PostgreSQL Upgrade – Why Some Files in Data Directory Are Symlinks

postgresqlupgrade

I did use pg_upgrade.

I had a cluster of Postgresql with version 9.6 on my machine, and then I did start another cluster with version of v12. Each of them had separate data directories, in a directory scheme like this:

./postgresql/
├── 12
│   └── main
└── 9.6
    └── main

Then I turned off the 9.6 cluster and started using the v12 one. But now, by accident, I found out that some of the files in the base directory of the v12 cluster are not files, but symlinks to files in base directory of the 9.6 one; For example:

./postgresql/12/main/base/16401/35093 -> ./postgresql/9.6/main/base/16402/35093

Why is it so? And, more importantly, how is it so?! I mean, I thought that the files inside base directory are so internal to each DB that this could not be possible at all.

And, can I do something to disable using symlinks?

Best Answer

This is the result of a pg_upgrade with the -k option, and these are not symbolic links, but hard links.

If you didn't manage to start the old cluster after pg_upgrade everything is fine. You just forgot to remove the old cluster after upgrading. Do that right now:

rm -rf /var/lib/postgresql/9.6/main

If you use -k, the upgrade process doesn't copy, but link the files. That makes the upgrade much faster, but renders the old cluster unusable.

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