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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" /><title>F.33. postgres_fdw</title><link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="stylesheet.css" /><link rev="made" href="pgsql-docs@lists.postgresql.org" /><meta name="generator" content="DocBook XSL Stylesheets Vsnapshot" /><link rel="prev" href="pgvisibility.html" title="F.32. pg_visibility" /><link rel="next" href="seg.html" title="F.34. seg" /></head><body><div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/transitional" class="navheader"><table width="100%" summary="Navigation header"><tr><th colspan="5" align="center">F.33. postgres_fdw</th></tr><tr><td width="10%" align="left"><a accesskey="p" href="pgvisibility.html" title="F.32. pg_visibility">Prev</a> </td><td width="10%" align="left"><a accesskey="u" href="contrib.html" title="Appendix F. Additional Supplied Modules">Up</a></td><th width="60%" align="center">Appendix F. Additional Supplied Modules</th><td width="10%" align="right"><a accesskey="h" href="index.html" title="PostgreSQL 11.5 Documentation">Home</a></td><td width="10%" align="right"> <a accesskey="n" href="seg.html" title="F.34. seg">Next</a></td></tr></table><hr></hr></div><div class="sect1" id="POSTGRES-FDW"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both">F.33. postgres_fdw</h2></div></div></div><div class="toc"><dl class="toc"><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="postgres-fdw.html#id-1.11.7.42.10">F.33.1. FDW Options of postgres_fdw</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="postgres-fdw.html#id-1.11.7.42.11">F.33.2. Connection Management</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="postgres-fdw.html#id-1.11.7.42.12">F.33.3. Transaction Management</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="postgres-fdw.html#id-1.11.7.42.13">F.33.4. Remote Query Optimization</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="postgres-fdw.html#id-1.11.7.42.14">F.33.5. Remote Query Execution Environment</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="postgres-fdw.html#id-1.11.7.42.15">F.33.6. Cross-Version Compatibility</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="postgres-fdw.html#id-1.11.7.42.16">F.33.7. Examples</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="postgres-fdw.html#id-1.11.7.42.17">F.33.8. Author</a></span></dt></dl></div><a id="id-1.11.7.42.2" class="indexterm"></a><p>
The <code class="filename">postgres_fdw</code> module provides the foreign-data wrapper
<code class="literal">postgres_fdw</code>, which can be used to access data
stored in external <span class="productname">PostgreSQL</span> servers.
</p><p>
The functionality provided by this module overlaps substantially
with the functionality of the older <a class="xref" href="dblink.html" title="F.10. dblink">dblink</a> module.
But <code class="filename">postgres_fdw</code> provides more transparent and
standards-compliant syntax for accessing remote tables, and can give
better performance in many cases.
</p><p>
To prepare for remote access using <code class="filename">postgres_fdw</code>:
</p><div class="orderedlist"><ol class="orderedlist compact" type="1"><li class="listitem"><p>
Install the <code class="filename">postgres_fdw</code> extension using <a class="xref" href="sql-createextension.html" title="CREATE EXTENSION"><span class="refentrytitle">CREATE EXTENSION</span></a>.
</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
Create a foreign server object, using <a class="xref" href="sql-createserver.html" title="CREATE SERVER"><span class="refentrytitle">CREATE SERVER</span></a>,
to represent each remote database you want to connect to.
Specify connection information, except <code class="literal">user</code> and
<code class="literal">password</code>, as options of the server object.
</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
Create a user mapping, using <a class="xref" href="sql-createusermapping.html" title="CREATE USER MAPPING"><span class="refentrytitle">CREATE USER MAPPING</span></a>, for
each database user you want to allow to access each foreign server.
Specify the remote user name and password to use as
<code class="literal">user</code> and <code class="literal">password</code> options of the
user mapping.
</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
Create a foreign table, using <a class="xref" href="sql-createforeigntable.html" title="CREATE FOREIGN TABLE"><span class="refentrytitle">CREATE FOREIGN TABLE</span></a>
or <a class="xref" href="sql-importforeignschema.html" title="IMPORT FOREIGN SCHEMA"><span class="refentrytitle">IMPORT FOREIGN SCHEMA</span></a>,
for each remote table you want to access. The columns of the foreign
table must match the referenced remote table. You can, however, use
table and/or column names different from the remote table's, if you
specify the correct remote names as options of the foreign table object.
</p></li></ol></div><p>
</p><p>
Now you need only <code class="command">SELECT</code> from a foreign table to access
the data stored in its underlying remote table. You can also modify
the remote table using <code class="command">INSERT</code>, <code class="command">UPDATE</code>, or
<code class="command">DELETE</code>. (Of course, the remote user you have specified
in your user mapping must have privileges to do these things.)
