PGVIP is installed only on web servers, not on database servers.
Distribution is a tar archive pgvip.tar with source codes, documentation and a compiled executable file.
To download from the command line, use curl utility:
mkdir /tmp/pgvip ; cd /tmp/pgvip
curl -Os https://pgvip.org/files/download/pgvip.tar
If you have any problems with installation and configuration, I am ready to help, more details on the page Contacts
To install, need to unpack the tar archive and execute make install:
tar -xf pgvip.tar
make install ip_master=[ip_master] ip_standby=[ip_standby] ip_virtual=[ip_virtual] subnet_mask=[subnet_mask]
Making is optional, since the executable file is included in the archive and does not depend on the version of Linux, additional libraries are not required.
If necessary, making can be performed using the command:
make (or gcc -w -std=gnu99 -pthread *.c util/*.c -o pgvip)
/etc/pgsuite/pgvip.conf - configuration file, copied by the make install command, which writes IP addresses into it. To change the parameters, need to edit the file and restart the service by executing systemctl restart pgvip
- reserve a virtual IP address (for example, in the DHCP server)
- set up ssh connection via key from web server to database servers
- install make utility
Service is started by the command:
systemctl --now enable pgvip
To view the status and log, use the commands:
systemctl status pgvip
pgvip status
journalctl -fu pgvip (or tail -f /var/log/pgsuite/pgvip.log)
The run-time configuration with the final commands can be viewed using the command:
pgvip show config
[root@web-server ~]# mkdir /tmp/pgvip ; cd /tmp/pgvip
[root@web-server /tmp/pgvip]# curl -Os https://pgvip.org/files/download/pgvip.tar
[root@web-server /tmp/pgvip]# tar -xf pgvip.tar
[root@web-server /tmp/pgvip]# make install ip_master=192.168.56.1 ip_standby=192.168.56.2 ip_virtual=192.168.56.10 subnet_mask=24
# Configuration
if [ -z "24" ] ; then echo -e '
Usage with parameters: make install ip_master=[ip_master] ip_standby=[ip_standby] ip_virtual=[ip_virtual] subnet_mask=[subnet_mask]
Example: make install ip_master=192.168.56.1 ip_standby=192.168.56.2 ip_virtual=192.168.56.10 subnet_mask=24' ; exit 1; fi
if [ -e /etc/pgsuite/pgvip.conf ] ; then echo -e '
Configuration file /etc/pgsuite/pgvip.conf already exists, change it' ; exit 1; fi
cp pgvip.conf /etc/pgsuite/pgvip.conf
sed -i "s/[ip_master]/192.168.56.1/;s/[ip_standby]/192.168.56.2/;s/[ip_virtual]/192.168.56.10/;s/[subnet_mask]/24/" /etc/pgsuite/pgvip.conf
# Service
if [ -e /etc/systemd/system/pgvip.service ] ; then echo -e '
Service file /etc/systemd/system/pgvip.service already exists, change it' ; exit 1; fi
cp pgvip.service /etc/systemd/system/pgvip.service
rm -f /usr/bin/pgvip
cp pgvip /usr/bin/pgvip
systemctl daemon-reload
echo -e '
pgvip service has been successfully created.
Use command "systemctl --now enable pgvip" to enable and start service,
"journalctl -fu pgvip" to view the journal'
pgvip service has been successfully created.
Use command "systemctl --now enable pgvip" to enable and start service,
"journalctl -fu pgvip" to view the journal
[root@web-server pgvip]# systemctl --now enable pgvip
Created symlink from /etc/systemd/system/multi-user.target.wants/pgvip.service to /etc/systemd/system/pgvip.service.
