceable class="parameter">options</replaceable></term>
120 <listitem><para>options to be passed directly to the
121 old <command>postgres</command> command</para></listitem>
125 <term><option>-O</option> <replaceable class="parameter">options</replaceable></term>
126 <term><option>--new-options</option> <replaceable class="parameter">options</replaceable></term>
127 <listitem><para>options to be passed directly to the
128 new <command>postgres</command> command</para></listitem>
132 <term><option>-p</option> <replaceable>old_port_number</></term>
133 <term><option>--old-port=</option><replaceable>old_portnum</></term>
134 <listitem><para>the old cluster port number; environment
135 variable <envar>PGPORTOLD</></para></listitem>
139 <term><option>-P</option> <replaceable>new_port_number</></term>
140 <term><option>--new-port=</option><replaceable>new_portnum</></term>
141 <listitem><para>the new cluster port number; environment
142 variable <envar>PGPORTNEW</></para></listitem>
146 <term><option>-u</option> <replaceable>user_name</></term>
147 <term><option>--user=</option><replaceable>user_name</></term>
148 <listitem><para>cluster's super user name; environment
149 variable <envar>PGUSER</></para></listitem>
153 <term><option>-v</option></term>
154 <term><option>--verbose</option></term>
155 <listitem><para>enable verbose output</para></listitem>
159 <term><option>-V</option></term>
160 <term><option>--version</option></term>
161 <listitem><para>display version information, then exit</para></listitem>
165 <term><option>-?</option></term>
166 <term><option>-h</option></term>
167 <term><option>--help</option></term>
168 <listitem><para>show help, then exit</para></listitem>
177 <title>Upgrade Steps</title>
180 <step performance="optional">
181 <title>Optionally move the old cluster</title>
184 If you are using a version-specific installation directory, e.g.
185 <filename>/opt/PostgreSQL/9.1</>, you do not need to move the old cluster. The
186 one-click installers all use version-specific installation directories.
190 If your installation directory is not version-specific, e.g.
191 <filename>/usr/local/pgsql</>, it is necessary to move the current PostgreSQL install
192 directory so it does not interfere with the new <productname>PostgreSQL</> installation.
193 Once the current <productname>PostgreSQL</> server is shut down, it is safe to rename the
194 PostgreSQL installation directory; assuming the old directory is
195 <filename>/usr/local/pgsql</>, you can do:
198 mv /usr/local/pgsql /usr/local/pgsql.old
200 to rename the directory.
205 <title>For source installs, build the new version</title>
208 Build the new PostgreSQL source with <command>configure</> flags that are compatible
209 with the old cluster. <application>pg_upgrade</> will check <command>pg_controldata</> to make
210 sure all settings are compatible before starting the upgrade.
215 <title>Install the new PostgreSQL binaries</title>
218 Install the new server's binaries and support files.
222 For source installs, if you wish to install the new server in a custom
223 location, use the <literal>prefix</literal> variable:
226 gmake prefix=/usr/local/pgsql.new install
232 <title>Install pg_upgrade and pg_upgrade_support</title>
235 Install the <application>pg_upgrade</> binary and
236 <application>pg_upgrade_support</> library in the new PostgreSQL cluster.
241 <title>Initialize the new PostgreSQL cluster</title>
244 Initialize the new cluster using <command>initdb</command>.
245 Again, use compatible <command>initdb</command>
246 flags that match the old cluster. Many
247 prebuilt installers do this step automatically. There is no need to
248 start the new cluster.
253 <title>Install custom shared object files</title>
256 Install any custom shared object files (or DLLs) used by the old cluster
257 into the new cluster, e.g. <filename>pgcrypto.so</filename>,
258 whether they are from <filename>contrib</filename>
259 or some other source. Do not install the schema definitions, e.g.
260 <filename>pgcrypto.sql</>, because these will be upgraded from the old cluster.
