Re: Deploy postgres - upgrade strategy

Sean Z. wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I need your kind advice on postgres deployment strategy. My application
> is developed on 8.2.4 and need to be deployed to Windows server 2003.
> Clients may /may not have postgres installed. How can I deploy postgres
> silently on client machine? Specifically:
>
> 1. How to determine if postgres is installed on Win2K3, and what's its
> version?

You can probe the port if you want to catch any kind. If you're only
interested in official MSI installs, you can check the registry (there's
a key under HKLM\Software\PostgreSQL IIRC)

> 2. If there is an older version (e.g., 8.1) installed, can I install a
> new version (8.2.4) without touching the existing installation?

Yes.

> 3. If there is an older version of the same version line (e.g., 8.2.3)
> installed, is it safe for me to upgrade it by running upgrade.bat,
> believing that it won't break existing application using the old version?

Normally, yes. You might want to check the release notes if there is any
incompatibility, but we usually do whatever possible to avoid those
between minor releases.

> 4. If there is a newer version installed (e.g. 8.3), can I still install
> 8.2.4 as a separate installation without touching the existing installation?

Yes. You can always have the different major versions on the same
system. You just can't have >1 different *minor* version on the same
system if you use the official MSI - if you install it manually, there
is no restriction at all.

> 5. If there is a newer version of the same version line (e.g. 8.2.5)
> installed, shall I simply use it? (same as 3 I guess)

Probably. Depends on if you want your application to be entirelyi
independent or not.

//Magnus