[root@web-server pgvip]# systemctl status pgvip
● pgvip.service - pgvip (PostgreSQL master-standby auto failover)
Loaded: loaded (/etc/systemd/system/pgvip.service; enabled; vendor preset: disabled)
Active: active (running) since Fri 2025-02-15 10:51:33 EST; 2s ago
Main PID: 1546 (pgvip)
CGroup: /system.slice/pgvip.service
├─1546 /usr/bin/pgvip execute
├─1553 timeout 5 ssh 192.168.56.1 su - postgres -c "psql -Aqtc 'select pg_is_in_recovery() or pg_current_xact_id() is null, extract(epoch from now()-pg_last_xact_replay_timestamp())'"
├─1554 timeout 5 ssh 192.168.56.1 flock /tmp/pgvip.time -c 'date +%s > /tmp/pgvip.time' ; flock -n /tmp/pgvip.vip_auto_down -c '' ; echo -n $?, ; ip address show | awk '/ inet 192.168.5...
├─1555 timeout 5 ssh 192.168.56.2 su - postgres -c "psql -Aqtc 'select pg_is_in_recovery() or pg_current_xact_id() is null, extract(epoch from now()-pg_last_xact_replay_timestamp())'"
├─1556 timeout 5 ssh 192.168.56.2 flock /tmp/pgvip.time -c 'date +%s > /tmp/pgvip.time' ; flock -n /tmp/pgvip.vip_auto_down -c '' ; echo -n $?, ; ip address show | awk '/ inet 192.168.5...
├─1557 ssh 192.168.56.1 su - postgres -c "psql -Aqtc 'select pg_is_in_recovery() or pg_current_xact_id() is null, extract(epoch from now()-pg_last_xact_replay_timestamp())'"
├─1558 ssh 192.168.56.1 flock /tmp/pgvip.time -c 'date +%s > /tmp/pgvip.time' ; flock -n /tmp/pgvip.vip_auto_down -c '' ; echo -n $?, ; ip address show | awk '/ inet 192.168.56.10// {p...
├─1559 ssh 192.168.56.2 su - postgres -c "psql -Aqtc 'select pg_is_in_recovery() or pg_current_xact_id() is null, extract(epoch from now()-pg_last_xact_replay_timestamp())'"
└─1560 ssh 192.168.56.2 flock /tmp/pgvip.time -c 'date +%s > /tmp/pgvip.time' ; flock -n /tmp/pgvip.vip_auto_down -c '' ; echo -n $?, ; ip address show | awk '/ inet 192.168.56.10// {p...
Feb 15 10:51:33 web-server systemd[1]: Started pgvip (PostgreSQL master-standby auto failover).
Feb 15 10:51:33 web-server systemd[1]: Starting pgvip (PostgreSQL master-standby auto failover)...
Feb 15 10:51:33 web-server pgvip[1546]: INFO ACTION_EXECUTOR thread started, thread_id: 1551
Feb 15 10:51:33 web-server pgvip[1546]: INFO ADMINISTRATION thread started, thread_id: 1552
Feb 15 10:51:33 web-server pgvip[1546]: INFO ADMINISTRATION binded to unix socket "/tmp/.s.PGVIP.0"
Feb 15 10:51:33 web-server pgvip[1546]: INFO ADMINISTRATION listening
Feb 15 10:51:33 web-server pgvip[1546]: INFO CHECKER_MASTER_DB thread started, thread_id: 1547
Feb 15 10:51:33 web-server pgvip[1546]: INFO CHECKER_MASTER_VIP thread started, thread_id: 1548
Feb 15 10:51:33 web-server pgvip[1546]: INFO CHECKER_STANDBY_DB thread started, thread_id: 1549
Feb 15 10:51:33 web-server pgvip[1546]: INFO CHECKER_STANDBY_VIP thread started, thread_id: 1550
[root@web-server pgvip]# pgvip status
status: SUCCESS (duration: 0 00:00:00)
+---------+--------------+-------------------------+---------------+---------------+
| Role | IP address | Database state | 192.168.56.10 | VIP auto down |
+---------+--------------+-------------------------+---------------+---------------+
| master | 192.168.56.1 | read-write | up on enp0s3 | executing |