265 <title>Adjust authentication</title>
268 <command>pg_upgrade</> will connect to the old and new servers several times,
269 so you might want to set authentication to <literal>trust</> in
270 <filename>pg_hba.conf</>, or if using <literal>md5</> authentication,
271 use a <filename>~/.pgpass</> file (see <xref linkend="libpq-pgpass">)
272 to avoid being prompted repeatedly for a password.
277 <title>Stop both servers</title>
280 Make sure both database servers are stopped using, on Unix, e.g.:
283 pg_ctl -D /opt/PostgreSQL/8.4 stop
284 pg_ctl -D /opt/PostgreSQL/9.0 stop
287 or on Windows, using the proper service names:
290 NET STOP postgresql-8.4
291 NET STOP postgresql-9.0
297 NET STOP pgsql-8.3 (<productname>PostgreSQL</> 8.3 and older used a different service name)
303 <title>Run <application>pg_upgrade</></title>
306 Always run the <application>pg_upgrade</> binary of the new server, not the old one.
307 <application>pg_upgrade</> requires the specification of the old and new cluster's
308 data and executable (<filename>bin</>) directories. You can also specify
309 user and port values, and whether you want the data linked instead of
310 copied (the default).
314 If you use link mode, the upgrade will be much faster (no file
315 copying), but you will not be able to access your old cluster
316 once you start the new cluster after the upgrade. Link mode also
317 requires that the old and new cluster data directories be in the
318 same file system. See <literal>pg_upgrade --help</> for a full
326 For Windows users, you must be logged into an administrative account, and
327 then start a shell as the <literal>postgres</> user and set the proper path:
330 RUNAS /USER:postgres "CMD.EXE"
331 SET PATH=%PATH%;C:\Program Files\PostgreSQL\9.0\bin;
334 and then run <application>pg_upgrade</> with quoted directories, e.g.:
338 --old-datadir "C:/Program Files/PostgreSQL/8.4/data"
339 --new-datadir "C:/Program Files/PostgreSQL/9.0/data"
340 --old-bindir "C:/Program Files/PostgreSQL/8.4/bin"
341 --new-bindir "C:/Program Files/PostgreSQL/9.0/bin"
344 Once started, <command>pg_upgrade</> will verify the two clusters are compatible
345 and then do the upgrade. You can use <command>pg_upgrade --check</>
346 to perform only the checks, even if the old server is still
347 running. <command>pg_upgrade --check</> will also outline any
348 manual adjustments you will need to make after the upgrade.
349 <command>pg_upgrade</> requires write permission in the current directory.
353 Obviously, no one should be accessing the clusters during the
354 upgrade. <application>pg_upgrade</> defaults to running servers
355 on port 50432 to avoid unintended client connections.
356 You can use the same port numbers for both clusters because the
357 old and new clusters will not be running at the same time.
361 If an error occurs while restoring the database schema, <command>pg_upgrade</> will
362 exit and you will have to revert to the old cluster as outlined in <xref linkend="pgupgrade-step-revert">
363 below. To try <command>pg_upgrade</command> again, you will need to modify the old
364 cluster so the pg_upgrade schema restore succeeds. If the problem is a
365 contrib module, you might need to uninstall the contrib module from
366 the old cluster and install it in the new cluster after the upgrade,
367 assuming the module is not being used to store user data.
372 <title>Restore <filename>pg_hba.conf</></title>
375 If you modified <filename>pg_hba.conf</> to use <literal>trust</>,
376 restore its original authentication settings.
381 <title>Post-Upgrade processing</title>
384 If any post-upgrade processing is required, pg_upgrade will issue
385 warnings as it completes. It will also generate script files that must
386 be run by the administrator. The script files will connect to each
387 database that needs post-upgrade processing. Each script should be
391 psql --username postgres --file script.sql postgres
394 The scripts can be run in any order and can be deleted once they have
400 In general it is unsafe to access tables referenced in rebuild scripts
401 until the rebuild scripts have run to completion; doing so could yield
402 incorrect results or poor performance. Tables not referenced in rebuild
403 scripts can be accessed immediately.
