How to install PostgreSQL on Windows

====================================

$Date:2002/11/11 20:04:05 $

$Date:2003/11/09 03:47:51 $

1. Install the latest Cygwin package, available at http://cygwin.com/.

The Cygwin package provides a UNIX-like API on top of the Win32

API.

PostgreSQL requires the Cygwin set of libraries to be installed in

order that it functions under Windows.

A pre-built PostgreSQL is part of the standard Cygwin distribution

and is installed by Cygwin's setup.exe. You are encouraged to use

this version unless it does not meet your needs. Please read the

README file, /usr/doc/Cygwin/postgresql-${version}.README, where

"${version}" is the version (e.g., 7.2).

This document assumes that you do not have Cygwin already installed

on your system. If that is not the case, then you will need to

adjust these instructions accordingly.

2. Install the latest cygipc package, available at

http://www.neuro.gatech.edu/users/cwilson/cygutils/V1.1/cygipc/.

Do not use versions prior to 1.04, they will not work.

1. Download and run the Cygwin installer. Visit http://cygwin.com/ and

click on the "Install Cygwin now' link. This will prompt you

to download a "setup.exe". Save this file somewhere on your

system and then execute it.

Use the following command to install the cygipc package:

2. Proceed through the Cygwin install wizard. Choose 'Install from

Internet', specify a Local Package Directory and choose a mirror

site that's close to you. Leave everything else as-is.

$ tar -C / -xjf cygipc-${version}.tar.bz2

When you come to the point of choosing which packages to install,

expand the 'Database' section and click 'Skip' next to PostgreSQL

to change it to the latest version of PostgreSQL available for

Cygwin.

where "${version}" is the version (e.g., 1.11-1).

3. Once the download and install process is complete, open a Cygwin

shell and do the following:

3. The Cygwin bin directory has to be placed in the path before the

Windows program directories, because the sort.exe has to be taken

from Cygwin, not Windows.

3a. Start ipc-daemon2 for shared memory support. Use

"net start ipc-daemon2", if you want ipc-daemon2 installed

as a service; otherwise, use "ipc-daemon2 &". This program

needs to be running anytime you start the PostgreSQL server

(postmaster) or initialize a database (initdb).

4. Start ipc-daemon from the cygipc package. Use "net start ipc-daemon",

if ipc-daemon is installed as a service; otherwise, use "ipc-daemon &".

This program needs to be running anytime you start the PostgreSQL

server (postmaster) or initialize a database (initdb).

3b. Use the initdb command to create a new database cluster. An

example command would be:

5. Proceed according to the INSTALL file (i.e., ./configure; make; etc.)

initdb -D /usr/local/pgsql/data -W -E LATIN1

Which will create a cluster in the /usr/local/pgsql/data

directory, will prompt for a superuser password and will

set the default database encoding to LATIN1.

3c. Start up the postmaster. Use a command similar to the

following:

postmaster -D /usr/local/pgsql/data

This will start the postmaster, and if successful you will

see some initial log entries, and an entry "LOG: database

system is ready".

4. You are now running a PostgreSQL server on your Windows machine.

Building from source

--------------------

There are some points that are only relevant if you are building Cygwin

PostgreSQL from source:

1. Set your path to use the Cygwin bin directory before the Windows

utilities. Cygwin sort must be used in preference to Windows sort.exe.

2. Proceed according to the INSTALL file (i.e., ./configure; make; etc.)

noting the following Cygwin specific differences:

o The GNU make command is called "make" not "gmake".

Alternatively, proceed according to the README file supplied with

the Cygwin PostgreSQL package.

NOTE: The following are known issues with PostgreSQL on Windows:

Known issues

------------

1. Cygwin's AF_UNIX sockets are really implemented as AF_INET sockets

so they are inherently insecure.

2. make check can generate spurious regression test failures due to

2."make check" can generate spurious regression test failures due to

overflowing the listen() backlog queue which causes connection

refused errors.

refused errors or hangs. You can limit the number of connections

using the MAX_CONNECTIONS option thus:

make MAX_CONNECTIONS=5 check

(On some systems you can have up to about 10 simultaneous connections).

Problem reports can be sent to pgsql-cygwin@postgresql.org.