pgupgrade.sgml

<!-- doc/src/sgml/pgupgrade.sgml -->

<refentry id="pgupgrade">
 <refmeta>
  <refentrytitle><application>pg_upgrade</application></refentrytitle>
  <manvolnum>1</manvolnum>
  <refmiscinfo>Application</refmiscinfo>
 </refmeta>

 <refnamediv>
  <refname>pg_upgrade</refname>
  <refpurpose>upgrade a <productname>PostgreSQL</productname> server instance</refpurpose>
 </refnamediv>

 <indexterm zone="pgupgrade">
  <primary>pg_upgrade</primary>
 </indexterm>

 <refsynopsisdiv>
  <cmdsynopsis>
   <command>pg_upgrade</command>
   <arg choice="plain"><option>-b</option></arg>
   <arg choice="plain"><replaceable>oldbindir</replaceable></arg>
   <arg choice="plain"><option>-B</option></arg>
   <arg choice="plain"><replaceable>newbindir</replaceable></arg>
   <arg choice="plain"><option>-d</option></arg>
   <arg choice="plain"><replaceable>olddatadir</replaceable></arg>
   <arg choice="plain"><option>-D</option></arg>
   <arg choice="plain"><replaceable>newdatadir</replaceable></arg>
   <arg rep="repeat"><replaceable>option</replaceable></arg>
  </cmdsynopsis>
 </refsynopsisdiv>

 <refsect1>
  <title>Description</title>

 <para>
  <application>pg_upgrade</> (formerly called <application>pg_migrator</>) allows data
  stored in <productname>PostgreSQL</> data files to be upgraded to a later <productname>PostgreSQL</>
  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 <productname>PostgreSQL</>.  It is not required for minor version upgrades, e.g. from
  9.0.1 to 9.0.4.
 </para>

 <para>
  Major PostgreSQL releases regularly add new features that often
  change the layout of the system tables, but the internal data storage
  format rarely changes.  <application>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, <application>pg_upgrade</> will not be usable
  for such upgrades.  (The community will attempt to avoid such
  situations.)
 </para>

 <para>
  <application>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 <application>pg_upgrade</>.
 </para>

  <para>
   pg_upgrade supports upgrades from 8.3.X and later to the current
   major release of <productname>PostgreSQL</>, including snapshot and alpha releases.
  </para>
 </refsect1>

 <refsect1>
  <title>Options</title>

   <para>
    <application>pg_upgrade</application> accepts the following command-line arguments:

    <variablelist>

     <varlistentry>
      <term><option>-b</option> <replaceable>bindir</></term>
      <term><option>--old-bindir=</option><replaceable>bindir</></term>
      <listitem><para>the old PostgreSQL executable directory;
      environment variable <envar>PGBINOLD</></para></listitem>
     </varlistentry>

     <varlistentry>
      <term><option>-B</option> <replaceable>bindir</></term>
      <term><option>--new-bindir=</option><replaceable>bindir</></term>
      <listitem><para>the new PostgreSQL executable directory;
      environment variable <envar>PGBINNEW</></para></listitem>
     </varlistentry>

     <varlistentry>
      <term><option>-c</option></term>
      <term><option>--check</option></term>
      <listitem><para>check clusters only, don't change any data</para></listitem>
     </varlistentry>

     <varlistentry>
      <term><option>-d</option> <replaceable>datadir</></term>
      <term><option>--old-datadir=</option><replaceable>datadir</></term>
      <listitem><para>the old cluster data directory; environment
      variable <envar>PGDATAOLD</></para></listitem>
     </varlistentry>

     <varlistentry>
      <term><option>-D</option> <replaceable>datadir</></term>
      <term><option>--new-datadir=</option><replaceable>datadir</></term>
      <listitem><para>the new cluster data directory; environment
      variable <envar>PGDATANEW</></para></listitem>
     </varlistentry>

     <varlistentry>
      <term><option>-j</option></term>
      <term><option>--jobs</option></term>
      <listitem><para>number of simultaneous processes or threads to use
      </para></listitem>
     </varlistentry>

     <varlistentry>
      <term><option>-k</option></term>
      <term><option>--link</option></term>
      <listitem><para>use hard links instead of copying files to the new cluster</para></listitem>
     </varlistentry>

     <varlistentry>
      <term><option>-o</option> <replaceable class="parameter">options</replaceable></term>
      <term><option>--old-options</option> <replaceable class="parameter">options</replaceable></term>
      <listitem><para>options to be passed directly to the
      old <command>postgres</command> command</para></listitem>
     </varlistentry>