</p><p>
Note that <code class="filename">postgres_fdw</code> currently lacks support for
<code class="command">INSERT</code> statements with an <code class="literal">ON CONFLICT DO
UPDATE</code> clause. However, the <code class="literal">ON CONFLICT DO NOTHING</code>
clause is supported, provided a unique index inference specification
is omitted.
Note also that <code class="filename">postgres_fdw</code> supports row movement
invoked by <code class="command">UPDATE</code> statements executed on partitioned
tables, but it currently does not handle the case where a remote partition
chosen to insert a moved row into is also an <code class="command">UPDATE</code>
target partition that will be updated later.
</p><p>
It is generally recommended that the columns of a foreign table be declared
with exactly the same data types, and collations if applicable, as the
referenced columns of the remote table. Although <code class="filename">postgres_fdw</code>
is currently rather forgiving about performing data type conversions at
need, surprising semantic anomalies may arise when types or collations do
not match, due to the remote server interpreting <code class="literal">WHERE</code> clauses
slightly differently from the local server.
</p><p>
Note that a foreign table can be declared with fewer columns, or with a
different column order, than its underlying remote table has. Matching
of columns to the remote table is by name, not position.
</p><div class="sect2" id="id-1.11.7.42.10"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title">F.33.1. FDW Options of postgres_fdw</h3></div></div></div><div class="sect3" id="id-1.11.7.42.10.2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h4 class="title">F.33.1.1. Connection Options</h4></div></div></div><p>
A foreign server using the <code class="filename">postgres_fdw</code> foreign data wrapper
can have the same options that <span class="application">libpq</span> accepts in
connection strings, as described in <a class="xref" href="libpq-connect.html#LIBPQ-PARAMKEYWORDS" title="34.1.2. Parameter Key Words">Section 34.1.2</a>,
except that these options are not allowed:
</p><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist compact" style="list-style-type: disc; "><li class="listitem"><p>
<code class="literal">user</code> and <code class="literal">password</code> (specify these
in a user mapping, instead)
</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
<code class="literal">client_encoding</code> (this is automatically set from the local
server encoding)
</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
<code class="literal">fallback_application_name</code> (always set to
<code class="literal">postgres_fdw</code>)
</p></li></ul></div><p>
</p><p>
Only superusers may connect to foreign servers without password
authentication, so always specify the <code class="literal">password</code> option
for user mappings belonging to non-superusers.
</p></div><div class="sect3" id="id-1.11.7.42.10.3"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h4 class="title">F.33.1.2. Object Name Options</h4></div></div></div><p>
These options can be used to control the names used in SQL statements
sent to the remote <span class="productname">PostgreSQL</span> server. These
options are needed when a foreign table is created with names different
from the underlying remote table's names.
</p><div class="variablelist"><dl class="variablelist"><dt><span class="term"><code class="literal">schema_name</code></span></dt><dd><p>
This option, which can be specified for a foreign table, gives the
schema name to use for the foreign table on the remote server. If this
option is omitted, the name of the foreign table's schema is used.
</p></dd><dt><span class="term"><code class="literal">table_name</code></span></dt><dd><p>
This option, which can be specified for a foreign table, gives the
table name to use for the foreign table on the remote server. If this
option is omitted, the foreign table's name is used.
</p></dd><dt><span class="term"><code class="literal">column_name</code></span></dt><dd><p>
This option, which can be specified for a column of a foreign table,
gives the column name to use for the column on the remote server.
If this option is omitted, the column's name is used.
</p></dd></dl></div></div><div class="sect3" id="id-1.11.7.42.10.4"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h4 class="title">F.33.1.3. Cost Estimation Options</h4></div></div></div><p>
<code class="filename">postgres_fdw</code> retrieves remote data by executing queries
against remote servers, so ideally the estimated cost of scanning a
foreign table should be whatever it costs to be done on the remote
server, plus some overhead for communication. The most reliable way to
get such an estimate is to ask the remote server and then add something
for overhead — but for simple queries, it may not be worth the cost
of an additional remote query to get a cost estimate.
So <code class="filename">postgres_fdw</code> provides the following options to control
how cost estimation is done:
</p><div class="variablelist"><dl class="variablelist"><dt><span class="term"><code class="literal">use_remote_estimate</code></span></dt><dd><p>
This option, which can be specified for a foreign table or a foreign
server, controls whether <code class="filename">postgres_fdw</code> issues remote
<code class="command">EXPLAIN</code> commands to obtain cost estimates.
