[ADMIN] How to setup PostgreSQL using Windows Authentication?

[Craig Ringer]

Hi,
I'm new to PostgreSQL. I installed PostgreSQL on a Windows Server
2008 R2 server. I have created a database and an user in Windows
Active Directory. How can I configure that user to access that database?

By default, Windows users and PostgreSQL users are completely separate.

Use PgAdmin-III to create the user, or a "CREATE USER" command in psql. See

http://www.postgresql.org/docs/9.1/static/user-manag.html

It is also possible to use SSPI authentication with PostgreSQL, so
PostgreSQL authenticates users against Active Directory. I haven't used
it myself. The user must still be created in PostgreSQL, SSPI just takes
care of authenticating them using their Windows credentials. See:

http://www.postgresql.org/docs/9.1/static/auth-methods.html

--
Craig Ringer

[Craig Ringer]

According to
http://www.postgresql.org/docs/9.1/static/auth-methods.html, SSPI only
works when GSSAPI is available and GSSAPI support has to be enabled
when PostgreSQL is built. Does it mean that I need to uninstall
PostgreSQL and reinstall it with GSSAPI support? I used the One click
installer downloaded from http://www.postgresql.org/download/windows
to install PostgreSQL and I'm not sure how to include GSSAPI support.

While I haven't used it myself, I'd be amazed if the one-click
installer's version of Pg wasn't built with GSSAPI and SSPI support. You
shouldn't have to do anything.

--
Craig Ringer

[Magnus Hagander]

Post by Craig Ringer

According to http://www.postgresql.org/docs/9.1/static/auth-methods.html,

SSPI only works when GSSAPI is available and GSSAPI support has to be
enabled when PostgreSQL is built. Does it mean that I need to uninstall
PostgreSQL and reinstall it with GSSAPI support? I used the One click
installer downloaded from http://www.postgresql.org/download/windows to
install PostgreSQL and I’m not sure how to include GSSAPI support.

Post by Craig Ringer
While I haven't used it myself, I'd be amazed if the one-click

installer's version of Pg wasn't built with GSSAPI and SSPI support. You
shouldn't have to do anything.

Gssapi is *not* required on windows. Sspi support is always available on
windows. Gssapi is only required to use Sspi on non-windows platforms.

Perhaps that sentence in the docs need to be changed to be more clear?

/Magnus

[Christian Ullrich]

I’m new to PostgreSQL. I installed PostgreSQL on a Windows Server 2008
R2 server. I have created a database and an user in Windows Active
Directory. How can I configure that user to access that database?

The one-click installer (assuming you used that) left you with
PostgreSQL running under a local account named "postgres". First, you
have to change that, because SSPI requires that the service uses a
domain account:

1. Create a user account in your domain.
2. Change the ownership of the data directory and everything within it
to the new account, and grant it full control.
3. Change the service log on credentials so the service uses your
domain account.
4. Start the service to see if everything works. Try logging on as
before, create a database, drop some tables, call pg_switch_xlog().
If you can log on at all, just about anything that goes wrong later
indicates missing permissions on the data files.

Now, you have to tell Active Directory that your service account is
running the database. For that, you add a Service Principal Name to your
service account. You can do that with a command line tool named
setspn.exe, of which I cannot remember the command line. You can also
just change the attribute (servicePrincipalName) directly using either
the "Users and Computers" MMC, or whatever 2008R2's replacement for that
is, or ADSIedit. Anyway, your new SPN is

POSTGRES/fully.qualified.host.name

In my experience (which may be incomplete), you also have to make sure
that all your clients use the full host name, because otherwise they may
not get service tickets. Adding a second SPN with just the host name
without the domain may help with that, but using the full name is better
anyway.

The last step is to allow SSPI logon to the database. For that, you need
to create some login roles that have the same name as your domain users,
and an entry in pg_hba.conf with authentication method "sspi". Remember
that only the first entry in pg_hba.conf that matches database, client
address, and claimed user name is used.

--
Christian

[Craig Ringer]

Post by Christian Ullrich

I’m new to PostgreSQL. I installed PostgreSQL on a Windows Server 2008
R2 server. I have created a database and an user in Windows Active
Directory. How can I configure that user to access that database?

The one-click installer (assuming you used that) left you with
PostgreSQL running under a local account named "postgres". First, you
have to change that, because SSPI requires that the service uses a

That's a great explanation. I didn't see anything equivalent in the docs
- am I just blind?

If not documented anywhere I'd like to add that to the wiki.

Post by Christian Ullrich
1. Create a user account in your domain.
2. Change the ownership of the data directory and everything within it
to the new account, and grant it full control.
3. Change the service log on credentials so the service uses your
domain account.
4. Start the service to see if everything works. Try logging on as
before, create a database, drop some tables, call pg_switch_xlog().
If you can log on at all, just about anything that goes wrong later
indicates missing permissions on the data files.
Now, you have to tell Active Directory that your service account is
running the database. For that, you add a Service Principal Name to
your service account. You can do that with a command line tool named
setspn.exe, of which I cannot remember the command line. You can also
just change the attribute (servicePrincipalName) directly using either
the "Users and Computers" MMC, or whatever 2008R2's replacement for
that is, or ADSIedit. Anyway, your new SPN is
POSTGRES/fully.qualified.host.name
In my experience (which may be incomplete), you also have to make sure
that all your clients use the full host name, because otherwise they
may not get service tickets. Adding a second SPN with just the host
name without the domain may help with that, but using the full name is
better anyway.
The last step is to allow SSPI logon to the database. For that, you
need to create some login roles that have the same name as your domain
users, and an entry in pg_hba.conf with authentication method "sspi".
Remember that only the first entry in pg_hba.conf that matches
database, client address, and claimed user name is used.
--
Christian

[Christian Ullrich]

Post by Craig Ringer

Post by Christian Ullrich
The one-click installer (assuming you used that) left you with
PostgreSQL running under a local account named "postgres". First, you
have to change that, because SSPI requires that the service uses a

That's a great explanation. I didn't see anything equivalent in the docs
- am I just blind?

It's not in the main docs, at least.

Post by Craig Ringer
If not documented anywhere I'd like to add that to the wiki.

Sure, go ahead.