PostgreSQL Administration

Introduction To PostgreSQL Administration

The following article provides an outline for PostgreSQL Administration. PostgreSQL is a relational database management system. It is an open-source software tool, used for managing database systems. It has the capability to recover quickly from difficulties and has good uprightness. Be it on web or analytics applications, or mobile applications, with PostgreSQL, it became very easy for a database administrator, to store data and maintaining databases and data warehouses.

Activities Of PostgreSQL Administration

PostgreSQL Administration does most of the activities as an administrator while working on the database server. Starting from managing database, managing schemas, managing tablespaces, setting up roles & privileges, and backup & restore databases. Apart from that, there are various activities involved while working on a database.

1. Managing Databases

This section is mainly focused on creating a database, making some modifications to an existing database, and deleting the database.

• Create a Database: We need to use CREATE DATABASE command to create a new database.
• Alter Database: By using ALTER DATABASE command, we can easily make some modifications to an existing database.
• Rename Database: We will require this if we want to change the name of a database.
• Drop Database: By using the DROP DATABASE command, we can permanently remove a database.
• Copy a Database: We can use this if we want to copy a database from a server to another, or within a database server.
• Get Database Object Sizes: There are various functions, with which we can easily access the size of a table, indexes, or database.

2. Managing Schemas

In a relational database, if we implement some logical configuration, then schemas makes the representation of that. It has some search paths which work in PostgreSQL.

• Create Schema: With the help of this, we can create a new schema in a database.
• Alter Schema: If we want to change the owner of a schema or if we want to rename a schema, then we will use this.
• Drop schema: In a database, if we want to delete one or more than one schemas along with their objects, then we will use this.

3. Managing Tablespaces

While working with large tables, if we want to improve the performance of the database, then we will use tablespaces. It gives control, that how the data doing to be stored in the database.

• Creating Tablespaces: With the help of CREATE TABLESPACE command, we can create tablespaces.
• Changing Tablespaces: We will use ALTER TABLESPACE command if we want to set the parameter for a specific tablespace. It can also be used to change the owner or to rename tablespace.
• Delete Tablespaces: By using the DROP TABLESPACE command, a tablespace can be deleted.

4. Roles & Privileges

If we want a setup, where we can grant or reject a user from login, we can use roles that represent accounts in PostgreSQL. There are group roles, like roles that contain other roles.

• Create Role: With the help of creating role commands, we can create roles or groups.
• Grant: For a database object, if we want to grant privileges, then we use this.
• Revoke: We use this for a database object if we want to revoke privileges that have been granted already.
• Alter Role: Within a role, if we want to make some modification to the attributes then we use this. It makes it easy to set configuration parameters.
• Drop Role: If we want to drop a role that has dependent objects, then we use the drop role.
• Role Membership: If we want to revoke or grant privileges to multiple roles, and if we want to manage all of them, instead of managing them individually, it’s better to have a group and apply changes to the group as a whole.
• List User Roles: In a PostgreSQL server, if we want a list of all roles, then we need this.

5. Backup & Restore Databases

There are some tools, with which we can backup and restore databases.

• Backup: With the use of ‘pg_dumpall’ & ‘pg_dump’ commands, we can have a backup of a PostgreSQL database.
• Restore: With the use of the ‘pg_restore’ & ‘psql’ command the restoration can be done in PostgreSQL databases.

Conclusion

PostgreSQL is highly scalable, reliable, stable, and secure, thus makes this database most impactful while comparing to other databases. Administrators of PostgreSQL can protect and manage data integrity in a better way. Developers can build object-relational databases that are more robust. For a PostgreSQL Administrator, it becomes easy to create, retrieve or store complex data structure. Because of its most powerful and advanced SQL compliant, it’s going to stay longer in the database technology.

Recommended Articles

This is a guide to PostgreSQL Administration. Here we discuss the introduction to PostgreSQL administration, its various activities involved while working on a database. You can also go through our other suggested articles to learn more –

1. What is PostgreSQL?
2. PostgreSQL Variables
3. How to Install PostgreSQL?
4. PostgreSQL Versions