     <varlistentry>
      <term><option>-O</option> <replaceable class="parameter">options</replaceable></term>
      <term><option>--new-options</option> <replaceable class="parameter">options</replaceable></term>
      <listitem><para>options to be passed directly to the
      new <command>postgres</command> command</para></listitem>
     </varlistentry>

     <varlistentry>
      <term><option>-p</option> <replaceable>port</></term>
      <term><option>--old-port=</option><replaceable>port</></term>
      <listitem><para>the old cluster port number; environment
      variable <envar>PGPORTOLD</></para></listitem>
     </varlistentry>

     <varlistentry>
      <term><option>-P</option> <replaceable>port</></term>
      <term><option>--new-port=</option><replaceable>port</></term>
      <listitem><para>the new cluster port number; environment
      variable <envar>PGPORTNEW</></para></listitem>
     </varlistentry>

     <varlistentry>
      <term><option>-r</option></term>
      <term><option>--retain</option></term>
      <listitem><para>retain SQL and log files even after successful completion
      </para></listitem>
     </varlistentry>

     <varlistentry>
      <term><option>-U</option> <replaceable>username</></term>
      <term><option>--username=</option><replaceable>username</></term>
      <listitem><para>cluster's super user name; environment
      variable <envar>PGUSER</></para></listitem>
     </varlistentry>

     <varlistentry>
      <term><option>-v</option></term>
      <term><option>--verbose</option></term>
      <listitem><para>enable verbose internal logging</para></listitem>
     </varlistentry>

     <varlistentry>
      <term><option>-V</option></term>
      <term><option>--version</option></term>
      <listitem><para>display version information, then exit</para></listitem>
     </varlistentry>

     <varlistentry>
      <term><option>-?</option></term>
      <term><option>--help</option></term>
      <listitem><para>show help, then exit</para></listitem>
     </varlistentry>

    </variablelist>
   </para>

 </refsect1>

 <refsect1>
  <title>Usage</title>

  <para>
   These are the steps to perform an upgrade
   with <application>pg_upgrade</application>:
  </para>

  <procedure>
   <step performance="optional">
    <title>Optionally move the old cluster</title>

    <para>
     If you are using a version-specific installation directory, e.g.
     <filename>/opt/PostgreSQL/9.1</>, you do not need to move the old cluster. The
     graphical installers all use version-specific installation directories.
    </para>

    <para>
     If your installation directory is not version-specific, e.g.
     <filename>/usr/local/pgsql</>, it is necessary to move the current PostgreSQL install
     directory so it does not interfere with the new <productname>PostgreSQL</> installation.
     Once the current <productname>PostgreSQL</> server is shut down, it is safe to rename the
     PostgreSQL installation directory; assuming the old directory is
     <filename>/usr/local/pgsql</>, you can do:

<programlisting>
mv /usr/local/pgsql /usr/local/pgsql.old
</programlisting>
     to rename the directory.
    </para>
   </step>

   <step>
    <title>For source installs, build the new version</title>

    <para>
     Build the new PostgreSQL source with <command>configure</> flags that are compatible
     with the old cluster. <application>pg_upgrade</> will check <command>pg_controldata</> to make
     sure all settings are compatible before starting the upgrade.
    </para>
   </step>

   <step>
    <title>Install the new PostgreSQL binaries</title>

    <para>
     Install the new server's binaries and support files.
    </para>

    <para>
     For source installs, if you wish to install the new server in a custom
     location, use the <literal>prefix</literal> variable:

<programlisting>
gmake prefix=/usr/local/pgsql.new install
</programlisting></para>
   </step>

   <step>
    <title>Install pg_upgrade and pg_upgrade_support</title>

    <para>
     Install the <application>pg_upgrade</> binary and
     <application>pg_upgrade_support</> library in the new PostgreSQL
     installation.
    </para>
   </step>

   <step>
    <title>Initialize the new PostgreSQL cluster</title>

    <para>
     Initialize the new cluster using <command>initdb</command>.
     Again, use compatible <command>initdb</command>
     flags that match the old cluster. Many
     prebuilt installers do this step automatically. There is no need to
     start the new cluster.
    </para>
   </step>

   <step>
    <title>Install custom shared object files</title>

    <para>
     Install any custom shared object files (or DLLs) used by the old cluster
     into the new cluster, e.g. <filename>pgcrypto.so</filename>,
     whether they are from <filename>contrib</filename>
     or some other source. Do not install the schema definitions, e.g.
     <filename>pgcrypto.sql</>, because these will be upgraded from the old cluster.
    </para>
   </step>

