Introduction
PostgreSQL is a powerful, open-source object-relational database system. It runs under all major operating systems, including Linux, UNIX (AIX, BSD, HP-UX, SGI IRIX, Mac OS, Solaris, Tru64), and Windows OS.
Here is what Mark Shuttleworth, the founder of Ubuntu, says about PostgreSQL.
Postgres is a truly awesome database. When we started working on Launchpad I wasn’t sure if it would be up to the job. I was so wrong. It’s been robust, fast, and professional in every regard.
— Mark Shuttleworth.
In this handy tutorial, let us see how to install PostgreSQL 9.4 on Ubuntu 15.10 server.
Install PostgreSQL
PostgreSQL is available in the default repositories. So enter the following command from the Terminal to install it.
sudo apt-get install postgresql postgresql-contrib
If you’re looking for other versions, add the PostgreSQL repository, and install it as shown below.
The PostgreSQL apt repository supports LTS versions of Ubuntu (10.04, 12.04 and 14.04) on amd64 and i386 architectures as well as select non-LTS versions(14.10). While not fully supported, the packages often work on other non-LTS versions as well, by using the closest LTS version available.
On Ubuntu 14.10 systems:
Create the file /etc/apt/sources.list.d/pgdg.list;
sudo vi /etc/apt/sources.list.d/pgdg.list
Add a line for the repository:
deb http://apt.postgresql.org/pub/repos/apt/ utopic-pgdg main
Note: The above repository will only work on Ubuntu 14.10. It is not updated yet to Ubuntu 15.04 and 15.10.
On Ubuntu 14.04, add the following line:
deb http://apt.postgresql.org/pub/repos/apt/ trusty-pgdg main
On Ubuntu 12.04, add the following line:
deb http://apt.postgresql.org/pub/repos/apt/ precise-pgdg main
Import the repository signing key:
wget --quiet -O - https://www.postgresql.org/media/keys/ACCC4CF8.asc
sudo apt-key add -
Update the package lists:
sudo apt-get update
Then install the required version.
sudo apt-get install postgresql-9.4
Accessing PostgreSQL command prompt
The default database name and database user are “postgres”. Switch to postgres user to perform postgresql related operations:
sudo -u postgres psql postgres
Sample Output:
psql (9.4.5) Type "help" for help. postgres=#
To exit from posgresql prompt, type \q in the psql prompt return back to the Terminal.
Set “postgres” user password
Login to postgresql prompt,
sudo -u postgres psql postgres
.. and set postgres password with following command:
postgres=# \password postgres Enter new password: Enter it again: postgres=# \q
To install PostgreSQL Adminpack, enter the command in postgresql prompt:
sudo -u postgres psql postgres
postgres=# CREATE EXTENSION adminpack; CREATE EXTENSION
Type \q in the psql prompt to exit from posgresql prompt, and return back to the Terminal.
Create New User and Database
For example, let us create a new user called “senthil” with password “ubuntu”, and database called “mydb”.
sudo -u postgres createuser -D -A -P senthil
sudo -u postgres createdb -O senthil mydb
Delete Users and Databases
To delete the database, switch to postgres user:
sudo -u postgres psql postgres
Enter command:
$ drop database <database-name>
To delete a user, enter the following command:
$ drop user <user-name>
Configure PostgreSQL-MD5 Authentication
MD5 authentication requires the client to supply an MD5-encrypted password for authentication. To do that, edit /etc/postgresql/9.4/main/pg_hba.conf file:
sudo vi /etc/postgresql/9.4/main/pg_hba.conf
Add or Modify the lines as shown below
[...] # TYPE DATABASE USER ADDRESS METHOD # "local" is for Unix domain socket connections only local all all md5 # IPv4 local connections: host all all 127.0.0.1/32 md5 host all all 192.168.1.0/24 md5 # IPv6 local connections: host all all ::1/128 md5 [...]
Here, 192.168.1.0/24 is my local network IP address. Replace this value with your own address.
Restart postgresql service to apply the changes:
sudo systemctl restart postgresql
Or,
sudo service postgresql restart
Configure PostgreSQL-Configure TCP/IP
By default, TCP/IP connection is disabled, so that the users from another computers can’t access postgresql. To allow to connect users from another computers, Edit file /etc/postgresql/9.4/main/postgresql.conf:
sudo vi /etc/postgresql/9.4/main/postgresql.conf
Find the lines:
[...] #listen_addresses = 'localhost' [...] #port = 5432 [...]
Uncomment both lines, and set the IP address of your postgresql server or set ‘*’ to listen from all clients as shown below. You should be careful to make postgreSQL to be accessible from all remote clients.
[...] listen_addresses = '*' [...] port = 5432 [...]
Restart postgresql service to save changes:
sudo systemctl restart postgresql
Or,
sudo service postgresql restart
Manage PostgreSQL with phpPgAdmin
phpPgAdmin is a web-based administration utility written in PHP for managing PosgreSQL.
phpPgAdmin is available in default repositories. So, Install phpPgAdmin using command:
sudo apt-get install phppgadmin
By default, you can access phppgadmin using http://localhost/phppgadmin from your local system’s web browser.
To access remote systems, do the following.
On Ubuntu 15.10 systems:
Edit file /etc/apache2/conf-available/phppgadmin.conf,
sudo vi /etc/apache2/conf-available/phppgadmin.conf
Find the line Require local and comment it by adding a # in front of the line.
#Require local
And add the following line:
allow from all
Save and exit the file.
Then, restart apache service.
sudo systemctl restart apache2
On Ubuntu 14.10 and previous versions:
Edit file /etc/apache2/conf.d/phppgadmin:
sudo nano /etc/apache2/conf.d/phppgadmin
Comment the following line:
[...] #allow from 127.0.0.0/255.0.0.0 ::1/128
Uncomment the following line to make phppgadmin from all systems.
allow from all
Edit /etc/apache2/apache2.conf:
sudo vi /etc/apache2/apache2.conf
Add the following line:
Include /etc/apache2/conf.d/phppgadmin
Then, restart apache service.
sudo service apache2 restart
Configure phpPgAdmin
Edit file /etc/phppgadmin/config.inc.php, and do the following changes. Most of these options are self-explanatory. Read them carefully to know why do you change these values.
sudo nano /etc/phppgadmin/config.inc.php
Find the following line:
$conf['servers'][0]['host'] = '';
Change it as shown below:
$conf['servers'][0]['host'] = 'localhost';
And find the line:
$conf['extra_login_security'] = true;
Change the value to false.
$conf['extra_login_security'] = false;
Find the line:
$conf['owned_only'] = false;
Set the value as true.
$conf['owned_only'] = true;
Save and close the file. Restart postgresql service and Apache services.
sudo systemctl restart postgresql
sudo systemctl restart apache2
Or,
sudo service postgresql restart
sudo service apache2 restart
Now open your browser and navigate to http://ip-address/phppgadmin. You will see the following screen.
Login with users that you’ve created earlier. I already have created a user called “senthil” with password “ubuntu” before, so I log in with user “senthil”.
Now, you will be able to access the phppgadmin dashboard.
Log in with postgres user:
That’s it. Now you’ll able to create, delete and alter databases graphically using phppgadmin.
Cheers!
