Re: PostgreSQL Upgrade recommendations

moving to pgsql-admin which is much more appropriate for this type of post

On Monday 09 August 2004 07:03, Andrew Parkyns wrote:
> Hi,
> I've just joined this morning and I wonder if anyone could help? I'd like
> some opinions / war stories / suggestions/ recommendations whatever on
> PostgreSQL upgrades.
>
> We have a PostgreSQL 7.2.1 server on Linux RHL 9 Enterprise / Intel port.
>
> I am quite new to Postgres (my day job is an Oracle DBA) but I am
> experienced in handling critical upgrades etc. on other platforms.
>
> Feedback from the Forum, please, on:
>
> *    I want an up-to-date upgrade version, not too new and unstable.
> Which one? 7.4.x? Wait for 7.5? I don't want to do this too often so I
> would like to space major upgrade intervals by at least 12 months if
> possible.

Well, 7.5 is really 8.0, and probably wont be out for 2-3 more months, so if
you can't wait that long the decision is made for you.  PostgreSQL has been
doing major releases about every 12 months for the last couple years, so
factor that into your decision as well.  You might also want to check out the
developer copy of the 8.0 release notes (in the docs at
developer.postgresql.org) to see if there are any features you might want to
make immediate use of.

> *    Any really pressing reasons to move off 7.2.x ? Nasty bugs not
> patches until later versions?

I am sure there are some, but nothing that will cause total data loss.  Other
reasons might include new features, better performance, and smaller bug
fixes.

> *    3rd party software Incompatibility issues?

You might find some, though given that 7.2 is like 2 years old most software
should have had time to do some type of update by now.  For instance, a
client I did an upgrade for found that 7.4 broke thier version of double
choco latte (time management software) but there were updates to that
software that had never been applied either so in the end it all worked out.

> *    Reasons of performance / functionality?
>

7.3 performed better than 7.2,  and 7.4 performed better than 7.3, and it
looks like 8.0 will out perform 7.4.  And every new versions adds new
functionality, so yes.

--
Robert Treat
Build A Better Lamp :: Linux Apache {middleware} PostgreSQL