A setting for a foreign table overrides any setting for its server,
but only for that table.
The default is <code class="literal">false</code>.
</p></dd><dt><span class="term"><code class="literal">fdw_startup_cost</code></span></dt><dd><p>
This option, which can be specified for a foreign server, is a numeric
value that is added to the estimated startup cost of any foreign-table
scan on that server. This represents the additional overhead of
establishing a connection, parsing and planning the query on the
remote side, etc.
The default value is <code class="literal">100</code>.
</p></dd><dt><span class="term"><code class="literal">fdw_tuple_cost</code></span></dt><dd><p>
This option, which can be specified for a foreign server, is a numeric
value that is used as extra cost per-tuple for foreign-table
scans on that server. This represents the additional overhead of
data transfer between servers. You might increase or decrease this
number to reflect higher or lower network delay to the remote server.
The default value is <code class="literal">0.01</code>.
</p></dd></dl></div><p>
When <code class="literal">use_remote_estimate</code> is true,
<code class="filename">postgres_fdw</code> obtains row count and cost estimates from the
remote server and then adds <code class="literal">fdw_startup_cost</code> and
<code class="literal">fdw_tuple_cost</code> to the cost estimates. When
<code class="literal">use_remote_estimate</code> is false,
<code class="filename">postgres_fdw</code> performs local row count and cost estimation
and then adds <code class="literal">fdw_startup_cost</code> and
<code class="literal">fdw_tuple_cost</code> to the cost estimates. This local
estimation is unlikely to be very accurate unless local copies of the
remote table's statistics are available. Running
<a class="xref" href="sql-analyze.html" title="ANALYZE"><span class="refentrytitle">ANALYZE</span></a> on the foreign table is the way to update
the local statistics; this will perform a scan of the remote table and
then calculate and store statistics just as though the table were local.
Keeping local statistics can be a useful way to reduce per-query planning
overhead for a remote table — but if the remote table is
frequently updated, the local statistics will soon be obsolete.
</p></div><div class="sect3" id="id-1.11.7.42.10.5"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h4 class="title">F.33.1.4. Remote Execution Options</h4></div></div></div><p>
By default, only <code class="literal">WHERE</code> clauses using built-in operators and
functions will be considered for execution on the remote server. Clauses
involving non-built-in functions are checked locally after rows are
fetched. If such functions are available on the remote server and can be
relied on to produce the same results as they do locally, performance can
be improved by sending such <code class="literal">WHERE</code> clauses for remote
execution. This behavior can be controlled using the following option:
</p><div class="variablelist"><dl class="variablelist"><dt><span class="term"><code class="literal">extensions</code></span></dt><dd><p>
This option is a comma-separated list of names
of <span class="productname">PostgreSQL</span> extensions that are installed, in
compatible versions, on both the local and remote servers. Functions
and operators that are immutable and belong to a listed extension will
be considered shippable to the remote server.
This option can only be specified for foreign servers, not per-table.
</p><p>
When using the <code class="literal">extensions</code> option, <span class="emphasis"><em>it is the
user's responsibility</em></span> that the listed extensions exist and behave
identically on both the local and remote servers. Otherwise, remote
queries may fail or behave unexpectedly.
</p></dd><dt><span class="term"><code class="literal">fetch_size</code></span></dt><dd><p>
This option specifies the number of rows <code class="filename">postgres_fdw</code>
should get in each fetch operation. It can be specified for a foreign
table or a foreign server. The option specified on a table overrides
an option specified for the server.
The default is <code class="literal">100</code>.
</p></dd></dl></div></div><div class="sect3" id="id-1.11.7.42.10.6"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h4 class="title">F.33.1.5. Updatability Options</h4></div></div></div><p>
By default all foreign tables using <code class="filename">postgres_fdw</code> are assumed
to be updatable. This may be overridden using the following option:
</p><div class="variablelist"><dl class="variablelist"><dt><span class="term"><code class="literal">updatable</code></span></dt><dd><p>
This option controls whether <code class="filename">postgres_fdw</code> allows foreign
tables to be modified using <code class="command">INSERT</code>, <code class="command">UPDATE</code> and
<code class="command">DELETE</code> commands. It can be specified for a foreign table
or a foreign server. A table-level option overrides a server-level
option.
The default is <code class="literal">true</code>.
</p><p>
Of course, if the remote table is not in fact updatable, an error
would occur anyway. Use of this option primarily allows the error to
be thrown locally without querying the remote server. Note however
that the <code class="literal">information_schema</code> views will report a
<code class="filename">postgres_fdw</code> foreign table to be updatable (or not)
according to the setting of this option, without any check of the
remote server.
