Installing PostgreSQL 9.1 on CentOS 5/6 and RHEL 5/6

PostgreSQL is a open source object-relational, highly scalable, SQL compliant database management system. This article will help you for installing PostgreSQL 9.1 on CentOS 5/6 and RHEL 5/6.

Step 1: Add PostgreSQL Yum Repository

First step is to install postgres repository in your system, Use one of below commands as per your system architecture and operating system.

CentOS/RHEL 5, 32-Bit:
#  rpm -Uvh http://yum.postgresql.org/9.1/redhat/rhel-5-i386/pgdg-centos91-9.1-4.noarch.rpm

CentOS/RHEL 6, 32-Bit:
#  rpm -Uvh http://yum.postgresql.org/9.1/redhat/rhel-6-i386/pgdg-centos91-9.1-4.noarch.rpm

CentOS/RHEL 5, 64-Bit:
#  rpm -Uvh http://yum.postgresql.org/9.1/redhat/rhel-5.0-x86_64//pgdg-centos91-9.1-4.noarch.rpm

CentOS/RHEL 6, 64-Bit:
#  rpm -Uvh http://yum.postgresql.org/9.1/redhat/rhel-6.3-x86_64/pgdg-centos91-9.1-4.noarch.rpm

Step 2: Install PostgreSQL Server 9.1 using Yum.

Below command will install PostgreSQL 9.1 on your system.

# yum install postgresql91-server

Sample Output

Loaded plugins: fastestmirror, refresh-packagekit, security
Loading mirror speeds from cached hostfile
 * base: ftp.iitm.ac.in
 * epel: mirror.yourconnect.com
 * extras: ftp.iitm.ac.in
 * updates: ftp.iitm.ac.in
Setting up Install Process
Resolving Dependencies
--> Running transaction check
---> Package postgresql91-server.i686 0:9.1.9-1PGDG.rhel6 will be installed
--> Processing Dependency: postgresql91 = 9.1.9-1PGDG.rhel6 for package: postgresql91-server-9.1.9-1PGDG.rhel6.i686
--> Processing Dependency: libpq.so.5 for package: postgresql91-server-9.1.9-1PGDG.rhel6.i686
--> Running transaction check
---> Package postgresql91.i686 0:9.1.9-1PGDG.rhel6 will be installed
---> Package postgresql91-libs.i686 0:9.1.9-1PGDG.rhel6 will be installed
--> Finished Dependency Resolution

Dependencies Resolved

====================================================================================================
 Package                       Arch           Version                        Repository        Size
====================================================================================================
Installing:
 postgresql91-server           i686           9.1.9-1PGDG.rhel6              pgdg91           3.6 M
Installing for dependencies:
 postgresql91                  i686           9.1.9-1PGDG.rhel6              pgdg91           973 k
 postgresql91-libs             i686           9.1.9-1PGDG.rhel6              pgdg91           192 k

Transaction Summary
====================================================================================================
Install       3 Package(s)

Total download size: 4.7 M
Installed size: 20 M
Is this ok [y/N]: y
Downloading Packages:
(1/3): postgresql91-9.1.9-1PGDG.rhel6.i686.rpm                               | 973 kB     00:02
(2/3): postgresql91-libs-9.1.9-1PGDG.rhel6.i686.rpm                          | 192 kB     00:02
(3/3): postgresql91-server-9.1.9-1PGDG.rhel6.i686.rpm                        | 3.6 MB     00:07
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total                                                               321 kB/s | 4.7 MB     00:15
Running rpm_check_debug
Running Transaction Test
Transaction Test Succeeded
Running Transaction
Warning: RPMDB altered outside of yum.
  Installing : postgresql91-libs-9.1.9-1PGDG.rhel6.i686                                         1/3
  Installing : postgresql91-9.1.9-1PGDG.rhel6.i686                                              2/3
  Installing : postgresql91-server-9.1.9-1PGDG.rhel6.i686                                       3/3

Installed:
  postgresql91-server.i686 0:9.1.9-1PGDG.rhel6

Dependency Installed:
  postgresql91.i686 0:9.1.9-1PGDG.rhel6          postgresql91-libs.i686 0:9.1.9-1PGDG.rhel6

Complete!

Step 3: Initialize PGDATA first time after Installation

After installing PosgreSQL server, Its required to initialize it before using first time. To initialize database use below command.

# /etc/init.d/postgresql-9.1 initdb

Above command will take some time to initialize postgres first time. PGDATA environment variable contains path of data directory.

PostgreSQL data directory Path

/var/lib/pgsql/9.1/data/

Older version ( PostgreSQL 7 or 8 ) uses below path by default for data directory.

/var/lib/pgsql/data/

Step 4: Start PostgreSQL Server

Start postgresql service using following command.

# service postgresql-9.1 start

Setup PostgreSQL service to auto start on system boot.

# chkconfig postgresql-9.1 on

Step 5: Access PostgreSQL admin command prompt.

To access postgres as admin user, first switch to postgres system account.

# su - postgres

Use psql command to access postgres prompt with admin priviledges.

$ psql

Sample output:

psql (9.1.9)
Type "help" for help.

postgres=#

Read below article to to how to install phpPgAdmin.

>> How to Install phpPgAdmin on CentOS using Yum

Thanks for using this tutorial for installting PostgreSQL 9.1 on CentOS 5/6 and RHEL 5/6 systems.