   <step>
    <title>Adjust authentication</title>

    <para>
     <command>pg_upgrade</> will connect to the old and new servers several times,
     so you might want to set authentication to <literal>trust</>
     or <literal>peer</> in <filename>pg_hba.conf</>, or if using
     <literal>md5</> authentication, use a <filename>~/.pgpass</> file
     (see <xref linkend="libpq-pgpass">).
    </para>
   </step>

   <step>
    <title>Stop both servers</title>

    <para>
     Make sure both database servers are stopped using, on Unix, e.g.:

<programlisting>
pg_ctl -D /opt/PostgreSQL/8.4 stop
pg_ctl -D /opt/PostgreSQL/9.0 stop
</programlisting>

     or on Windows, using the proper service names:

<programlisting>
NET STOP postgresql-8.4
NET STOP postgresql-9.0
</programlisting>

     or

<programlisting>
NET STOP pgsql-8.3  (<productname>PostgreSQL</> 8.3 and older used a different service name)
</programlisting></para>
   </step>

   <step>
    <title>Run <application>pg_upgrade</></title>

    <para>
     Always run the <application>pg_upgrade</> binary of the new server, not the old one.
     <application>pg_upgrade</> requires the specification of the old and new cluster's
     data and executable (<filename>bin</>) directories. You can also specify
     user and port values, and whether you want the data linked instead of
     copied (the default).
    </para>

    <para>
     If you use link mode, the upgrade will be much faster (no file
     copying), 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 <filename>pg_xlog</> can be on
     different file systems.)  See <literal>pg_upgrade --help</> for a full
     list of options.
    </para>

    <para>
     The <option>--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.
    </para>

    <para>
     For Windows users, you must be logged into an administrative account, and
     then start a shell as the <literal>postgres</> user and set the proper path:

<programlisting>
RUNAS /USER:postgres "CMD.EXE"
SET PATH=%PATH%;C:\Program Files\PostgreSQL\9.0\bin;
</programlisting>

     and then run <application>pg_upgrade</> with quoted directories, e.g.:

<programlisting>
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"
</programlisting>

     Once started, <command>pg_upgrade</> will verify the two clusters are compatible
     and then do the upgrade. You can use <command>pg_upgrade --check</>
     to perform only the checks, even if the old server is still
     running. <command>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 <option>--link</>
     option with <option>--check</option> to enable link-mode-specific checks.
     <command>pg_upgrade</> requires write permission in the current directory.
    </para>

    <para>
     Obviously, no one should be accessing the clusters during the
     upgrade.  <application>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.
    </para>

    <para>
     If an error occurs while restoring the database schema, <command>pg_upgrade</> will
     exit and you will have to revert to the old cluster as outlined in <xref linkend="pgupgrade-step-revert">
     below. To try <command>pg_upgrade</command> again, you will need to modify the old
     cluster so the pg_upgrade schema restore succeeds. If the problem is a
     contrib module, you might need to uninstall the contrib 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.
    </para>
   </step>

   <step>
    <title>Restore <filename>pg_hba.conf</></title>

    <para>
     If you modified <filename>pg_hba.conf</> to use <literal>trust</>,
     restore its original authentication settings.  It might also be
     necessary to adjust other configurations files in the new cluster to
     match the old cluster, e.g. <filename>postgresql.conf</>.
    </para>
   </step>

   <step>
    <title>Post-Upgrade processing</title>

    <para>
     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:

<programlisting>
psql --username postgres --file script.sql postgres
</programlisting>

     The scripts can be run in any order and can be deleted once they have
     been run.
    </para>

    <caution>
    <para>
     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.
    </para>
    </caution>
   </step>

   <step>
    <title>Statistics</title>

    <para>
     Because optimizer statistics are not transferred by <command>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.
    </para>
   </step>

   <step>
    <title>Delete old cluster</title>

    <para>
     Once you are satisfied with the upgrade, you can delete the old
     cluster's data directories by running the script mentioned when
     <command>pg_upgrade</command> completes. You can also delete the
     old installation directories
     (e.g. <filename>bin</>, <filename>share</>).
    </para>
   </step>

   <step id="pgupgrade-step-revert" performance="optional">
    <title>Reverting to old cluster</title>

    <para>
     If, after running <command>pg_upgrade</command>, you wish to revert to the old cluster,
     there are several options:

     <itemizedlist>
      <listitem>
       <para>
        If you ran <command>pg_upgrade</command>
        with <option>--check</>, no modifications were made to the old
        cluster and you can re-use it anytime.
       </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
       <para>
        If you ran <command>pg_upgrade</command>
        with <option>--link</>, the data files are shared between the
        old and new cluster. If you started the new cluster, the new
        server has written to those shared files and it is unsafe to
        use the old cluster.
       </para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
       <para>
        If you ran <command>pg_upgrade</command> <emphasis>without</>
        <option>--link</> or did not start the new server, the
        old cluster was not modified except that, if linking
        started, a <literal>.old</> suffix was appended to
        <filename>$PGDATA/global/pg_control</>.  To reuse the old
        cluster, possibly remove the <filename>.old</> suffix from
        <filename>$PGDATA/global/pg_control</>; you can then restart the
        old cluster.
       </para>
      </listitem>
     </itemizedlist>
    </para>
   </step>
  </procedure>

