Postgresql default version end of life

Rocky Linux General
1

In RockyLinux 8.6 the default version of Postgresql is version 10 (see below). This version however is end of life since November 2022. Should the default therefore not be updated to a newer version?

I also noticed that the different versions are not updated regularly (and therefore missing some security updates)

Version 10
Latest version found in the Rocky Linux repos: 10.21.2
Latest version from Postgres: 10.23

Version 12
Latest version found in the Rocky Linux repos: 12.12.1
Latest version from Postgres: 12.13

Version 13
Lastest version found in the Rocky Linux repos: 13.7
Latest version from Postgres: 13.9


# dnf module list postgresql
Last metadata expiration check: 2:42:43 ago on Mon 09 Jan 2023 12:14:26 PM CET.
Rocky Linux 8 - AppStream
Name                                    Stream                                 Profiles                                        Summary
postgresql                              9.6                                    client, server [d]                              PostgreSQL server and client module
postgresql                              10 [d][e]                              client, server [d]                              PostgreSQL server and client module
postgresql                              12                                     client, server [d]                              PostgreSQL server and client module
postgresql                              13                                     client, server [d]                              PostgreSQL server and client module
2

First, the version numbering is based on RHEL and Red Hat’s backporting policy.

Second, if default stream changes automatically, then packages could auto-update and that probably breaks installs. The responsibility to switch streams seems to be on the user. Again, a choice by Red Hat.

PS. The only supported Rocky 8 is based on 8.7, not on 8.6 any more.

3

Hello @frank.wettstein and welcome!

Rocky Linux = bug for bug copy of RHEL, which means the RL version is going to have exactly the versions available that RHEL 8.x would have. That said, while versions do not update (sometimes as you’ve noted here with version 10) the security updates are often applied to the older version. This process is called backporting.

Backporting is explained in this old article from RH: https://access.redhat.com/security/updates/backporting

If you are unsure, you can always use Postgresql’s own repository (see “Postgres YUM Repository” here

4

Thanks for the good answers, very appreciated! I am quite new to Rocky Linux, so not everything was clear not me (but much clearer now :-))