| standby | 192.168.56.2 | in recovery, lag 0 min. | down | executing |
+---------+--------------+-------------------------+---------------+---------------+
[root@web-server pgvip]# journalctl -fu pgvip
Feb 15 10:54:50 web-server pgvip[1767]: INFO ADMINISTRATION connection accepted
Feb 15 10:54:50 web-server pgvip[1767]: INFO ADMINISTRATION received command "status"
Feb 15 10:54:50 web-server pgvip[1767]: INFO ADMINISTRATION info sent
Feb 15 10:54:50 web-server pgvip[1767]: INFO ACTION_EXECUTOR output:
Feb 15 10:54:50 web-server pgvip[1767]: INFO ACTION_EXECUTOR
Feb 15 10:54:50 web-server pgvip[1767]: INFO ACTION_EXECUTOR command executed successfully
Feb 15 10:54:50 web-server pgvip[1767]: INFO ACTION_EXECUTOR action "action_master_vip_up" executed successfully
Feb 15 10:54:52 web-server pgvip[1767]: INFO ADMINISTRATION connection accepted
Feb 15 10:54:52 web-server pgvip[1767]: INFO ADMINISTRATION received command "status"
Feb 15 10:54:52 web-server pgvip[1767]: INFO ADMINISTRATION info sent
[root@web-server pgvip]# pgvip show config
PGVIP is a PostgreSQL master-standby auto failover service via a virtual IP address
version 25.1.1, linux 64 bits
Runtime configuration
IP addresses
ip_master: 192.168.56.1
ip_standby: 192.168.56.2
ip_virtual: 192.168.56.10
ip_subnet_mask: 24
OS command templates
command_ssh: timeout ${time_command_ssh_timeout} ssh ${ip} "${command}"
command_db_state: su - postgres -c "psql -Aqtc 'select pg_is_in_recovery() or pg_current_xact_id() is null, extract(epoch from now()-pg_last_xact_replay_timestamp())'"
command_db_break: su - postgres -c "psql -c 'alter system set listen_addresses=pgvip_broken'" ; ps -e | awk '$4=="postmaster" || $4=="postgres" {print $1}' | xargs -r kill -9
command_db_promote: su - postgres -c "$(pg_config --bindir)/pg_ctl promote -W -D $(psql -Aqtc 'show data_directory')"
command_ifname: ip address show | awk '/ inet ${ip}// {print $NF}'
command_vip_state: flock /tmp/pgvip.time -c 'date +%s > /tmp/pgvip.time' ; flock -n /tmp/pgvip.vip_auto_down -c '' ; echo -n $?, ; ${command_ifname}
command_vip_up: ip address add ${ip_virtual}/${ip_subnet_mask} dev `${command_ifname}`
command_vip_down: ip address del ${ip_virtual}/${ip_subnet_mask} dev `${command_ifname}`
command_vip_auto_down_script: delta=0 ; while [ $delta -lt ${time_vip_auto_down_duration} ] ; do set -x; date +%Y-%m-%d_%H:%M:%S ; sleep ${time_check_interval} ; delta=$(($(date +%s)-$(flock /tmp/pgvip.time cat /tmp/pgvip.time))) ; if [ $delta -gt ${time_vip_auto_down_timeout} ] ; then ${command_vip_down} ; fi ; done
command_vip_auto_down_execute: flock -w 1 /tmp/pgvip.vip_auto_down -c "${command_vip_auto_down_script} > /dev/null 2>&1 &"
Timings in seconds
time_command_ssh_timeout: 5
time_check_interval: 5
time_check_not_available_delay: 15
time_standby_allowable_lag: 300
time_standby_promote_delay: 30
time_vip_auto_down_timeout: 30
time_vip_auto_down_duration: 600
time_monitoring_interval: 15
Generated OS commands
command_master_db_state: timeout 5 ssh 192.168.56.1 "su - postgres -c "psql -Aqtc 'select pg_is_in_recovery() or pg_current_xact_id() is null, extract(epoch from now()-pg_last_xact_replay_timestamp())'""