409 <title>Statistics</title>
412 Because optimizer statistics are not transferred by <command>pg_upgrade</>, you will
413 be instructed to run a command to regenerate that information at the end
419 <title>Delete old cluster</title>
422 Once you are satisfied with the upgrade, you can delete the old
423 cluster's data directories by running the script mentioned when
424 <command>pg_upgrade</command> completes. You can also delete the
425 old installation directories
426 (e.g. <filename>bin</>, <filename>share</>).
430 <step id="pgupgrade-step-revert" performance="optional">
431 <title>Reverting to old cluster</title>
434 If, after running <command>pg_upgrade</command>, you wish to revert to the old cluster,
435 there are several options:
440 If you ran <command>pg_upgrade</command>
441 with <option>--check</>, no modifications were made to the old
442 cluster and you can re-use it anytime.
448 If you ran <command>pg_upgrade</command>
449 with <option>--link</>, the data files are shared between the
450 old and new cluster. If you started the new cluster, the new
451 server has written to those shared files and it is unsafe to
458 If you ran <command>pg_upgrade</command> <emphasis>without</>
459 <option>--link</> or did not start the new server, the
460 old cluster was not modified except that, if linking
461 started, a <literal>.old</> suffix was appended to
462 <filename>$PGDATA/global/pg_control</>. To reuse the old
463 cluster, possibly remove the <filename>.old</> suffix from
464 <filename>$PGDATA/global/pg_control</>; you can then restart the
476 <title>Limitations in Upgrading <emphasis>from</> PostgreSQL 8.3</title>
479 Upgrading from PostgreSQL 8.3 has additional restrictions not present
480 when upgrading from later PostgreSQL releases. For example,
481 pg_upgrade will not work for upgrading from 8.3 if a user column
486 a <type>tsquery</> data type
491 data type <type>name</> and is not the first column
498 You must drop any such columns and upgrade them manually.
502 pg_upgrade will not work if the <filename>ltree</>
503 contrib module is installed in a database.
507 pg_upgrade will require a table rebuild if:
511 a user column is of data type <type>tsvector</type>
518 pg_upgrade will require a reindex if:
522 an index is of type hash or GIN
527 an index uses <function>bpchar_pattern_ops</>
534 Also, the default datetime storage format changed to integer after
535 <productname>PostgreSQL</> 8.3. pg_upgrade will check that the datetime storage format
536 used by the old and new clusters match. Make sure your new cluster is
537 built with the configure flag <option>--disable-integer-datetimes</>.
541 For Windows users, note that due to different integer datetimes settings
542 used by the one-click installer and the MSI installer, it is only
543 possible to upgrade from version 8.3 of the one-click distribution to
544 version 8.4 or later of the one-click distribution. It is not
545 possible to upgrade from the MSI installer to the one-click installer.
554 <application>pg_upgrade</> does not support upgrading of databases
555 containing these <type>reg*</> OID-referencing system data types:
556 <type>regproc</>, <type>regprocedure</>, <type>regoper</>,
557 <type>regoperator</>, <type>regconfig</>, and
558 <type>regdictionary</>. (<type>regtype</> can be upgraded.)
562 All failure, rebuild, and reindex cases will be reported by
563 <application>pg_upgrade</> if they affect your installation;
564 post-upgrade scripts to rebuild tables and indexes will be
565 generated automatically.
569 For deployment testing, create a schema-only copy of the old cluster,
570 insert dummy data, and upgrade that.
574 If you are upgrading a pre-<productname>PostgreSQL</> 9.2 cluster
575 that uses a configuration-file-only directory, you must pass the
576 real data directory location to <application>pg_upgrade</>, and
577 pass the configuration directory location to the server, e.g.
578 <literal>-d /real-data-directory -o '-D /configuration-directory'</>.
582 If you want to use link mode and you do not want your old cluster
583 to be modified when the new cluster is started, make a copy of the
584 old cluster and upgrade that in link mode. To make a valid copy
585 of the old cluster, use <command>rsync</> to create a dirty
586 copy of the old cluster while the server is running, then shut down
587 the old server and run <command>rsync</> again to update the copy with any
588 changes to make it consistent.