PostgreSQL

Anon

Hi,

I would like to check whether can PostgreSQL can support (non-root priviledge0 normal user installation like MySQL.

I would like individual user to install PostgreSQL.

Please advice.

Thanks,

Andy

[deleted]

"I would like individual user to install PostgreSQL."

Why?

Anon

It's because they can be the administrator to their own database and they can have more control.

[deleted]

If I were you I'd seriously reconsider that idea. It's just asking for trouble.

But to answer your original question, Postgres runs as user 'postgres' by default, so it should be possible to change to a different user. Wether that is a smart thing to do... I doubt it.

Anon

That's not what I want. Have you try to install MySQL as normal user before? I can have 20 users running MySQL in their home directory, all MySQL daemon listen to different unique high port number.

I would just like to check whether did anyone try to install postgreSQL into their own directory and be the own administrator for their database.

thanks 😉

[deleted]

"That's not what I want"

you just said you wanted to install postgresql for several users, you can't do that without making them run as seperate users, so it IS what you want.

WHy don't you just try it out, you'd be finished by now.

PS I still think it's a very bad idea.

Anon

ok. when you were saying "Postgres runs as user 'postgres' by default" i assume that you are installing postgresql is installed by root and run as "postgres".

what I want to check is whether anyone try installing as "normal" user in their home directory?

Would you like to share why you think it's not a good idea?

thanks.

[deleted]

I think it's a bad idea because you are giving administrative tasks to non-administrators.

They will be able to change their webserver's configuration, which means they can alter the port it runs on, and the directory where it creates it's files. They can even change the amount of memory that the database uses, the priority with which it runs, and ton of other highly dangerous things.

I assume you trust your users and that your users have no evil plans, but if one of them makes a typo and reserves 90% of all the memory that you have in your system for his database, then you're in trouble.

The same thing happens when two services are installed on the same TCPIP port, the first will start, the other will fail, and will continue to fail until the mistake is corrected.

In short; it's better to keep administrative tasks to yourself, and let the users only use the databases (hence the name 'users')

Anon

This "administrative" task is only handled normal user. I am just delegating the task away. If the daemon is running under normal user and the database not install by root and it's installed by the user, I don't see how he can change the webserver's configuration? Unless there is an exploits in PostgreSQL. I presumme they can alter the ports, it must be high port >1024 not priviledge ports.

Have you tried to install MySQL as normal user? Do you have 200 over virtual domains hosted in single machine? What is the best way to delegate the administartive tasks? Having an administrator to handle their request or let them be their own administrator in their home (own virtual domains). Which is the best?

[deleted]

"I don't see how he can change the webserver's configuration"

I'm not talking about the webserver, I'm talking about PostgreSQL.

I haven't tried to install PostgreSQL as a normal user because I see no use for that at all. I have hosted several virtual servers on the same machine, but not 200 (that's not smart/insane)

A database doesn't have many features that the end-user might want to change. Certainly not enough to warrant installing 200 postgresql servers on your machine.

If you really have 200 virtual servers on a single host, I'd most definately install postgreSQL on a seperate machine and just create users for it (ala MySQL)

At 200 users, things will go wrong when you give them control.

Anon

At the moment, i don't see how things will go wrong? They install mySQL as normal user into their home directory. The most they get is port conflicting. Don't tell me files install by user can gain root exploit unless user attempt to gain access through buffer overflow on files that have root priviledge.
i guess Linux are easy to hack from user point of view, I can see a lot of exploit coming out and then, and probably it's open source.

And I don't see 200 virtual servers will go wrong in a single machine? Well maybe not 200 MySQL because not all require database, maybe 5% of it.

Why waste resource on setting up separate machines. Don;t tell me with 200 virtual servers you are going to setup seperate webservers, database servers, mail servers? I think Unix machines are capable of supporting up to few hundreds of virtual servers. Further not all virtual servers consume high CPU, memory or demand high bandwidth.

😉

[deleted]

"The most they get is port conflicting"

Like I said, that is not all they are going to get. Do more research.

"i guess Linux are easy to hack from user point of view"

Absolute nonsense. The point to good security is to not give rights to people who don't need them, and installing poastgres or mysql is a right they don't need.

"And I don't see 200 virtual servers will go wrong in a single machine?"

oh, it will run I guess, it's just not smart (ie: very very stupid) to do, because if your machine goes down (and it will because it's windows) all 200 sites are down. And if one site gets very busy, all 199 other sites slow down.

"Why waste resource on setting up separate machines."

Lol. you never did any serious system administration did you? :-)

"Don;t tell me with 200 virtual servers you are going to setup seperate webservers, database servers, mail servers?"
ofcourse not, two mailservers is more than enough. But I'd definately split those 200 webservers out to max 10 per server.

You call it a waste or resources, I call it 'system administration'

Anon

May be we are working in a different environments so our opinions are different.

"installing poastgres or mysql is a right they don't need. "

I guess you still haven't install mysql as normal user before. Given a login and password, they can install whatever they want. I don't see why they can't and basically they are in their "own" environment, unless MySQL does not support it and if MySQL supports it and there must be a reason.

"if one site gets very busy, all 199 other sites slow down. "

If people are paying US$6.99 for a virtuall hosting, they should expect what they are getting. You don't expect to get the same service as a dedicated or colocated server.

"you never did any serious system administration did you? :-)"

I guess you never work in a webhosting environment before did you? 😉

"But I'd definately split those 200 webservers out to max 10 per server. "

You can speak to those people working in a webhosting environment, you don't just create 10 sites and place in a server. And if you are given a /17 by arin.net, I can't image how many servers need to setup and how much space the datacenter need to occupy if to allocate 10 IP-based virtual servers in a machine.

We shall stop this topic here.

thanks.