Install AXDB from binary tarballs¶

You can download the tarballs using the links below.

The following tarballs are available for the x86_64 architectures:

axdb-enterprise-release-18.4-ssl3.5-linux-x86_64.tar.gz - for operating systems on x86_64 architecture that run OpenSSL version 3.5.x

To check what OpenSSL version you have, run the following command:

$ openssl version

Tarball contents¶

The tarballs include the following components:

Component	Description
axdb-postgresql18	The latest version of PostgreSQL server and the following extensions: - `pgaudit` - `pgAudit_set_user` - `pg_repack` - `pg_stat_monitor` - `pg_gather` - `wal2json` - `postGIS` - the set of contrib extensions
axdb-haproxy	A high-availability solution and load-balancing solution
axdb-patroni	A high-availability solution for PostgreSQL
axdb-pgbackrest	A backup and restore tool
axdb-pgbadger	PostgreSQL log analyzer with fully detailed reports and graphs
axdb-pgbouncer	Lightweight connection pooler for PostgreSQL
axdb-pgpool-II	A middleware between PostgreSQL server and client for high availability, connection pooling and load balancing
axdb-perl	A Perl module required to create the `plperl` extension - a procedural language handler for PostgreSQL that allows writing functions in the Perl programming language
axdb-python3	A Python3 module required to create `plpython` extension - a procedural language handler for PostgreSQL that allows writing functions in the Python programming language. Python is also required by Patroni
axdb-tcl	Tcl development libraries required to create the `pltcl` extension - a loadable procedural language for the PostgreSQL database system that enables the creation of functions and trigger procedures in the Tcl language
axdb-etcd	A key-value distributed store that stores the state of the PostgreSQL cluster

Preconditions¶

RHEL and derivatives

On RHEL, Rocky Linux, or Oracle Linux 10, install the acl package. This package is required for correct permission handling when using tarball-based installations:

$ sudo dnf install -y acl

Ensure that the libreadline is installed on the system, as it is required for tarballs to work correctly:

$ sudo dnf install -y readline-devel

Create the user to own the PostgreSQL process. For example, postgres. Run the following command:

$ sudo useradd postgres -m

Set the password for the user:

$ sudo passwd postgres

Procedure¶

The steps below install the tarballs for OpenSSL 3.5.x on x86_64 architecture.

Create the directory where you will store the binaries. For example, /opt/axdb
Get the binary tarball. axdb-enterprise-release-18.4-ssl3.5-linux-x86_64.tar.gz

Extract the tarball to the directory for binaries that you created on step 1.

$ sudo tar -xvf axdb-enterprise-release-18.4-ssl3.5-linux-x86_64.tar.gz -C /opt/axdb/

Copy axdb-python3, axdb-tcl and axdb-perl to the /opt directory. This is required for the correct run of libraries that require those modules.
```
$ sudo cp -r /opt/axdb-perl /opt/axdb-python3 /opt/axdb-tcl /opt/
```
Create the data directory for PostgreSQL server. For example, /usr/local/pgsql/data.

Grant access to these directory for the postgres user.

$ sudo chown -R postgres:postgres /opt/axdb/
$ sudo chown -R postgres:postgres /opt/axdb-perl/
$ sudo chown -R postgres:postgres /opt/axdb-python3/
$ sudo chown -R postgres:postgres /opt/axdb-tcl/
$ sudo chown -R postgres:postgres /usr/local/pgsql/data

Switch to the user that owns the Postgres process. In our example, postgres:
```
$ su - postgres
```

Add the location of the binaries to the PATH variable:

export PATH=:/opt/axdb/axdb-haproxy/sbin/:/opt/axdb/axdb-patroni/bin/:/opt/axdb/axdb-pgbackrest/bin/:/opt/axdb/axdb-pgbadger/:/opt/axdb/axdb-pgbouncer/bin/:/opt/axdb/axdb-pgpool-II/bin/:/opt/axdb/axdb-postgresql18/bin/:/opt/axdb/axdb-etcd/bin/:/opt/axdb-perl/bin/:/opt/axdb-tcl/bin/:/opt/axdb-python3/bin/:$PATH;
export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/opt/axdb/axdb-postgresql18/lib:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH;

