Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) for PostgreSQL
- Last updated: Fri Feb 23 14:06:15 EST 2007
+ Last updated: Tue Mar 20 13:43:40 EDT 2007
Current maintainer: Bruce Momjian (bruce@momjian.us)
3.6) What is the upgrade process for PostgreSQL?
- PostgreSQL major releases include new features and occur roughly once
- every year. A major release is numbered by increasing either the first
- or second part of the version number, e.g. 8.1 to 8.2.
-
- Major releases usually change the internal format of system tables and
- data files. These changes are often complex, so we don't maintain
- backward compatibility for data files. A dump/reload of the database
- is required for major upgrades.
-
- Minor releases are numbered by increasing the third part of the
- version number, e.g. 8.1.5 to 8.1.6. The PostgreSQL team only adds bug
- fixes to minor releases. All users should upgrade to the most recent
- minor release as soon as possible. While upgrades always have some
- risk, PostgreSQL minor releases fix only frequently-encountered,
- security, and data corruption bugs to reduce the risk of upgrading.
- The community considers not upgrading riskier than upgrading.
- `
-
- Upgrading to a minor release does not does not require a dump and
- restore; merely stop the database server, install the updated
- binaries, and restart the server.
-
- 3.7) What computer hardware should I use?
-
- Because PC hardware is mostly compatible, people tend to believe that
- all PC hardware is of equal quality. It is not. ECC RAM, SCSI, and
- quality motherboards are more reliable and have better performance
- than less expensive hardware. PostgreSQL will run on almost any
- hardware, but if reliability and performance are important it is wise
- to research your hardware options thoroughly. Our email lists can be
- used to discuss hardware options and tradeoffs.
+ See http://www.postgresql.org/support/versioning.
_________________________________________________________________
Operational Questions
alink="#0000ff">
<H1>Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) for PostgreSQL</H1>
- <P>Last updated: Fri Feb 23 14:06:15 EST 2007</P>
+ <P>Last updated: Tue Mar 20 13:43:40 EDT 2007</P>
<P>Current maintainer: Bruce Momjian (<A href=
"mailto:bruce@momjian.us">bruce@momjian.us</A>)
<H3 id="item3.6">3.6) What is the upgrade process for PostgreSQL?</H3>
- <P>PostgreSQL major releases include new features and occur roughly
- once every year. A major release is numbered by increasing either
- the first or second part of the version number, e.g. 8.1 to 8.2.
-
- <P>Major releases usually change the internal format of system tables
- and data files. These changes are often complex, so we don't maintain
- backward compatibility for data files. A dump/reload of the database
- is required for major upgrades.</P>
-
- <P>Minor releases are numbered by increasing the third part of the
- version number, e.g. 8.1.5 to 8.1.6. The PostgreSQL team only adds
- bug fixes to minor releases. All users should upgrade to the most
- recent minor release as soon as possible. While upgrades always have
- some risk, PostgreSQL minor releases fix only frequently-encountered,
- security, and data corruption bugs to reduce the risk of upgrading.
- The community considers <i>not</i> upgrading riskier than
- upgrading.</P>
-`
- <P>Upgrading to a minor release does not does not require a dump and
- restore; merely stop the database server, install the updated binaries,
- and restart the server.</P>
-
- <H3 id="item3.7">3.7) What computer hardware should I use?</H3>
-
- <P>Because PC hardware is mostly compatible, people tend to believe that
- all PC hardware is of equal quality. It is not. ECC RAM, SCSI, and
- quality motherboards are more reliable and have better performance than
- less expensive hardware. PostgreSQL will run on almost any hardware,
- but if reliability and performance are important it is wise to
- research your hardware options thoroughly. Our email lists can be used
- to discuss hardware options and tradeoffs.</P>
+ <P>See <a
+ href="http://www.postgresql.org/support/versioning">http://www.postgresql.org/support/versioning</a>.
+ </P>
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