Service account
\nDatabase cluster
\nConfiguration files<\/p>\n
Service Account \u2013 Dedicated operating system user that runs the server daemon. Always use a dedicated account. Limit access to PostgreSQL data. <\/p>\n
Should not own the executables or binaries.<\/p>\n
Pre-packaged installations ensure a suitable user<\/p>\n
Database Cluster \u2013 Collection of databases managed by one server, can be one or multiple databases. Initialize database storage with initdb.<\/p>\n
Sets the \u201cdata directory\u201d<\/p>\n
initidb creates default databases<\/p>\n
initdb also sets defaults, such as local, sort order, and encoding<\/p>\n
Configuration Files \u2013 The primary method for configuring PostgreSQL is going to be configuration files. This is where a number of parameters that control the system behavior. Configuration parameters within these are not arbitrary text. The parameters do have defined data types and syntax rules. The values in these files can be overridden with SQL or the shell to provide temporary or user-specific modifications. Normally located in the \u201cdata directory\u201d (this is configurable). There are multiple files. Some of the primary ones are postgresql.conf (primary source of configuration). There is also pg_hba.conf that contains client authentication rules and pg_indent.conf, which maps operating system users to PostgreSQL users.<\/p>\n
Primary method to set parameters<\/p>\n
Changes typically require a reload or service restart<\/p>\n
Validate user: Switch over to the user: Verify the default directory that was created using initdb: psql -c \u201cSHOW data_directory;\u201d -TBC<\/p>\n<\/ul><\/ul>
\nid postgres<\/strong>
\nuid=110(postgres) gid=112(postgres) groups=112(postgres),110(ssl-cert)<\/p>\n
\nsudo -i -u postgres<\/strong><\/p>\n
\npsql -c \u201cSHOW data_directory;\u201d<\/p>\n
\n data_directory
\n\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013
\n \/var\/lib\/postgresql\/18\/main
\n(1 row)<\/p>\n