 </refsect1>

 <refsect1>
  <title>Notes</title>

  <para>
   <application>pg_upgrade</> does not support upgrading of databases
   containing these <type>reg*</> OID-referencing system data types:
   <type>regproc</>, <type>regprocedure</>, <type>regoper</>,
   <type>regoperator</>, <type>regconfig</>, and
   <type>regdictionary</>.  (<type>regtype</> can be upgraded.)
  </para>

  <para>
   All failure, rebuild, and reindex cases will be reported by
   <application>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.
  </para>

  <para>
   For deployment testing, create a schema-only copy of the old cluster,
   insert dummy data, and upgrade that.
  </para>

  <para>
   If you are upgrading a pre-<productname>PostgreSQL</> 9.2 cluster
   that uses a configuration-file-only directory, you must pass the
   real data directory location to <application>pg_upgrade</>, and
   pass the configuration directory location to the server, e.g.
   <literal>-d /real-data-directory -o '-D /configuration-directory'</>.
  </para>

  <para>
   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 <envar>PGHOST</> to point to the old server's socket
   location.  (This is not relevant on Windows.)
  </para>

  <para>
   A Log-Shipping Standby Server (<xref linkend="warm-standby">) cannot
   be upgraded because the server must allow writes.  The simplest way
   is to upgrade the primary and use <command>rsync</> to rebuild the
   standbys.  You can run <command>rsync</> while the primary is down,
   or as part of a base backup (<xref linkend="backup-base-backup">)
   which overwrites the old standby cluster.
  </para>

  <para>
   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 <command>rsync</> to create a dirty
   copy of the old cluster while the server is running, then shut down
   the old server and run <command>rsync</> again to update the copy with any
   changes to make it consistent.  You might want to exclude some
   files, e.g. <filename>postmaster.pid</>, as documented in <xref
   linkend="backup-lowlevel-base-backup">.
  </para>

 <refsect2>
  <title>Limitations in Upgrading from PostgreSQL 8.3</title>

  <para>
   Upgrading <emphasis>from</emphasis> PostgreSQL 8.3 has additional restrictions not present
   when upgrading from later PostgreSQL releases.  For example,
   pg_upgrade will not work for upgrading from 8.3 if a user column
   is defined as:
   <itemizedlist>
    <listitem>
     <para>
      a <type>tsquery</> data type
     </para>
    </listitem>
    <listitem>
     <para>
      data type <type>name</> and is not the first column
     </para>
    </listitem>
   </itemizedlist>
  </para>

  <para>
   You must drop any such columns and upgrade them manually.
  </para>

  <para>
   pg_upgrade will not work if the <filename>ltree</>
   contrib module is installed in a database.
  </para>

  <para>
   pg_upgrade will require a table rebuild if:
   <itemizedlist>
    <listitem>
     <para>
      a user column is of data type <type>tsvector</type>
     </para>
    </listitem>
   </itemizedlist>
  </para>

  <para>
   pg_upgrade will require a reindex if:
   <itemizedlist>
    <listitem>
     <para>
      an index is of type hash or GIN
     </para>
    </listitem>
    <listitem>
     <para>
      an index uses <function>bpchar_pattern_ops</>
     </para>
    </listitem>
   </itemizedlist>
  </para>

  <para>
   Also, the default datetime storage format changed to integer after
   <productname>PostgreSQL</> 8.3. pg_upgrade will check that the datetime storage format
   used by the old and new clusters match. Make sure your new cluster is
   built with the configure flag <option>--disable-integer-datetimes</>.
  </para>

  <para>
   For Windows users, note that due to different integer datetimes settings
   used by the graphical installer and the MSI installer, it is only
   possible to upgrade from version 8.3 of the installer distribution to
   version 8.4 or later of the installer distribution. It is not
   possible to upgrade from the MSI installer to the new graphical installer.
  </para>

 </refsect2>

 </refsect1>

 <refsect1>
  <title>See Also</title>

  <simplelist type="inline">
   <member><xref linkend="app-initdb"></member>
   <member><xref linkend="app-pg-ctl"></member>
   <member><xref linkend="app-pgdump"></member>
   <member><xref linkend="app-postgres"></member>
  </simplelist>
 </refsect1>
</refentry>