Re: From a real novice

At 10:14 AM 3/24/2003 -0800, Josh Berkus wrote:
>Tamir,
>
> > I've just been abandoned by my FreeBSD/PostgreSQL administrator just as we
> > were setting things up for our test server. I hope if I provide as much of
> > the specs as I can get my hands on, someone on the list will be able to
> > help me with my problem.
>
> From the rest of the description of your problem, you really need the
>assistance of a BSD admin at least. That person can get help for the
>postgres-specific problems on this list or elsewhere, but assisting you with
>both Postgresql and with BSD is probably beyond the capability of any mailing
>list. Further, if you are new to both, you are likely to damage something
>(most likely system security) in poking around to learn what's what. And
>this sounds like it's supposed to be a production test system.

True this. Tamir, I'd suggest you bite the bullet and contract a pro.

>If you have plenty of time, buy a book on BSD admin, and learn BSD before you
>try to learn Postgres on BSD. Make sense?
>
> > Although pgsql seems to be installed, I do not know why pgsql isn't running
> > or starting at the time the system comes up. It doesn't show up in the TOP
> > list.
>
>This would require a startup script wherever BSD keeps startup
>scripts. I'm a
>Linux user, so I can't give you pointers on this one. Suffice it to say that
>startup scripts are *not* part of the PostgreSQL install.

Tamir, when installed via ports, a startup script that needs minimal
editing will be placed in /usr/local/etc/rc.d

> > 3. I assume I can ensure I have the most recent installation support by
> > doing a cvsup but I really only want to get my hands on the most recent
> > pgsql for FreeBSD. How is this possible?
>
>If you are a newbie, you should not be messing with Postgres-CVS. Stick to a
>stable version instead, which is downloadable from the Postgres web site.

Josh, FreeBSD cvsup has nothing to do with CVS software. It has to do
with upgrading the OS and/or applications. The name is misleading.

Tamir, You can write a supfile that will only upgrade certain ports.

> > 4. We did minimal work on the previous version and I don't need to save any
> > of the data or configuration information as it may exist in various
> > configuration files throughout my FreeBSD system. How can I ensure that
> > I've removed all of these before I do my new installation?
>
>They will all be in the $PGDATA directory, database and config files both.
>
> > At a time like this I can not describe how grateful I would be for
> > someone's detailed and very patient assistance. I am truly a novice. If
> > this request belongs in a different group, then please do instruct me as to
> > which one.
>
>As I said above, I think you need a consultant.
>
>--
>Josh Berkus
>Aglio Database Solutions
>San Francisco
>
>
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