I need help updating my PostgreSQL database that works with my Jira setup. Right now I have PostgreSQL version 8.3 running and I want to move to version 9.0. My server is running SUSE SLES10.3 on a 64-bit architecture.
I have two main questions about this upgrade process:
What specific RPM package should I download and use for my SUSE SLES10.3 64-bit system?
Is there a way to install PostgreSQL 9.0 alongside my current PostgreSQL 8.1 installation so I can test everything before switching over?
I want to make sure I don’t break my existing Jira application during this database upgrade process. Any guidance on the best approach would be really helpful.
Yeah, running PostgreSQL 9.0 with 8.3 is totally doable, but here’s what everyone else missed - initialize the 9.0 data directory somewhere completely separate from your 8.3 cluster. The postgresql90-server RPM should create its own directory at /var/lib/pgsql/9.0/data by default on SLES 10.3. Set up a staging environment first if you can. The 8.3 to 9.0 jump has some big changes in data types and functions that Jira uses. Once 9.0’s running on the alternate port, create a test database and restore your Jira backup there. Point a test Jira instance at it and run through your usual workflows. This literally saved me from a production disaster during a similar upgrade last year.
You can definitely run both versions side by side, but you’ll need to manage the configs carefully. For SLES 10.3, check YaST first to see if PostgreSQL 9.0 packages are already in your system repos before grabbing external RPMs. It’ll handle dependencies much better that way. For the actual migration, use pg_dumpall to export your 8.3 database, then import it into the 9.0 instance. Heads up though - PostgreSQL 9.0 changed some syntax that might mess with your Jira setup. Run Jira’s database config wizard after migration and test everything thoroughly. Don’t forget to update your JDBC drivers in Jira to work with PostgreSQL 9.0. The old 8.3 drivers will likely cause connection problems with the newer version.
yeah, you can run both versions at the same time. just put them on different ports - keep the old one on 5432 and set the new one to 5433. for suse sles 10.3 x64, grab the postgresql90-server RPM from the official postgres site. dont forget to backup your jira db with pg_dump before starting!