Initiate the PostgreSQL data directory:

$ /opt/axdb/axdb-postgresql18/bin/initdb -D /usr/local/pgsql/data

Sample output

Success. You can now start the database server using:

/opt/axdb/axdb-postgresql18/bin/pg_ctl -D /usr/local/pgsql/data -l logfile start

Start the PostgreSQL server:

$ /opt/axdb/axdb-postgresql18/bin/pg_ctl -D /usr/local/pgsql/data -l logfile start

Sample output

waiting for server to start.... done
server started

Connect to psql
```
$ /opt/axdb/axdb-postgresql18/bin/psql -d postgres
```
Sample output

```{.text .no-copy} psql (18.4 AXDB Server for PostgreSQL 18.4.1) Type “help” for help.
```
postgres=#
```
```

Configure PostgreSQL as a systemd service¶

Because you installed PostgreSQL from a tarball, systemd doesn’t automatically know it exists. To register it as a system service so it starts automatically on boot and responds to systemctl commands, manually create a systemd service unit file.

Prerequisites¶

Before starting, ensure you know two paths from your tarball installation:

The binary directory where pg_ctl lives. For example, /opt/axdb/axdb-postgresql18/bin/.
The data directory where your database cluster is initialized. For example, /usr/local/pgsql/data/.

For security reasons, PostgreSQL should never run as root. Ensure that the system user who owns the PostgreSQL process also owns the data directory. In this procedure, the example user is postgres.

Step 1: Create the systemd service file¶

Open a new file inside /etc/systemd/system/ using your preferred text editor. This requires sudo:

$ sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/postgresql.service

Paste the following configuration into the file. Update the paths if your tarball was extracted somewhere else:

[Unit]
Description=PostgreSQL database server (tarball installation)
After=network.target

[Service]
Type=forking
User=postgres
Group=postgres

# Path to your database storage cluster
Environment=PGDATA=/usr/local/pgsql/data
Environment="LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/opt/axdb/axdb-postgresql18/lib:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH;"

# Start, stop, and reload PostgreSQL using pg_ctl
ExecStart=/opt/axdb/axdb-postgresql18/bin/pg_ctl start -D ${PGDATA} -s
ExecStop=/opt/axdb/axdb-postgresql18/bin/pg_ctl stop -D ${PGDATA} -s -m fast
ExecReload=/opt/axdb/axdb-postgresql18/bin/pg_ctl reload -D ${PGDATA} -s

# Give the server up to 10 minutes to start up or shut down safely
TimeoutSec=600

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Save and exit the file.

Step 2: Reload systemd and enable the service¶

After the file is in place, refresh the systemd manager configuration so it recognizes the new service:

$ sudo systemctl daemon-reload

Enable the service so it starts automatically when the machine boots:

$ sudo systemctl enable postgresql

Step 3: Manage the service¶

You can now control your PostgreSQL installation with systemctl.

If PostgreSQL is currently running via a manual start, you must stop it manually before switching to systemctl.

To start PostgreSQL, run:

$ sudo systemctl start postgresql

To check the service status, run:

$ sudo systemctl status postgresql

To stop PostgreSQL, run:

$ sudo systemctl stop postgresql

To reload the PostgreSQL configuration, run:

$ sudo systemctl reload postgresql

Troubleshooting

If systemctl status postgresql reports an error, check the data directory permissions. Make sure the postgres user owns the PGDATA directory:

$ sudo chown -R postgres:postgres /usr/local/pgsql/data

Start the components¶

After you unpacked the tarball and added the location of the components’ binaries to the $PATH variable, the components are available for use. You can invoke a component by running its command-line tool.

For example, to check HAProxy version, type:

$ haproxy -v

Some components require additional setup. Check the Enabling extensions page for details.