Verifying the Connection to the PostgreSQL Database Server

Before creating a PostgreSQL instance, verify that you can connect to the PostgreSQL database server.

Before You Begin

Ensure the following prerequisites are met before verifying the connection:

• PostgreSQL is installed on the computer where you plan to test the connection.

• You have access to a valid user account with permissions to run the psql binary.

• The PostgreSQL service is running.

• You know the following connection details:

  • Database name
  • Database user
  • Port number
  • (Optional) Hostname or IP address if connecting remotely

Procedure

1. Log on using a user account that has permissions to run the psql binary.

2. Navigate to the bin folder in the PostgreSQL installation directory.

3. Run one of the following commands to establish a connection to the PostgreSQL server:

   • On a Unix computer:

     ./psql -p port -U database_user -d database_name

   • On a Windows computer:

     psql.exe -p port -U database_user -d database_name

   Where:

   • database_user — The user account with permissions to perform backups and restores.
   • database_name — The name of the database available on the server.

   For example:

   The following example verifies the connection to the demopgsql database:

   [root@mpgstandby bin]# cd /usr/pgsql-13/bin
   [root@mpgstandby bin]# ./psql -p 5432 -U postgres -d demopgsql
   psql (13.0)
   Type "help" for help.
   demopgsql=# \q
   [root@mpgstandby bin]#

4. If you use a hostname to connect to the PostgreSQL server, specify the port in the hostname:port format within the instance properties.

   To verify the connection:

   • On a Unix computer:

     ./psql -p port -U database_user -d database_name -h hostname

   • On a Windows computer:

     psql.exe -p port -U database_user -d database_name -h hostname

   Where:

   • database_user — The user account with permissions to perform backups and restores.
   • database_name — The name of the database available on the server.
   • hostname — The IP address or fully qualified domain name (FQDN) of the computer that hosts the database server.

   For example:

   The following example verifies the connection to the demopgsql database using a hostname:

   [root@mpgstandby bin]# cd /usr/pgsql-13/bin
   [root@mpgstandby bin]# ./psql -p 5432 -U postgres -d demopgsql -h mpgstandby
   psql (13.0)
   Type "help" for help.
   demopgsql=# \q
   [root@mpgstandby bin]#