Preface
This guide describes the tasks you must complete to install and start your Greenplum Database system.
About This Guide
This guide provides information and instructions for installing and initializing a Greenplum Database system. This guide is intended for system administrators responsible for building a Greenplum Database system.
This guide assumes knowledge of Linux/Unix system administration, database management systems, database administration, and structured query language (SQL).
This guide contains the following chapters and appendices:
- Introduction to Greenplum — Information about the Greenplum system architecture and components.
- Estimating Storage Capacity — Guidelines for sizing a Greenplum Database system.
- Configuring Your Systems and Installing Greenplum — Instructions for installing and configuring the Greenplum software on all hosts in your Greenplum Database array.
- Validating Your Systems — Validation utilities and tests you can perform to ensure your Greenplum Database system will operate properly.
- Configuring Localization Settings — Localization features of Greenplum Database. Locale settings must be configured prior to initializing your Greenplum Database system.
- Initializing a Greenplum Database System — Instructions for initializing a Greenplum Database system. Each database instance (the master and all segments) must be initialized across all of the hosts in the system in such a way that they can all work together as a unified DBMS.
- Installation Management Utilities — Reference information about the command-line management utilities you use to install and initialize a Greenplum Database system.
- Greenplum Environment Variables — Reference information about Greenplum environment variables you can set in your system user's profile file.
About the Greenplum Database Documentation Set
The Greenplum Database 4.3 server documentation set consists of the following guides.
| Guide Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Greenplum Database Administrator Guide | Information for administering the Greenplum Database system and managing databases. It covers topics such as Greenplum Database architecture and concepts and everyday system administration tasks such as configuring the server, monitoring system activity, enabling high-availability, backing up and restoring databases, and expanding the system. Database administration topics include configuring access control, creating databases and database objects, loading data into databases, writing queries, managing workloads, and monitoring and troubleshooting performance. |
| Greenplum Database Reference Guide | Reference information for Greenplum Database systems: SQL commands, system catalogs, environment variables, character set support, datatypes, the Greenplum MapReduce specification, postGIS extension, server parameters, the gp_toolkit administrative schema, and SQL 2008 support. |
| Greenplum Database Utility Guide | Reference information for command-line utilities, client programs, and Oracle compatibility functions. |
| Greenplum Database Installation Guide | Information and instructions for installing and initializing a Greenplum Database system. |
Document Conventions
Greenplumdocumentation adheres to the following conventions to help you identify certain types of information.
Command Syntax Conventions
| Text Convention | Usage | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| { } | Within command syntax, curly braces group related command options. Do not type the curly braces. | FROM { ' filename ' | STDIN } |
| [ ] | Within command syntax, square brackets denote optional arguments. Do not type the brackets. | TRUNCATE [ TABLE ] name |
| ... | Within command syntax, an ellipsis denotes repetition of a command, variable, or option. Do not type the ellipsis. | DROP TABLE name [, ... ] |
| | | Within command syntax, the pipe symbol denotes an "OR" relationship. Do not type the pipe symbol. | VACUUM [ FULL | FREEZE ] |
|
$ system_command # root_system_command => gpdb_command =# su_gpdb_command |
Denotes a command prompt - do not type the prompt symbol. $ and # denote terminal command prompts. => and =# denote Greenplum Database interactive program command prompts (psql or gpssh, for example). | $ createdb mydatabase # chown gpadmin -R /datadir => SELECT * FROM mytable; =# SELECT * FROM pg_database; |
Getting Support
Pivotal/Greenplum support, product, and licensing information can be obtained as follows.
Product information and Technical Support
For technical support, documentation, release notes, software updates, or for information about Pivotal products, licensing, and services, go to www.gopivotal.com.
Additionally, you can still obtain product and support information from the EMCSupport Site at: http://support.emc.com