Setting up the Spotfire database (PostgreSQL)

If you are running PostgreSQL, follow these steps to set up the Spotfire database before you run the Spotfire Server installer.

Before you begin

You have downloaded and unzipped the Spotfire Server installation kit from the TIBCO eDelivery web site; for instructions, see Downloading installation software.
The following settings must be configured on the PostgreSQL server:
- TCP/IP communication listening on a port (the default is 5432).
- The command line database tool (psql) must be installed.

Procedure

Copy the <installation files dir>/scripts/postgres_install directory to a location where you can edit it.
Go to the postgres_install directory, and open the create_databases script that corresponds to your platform in a text editor:
- Windows: create_databases.bat
- Linux: create_databases.sh

Edit the create_databases script by providing the appropriate database server details.

Table 1. Definitions of the variables in create_databases
Variable	Description
DB_HOST	Replace `<DB_HOST>` with the name of the server running the PostgreSQL instance.
DBADMIN_NAME	Name of a user with PostgreSQL database administrator privileges, usually "postgres".
DBADMIN_PASSWORD	Password of the `DBADMIN_NAME` user.
SERVERDB_NAME	Name of the Spotfire database that will be created; spotfire_server is the default.
SERVERDB_USER	Name of the user that will be created to set up the Spotfire database.
SERVERDB_PASSWORD	Password for `SERVERDB_USER`.
PSQL_PATH	The path to the bin directory of the PostgreSQL command line tools.

Note: According to the PostgreSQL standards, it is recommended to use lower case characters for the SERVERDB_NAME and the SERVERDB_USER parameters.

Example

This is what the create_databases.bat file section might look like after modification:

rem Set this variable to the hostname of the PostgreSQL instance
set DB_HOST=dbsrv.example.com

rem Set these variables to the username and password of a database user
rem with permissions to create users and databases
set DBADMIN_NAME=postgres
set DBADMIN_PASSWORD=admin123

rem Set these variables to the name of the database to be created for the TIBCO Spotfire
rem Server, and the user to be created for TIBCO Spotfire Server to access the database.
rem Note that the password is entered here in plain text, you might want to delete
rem any sensitive information once the script has been run.
set SERVERDB_NAME=spotfire_server
set SERVERDB_USER=spotfire_db
set SERVERDB_PASSWORD=spotfire_db123

rem Set this variable to the bin directory of the PostgreSQL installation
rem where psql.exe can be found
set PSQL_PATH=C:\Program Files\PostgreSQL\12.1\bin

Save the file and close the text editor.
Open a command line as an administrator and go to the directory where you placed the scripts.
Type create_databases.bat and press Enter.
If the parameters are correct, text that is similar to the following text is displayed at the command line:

Note: The log.txt file is created in the same directory as the create_databases file. Examine this file to verify that no errors occurred and retain the log for future reference. The log file will contain notices about which type is used for certain fields, which is the expected behavior.

Note: Because the scripts contain sensitive information, it is good practice to remove them after your Spotfire environment has been installed.

What to do next

Install Spotfire Server