Re: productive usage of PostgreSQL with Windows Server

Hi Dirk -

I have installed and used a large number of Postgres installations on
Windows for years. Mostly together with PostGIS using the combination as
a really powerful and first-class data repository for spatial data.

Some points regarding the use of Postgres on a Windows platform.

* Performance: On the same hardware and with similar setups, a Linux
installation of Postgres will outperform a Windows ditto. Not by
much, but it is measurable. On the other hand, it virtually
impossible to get a Linux box inside a hard-core Windows enterprise
organisation. So using Postgres on Windows is a reasonable
compromise in those cases

* Installation: I'm using the installation package from EnterpriseDB
(https://www.enterprisedb.com/downloads/postgres-postgresql-downloads)
. It works as a charm. I've used a number of other installers. All
have been working at least adequately. So It is no problem
installing Postgres on Windows.

* Setup: Parameter-vise, the standard setup of Postgres out-of-the-box
is *very* conservative - it can work on almost any Windows
configuration. To get good performance, you have to change the
Postgres setup parameters, especially regarding memory consumption.
Postgres tuning is part science and part art. But one advise: If you
a using some kind of guide for setup, then use the the *Linux*
advice for memory setup. There is a lot of "advice" about not using
"to much" shared memory on Windows compared to Linux. My experience
- at least when using Postgres for spatial data - is you get a
*significant* performance boost when Postgres gets enough memory on
Windows to work with.

* Security: As others in this thread has mentioned: You can emulate
The SQLServer "integrated security" feature on Postgres running on a
Windows server by using the SSPI security protocol. It integrates
Postgres logon and security procedures into Active Directory, so
users automatically gets Postgres privileges based on their Windows
username without manually entering username/password when accessing
Postgres. And this setup will endear you to both Windows users and
administrators ;-)

* Last: Postgres is really stable on Windows. I have very seldom
experienced any significant trouble running Postgres on Windows. YMMV

Med venlig hilsen / Kind regards

Bo Victor Thomsen

Den 26-01-2021 kl. 12:20 skrev Dirk Krautschick:
>
> Hi,
>
> Please do not throw anything to me but I just want to ask if there is
> a realistic
>
> recommendation for the productive usage of PostgreSQL with Windows. Or
>
> are there any references you may share regarding this.
>
> I am aware and I always surely recommend Linux but the matter of fact
> that there
>
> are also customers with more Windows knowledge inhouse I always get
> the question
>
> about experience and references which I cannot provide at this time.
>
> Regarding the build farm status I see that it is pretty much tested
> and suppported at
>
> least. But I am interessted in fundational opinions and expierences.
>
> Thanks and cheers
>
> Dirk
>