> > Is there some magic rpm source I am missing? Or should I just install
> > from source?
>
> Honestly, on a db only server it's not an entirely crazy idea. About
> 2/3 of all pgsql servers I've set up have been source builds for
> various reasons. Just create a conf.local file that's a sh script
> with all your options and put that script into source repo, and if you
> need ot build a new server you just need that and a .tar.gz file.
> Dead simple.
>
> If you want multiple versions just use --prefix to put each in a
> different directory and set a lib path for each env before starting.
Where I work, I compile source and install binaries and libraries and
such into a networked file system (AFS in this case). When I upgrade,
all I have to do is compile once for each platform that I use and tell
the database server and clients that the new binaries are located at
/s/postgresql-8.2.6, for instance. Through a little hand-waving, smart
use of symlinks, and some AFS magic, everything "just works". It's a
lot easier than installing things everywhere.
Of course, you might not have access to a networked FS for installing
software. You could, in theory, compile PostgreSQL for each platform
you want, and then package it using a preferred format, and distribute
it that way. Sadly, I don't have experience doing this so I don't know
all the caveats involved.
Note that the databases themselves are stored locally on the database
servers, and not in AFS. Networked file systems aren't good for
databases, for both performance and reliability reasons, as has been
discussed before on these mailing lists.
Hope this helps.
Peter