command_master_db_break: timeout 5 ssh 192.168.56.1 "su - postgres -c "psql -c 'alter system set listen_addresses=pgvip_broken'" ; ps -e | awk '$4=="postmaster" || $4=="postgres" {print $1}' | xargs -r kill -9"
command_master_vip_state: timeout 5 ssh 192.168.56.1 "flock /tmp/pgvip.time -c 'date +%s > /tmp/pgvip.time' ; flock -n /tmp/pgvip.vip_auto_down -c '' ; echo -n $?, ; ip address show | awk '/ inet 192.168.56.10\// {print $NF}'"
command_master_vip_up: timeout 5 ssh 192.168.56.1 "ip address add 192.168.56.10/24 dev `ip address show | awk '/ inet 192.168.56.1\// {print $NF}'`"
command_master_vip_down: timeout 5 ssh 192.168.56.1 "ip address del 192.168.56.10/24 dev `ip address show | awk '/ inet 192.168.56.10\// {print $NF}'`"
command_master_vip_auto_down_execute: timeout 5 ssh 192.168.56.1 "flock -w 1 /tmp/pgvip.vip_auto_down -c "delta=0 ; while [ \$delta -lt 600 ] ; do set -x; date +%Y-%m-%d_%H:%M:%S ; sleep 5 ; delta=\$((\$(date +%s)-\$(flock /tmp/pgvip.time cat /tmp/pgvip.time))) ; if [ \$delta -gt 30 ] ; then ip address del 192.168.56.10/24 dev \`ip address show | awk '/ inet 192.168.56.10\\// {print \$NF}'\` ; fi ; done > /dev/null 2>&1 &""
command_standby_db_state: timeout 5 ssh 192.168.56.2 "su - postgres -c "psql -Aqtc 'select pg_is_in_recovery() or pg_current_xact_id() is null, extract(epoch from now()-pg_last_xact_replay_timestamp())'""
command_standby_db_promote: timeout 5 ssh 192.168.56.2 "su - postgres -c "\$(pg_config --bindir)/pg_ctl promote -W -D \$(psql -Aqtc 'show data_directory')""
command_standby_vip_state: timeout 5 ssh 192.168.56.2 "flock /tmp/pgvip.time -c 'date +%s > /tmp/pgvip.time' ; flock -n /tmp/pgvip.vip_auto_down -c '' ; echo -n $?, ; ip address show | awk '/ inet 192.168.56.10\// {print $NF}'"
command_standby_vip_up: timeout 5 ssh 192.168.56.2 "ip address add 192.168.56.10/24 dev `ip address show | awk '/ inet 192.168.56.2\// {print $NF}'`"
command_standby_vip_down: timeout 5 ssh 192.168.56.2 "ip address del 192.168.56.10/24 dev `ip address show | awk '/ inet 192.168.56.10\// {print $NF}'`"
command_standby_vip_auto_down_execute: timeout 5 ssh 192.168.56.2 "flock -w 1 /tmp/pgvip.vip_auto_down -c "delta=0 ; while [ \$delta -lt 600 ] ; do set -x; date +%Y-%m-%d_%H:%M:%S ; sleep 5 ; delta=\$((\$(date +%s)-\$(flock /tmp/pgvip.time cat /tmp/pgvip.time))) ; if [ \$delta -gt 30 ] ; then ip address del 192.168.56.10/24 dev \`ip address show | awk '/ inet 192.168.56.10\\// {print \$NF}'\` ; fi ; done > /dev/null 2>&1 &""
[root@web-server /tmp/pgvip]#
To set up monitoring, define two OS commands in the configuration file:
| command_monitoring_send | - | sending status (SUCCESS, STANDBY_LAG, STANDBY_PROMOTED or ERROR) to the monitoring system | |
| command_monitoring_notify | - | notification when status changed |
The commands use the substitution variable ${status}
The source code is upload in GitHub repository
PGVIP is released under the MIT License (open and free software license).
Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:
The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software.
THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.