</p></dd></dl></div></div><div class="sect3" id="id-1.11.7.42.10.7"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h4 class="title">F.33.1.6. Importing Options</h4></div></div></div><p>
<code class="filename">postgres_fdw</code> is able to import foreign table definitions
using <a class="xref" href="sql-importforeignschema.html" title="IMPORT FOREIGN SCHEMA"><span class="refentrytitle">IMPORT FOREIGN SCHEMA</span></a>. This command creates
foreign table definitions on the local server that match tables or
views present on the remote server. If the remote tables to be imported
have columns of user-defined data types, the local server must have
compatible types of the same names.
</p><p>
Importing behavior can be customized with the following options
(given in the <code class="command">IMPORT FOREIGN SCHEMA</code> command):
</p><div class="variablelist"><dl class="variablelist"><dt><span class="term"><code class="literal">import_collate</code></span></dt><dd><p>
This option controls whether column <code class="literal">COLLATE</code> options
are included in the definitions of foreign tables imported
from a foreign server. The default is <code class="literal">true</code>. You might
need to turn this off if the remote server has a different set of
collation names than the local server does, which is likely to be the
case if it's running on a different operating system.
</p></dd><dt><span class="term"><code class="literal">import_default</code></span></dt><dd><p>
This option controls whether column <code class="literal">DEFAULT</code> expressions
are included in the definitions of foreign tables imported
from a foreign server. The default is <code class="literal">false</code>. If you
enable this option, be wary of defaults that might get computed
differently on the local server than they would be on the remote
server; <code class="function">nextval()</code> is a common source of problems.
The <code class="command">IMPORT</code> will fail altogether if an imported default
expression uses a function or operator that does not exist locally.
</p></dd><dt><span class="term"><code class="literal">import_not_null</code></span></dt><dd><p>
This option controls whether column <code class="literal">NOT NULL</code>
constraints are included in the definitions of foreign tables imported
from a foreign server. The default is <code class="literal">true</code>.
</p></dd></dl></div><p>
Note that constraints other than <code class="literal">NOT NULL</code> will never be
imported from the remote tables. Although <span class="productname">PostgreSQL</span>
does support <code class="literal">CHECK</code> constraints on foreign tables, there is no
provision for importing them automatically, because of the risk that a
constraint expression could evaluate differently on the local and remote
servers. Any such inconsistency in the behavior of a <code class="literal">CHECK</code>
constraint could lead to hard-to-detect errors in query optimization.
So if you wish to import <code class="literal">CHECK</code> constraints, you must do so
manually, and you should verify the semantics of each one carefully.
For more detail about the treatment of <code class="literal">CHECK</code> constraints on
foreign tables, see <a class="xref" href="sql-createforeigntable.html" title="CREATE FOREIGN TABLE"><span class="refentrytitle">CREATE FOREIGN TABLE</span></a>.
</p><p>
Tables or foreign tables which are partitions of some other table are
automatically excluded. Partitioned tables are imported, unless they
are a partition of some other table. Since all data can be accessed
through the partitioned table which is the root of the partitioning
hierarchy, this approach should allow access to all the data without
creating extra objects.
</p></div></div><div class="sect2" id="id-1.11.7.42.11"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title">F.33.2. Connection Management</h3></div></div></div><p>
<code class="filename">postgres_fdw</code> establishes a connection to a
foreign server during the first query that uses a foreign table
associated with the foreign server. This connection is kept and
re-used for subsequent queries in the same session. However, if
multiple user identities (user mappings) are used to access the foreign
server, a connection is established for each user mapping.
</p></div><div class="sect2" id="id-1.11.7.42.12"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title">F.33.3. Transaction Management</h3></div></div></div><p>
During a query that references any remote tables on a foreign server,
<code class="filename">postgres_fdw</code> opens a transaction on the
remote server if one is not already open corresponding to the current
local transaction. The remote transaction is committed or aborted when
the local transaction commits or aborts. Savepoints are similarly
managed by creating corresponding remote savepoints.
</p><p>
The remote transaction uses <code class="literal">SERIALIZABLE</code>
isolation level when the local transaction has <code class="literal">SERIALIZABLE</code>
isolation level; otherwise it uses <code class="literal">REPEATABLE READ</code>
isolation level. This choice ensures that if a query performs multiple
table scans on the remote server, it will get snapshot-consistent results
for all the scans. A consequence is that successive queries within a
single transaction will see the same data from the remote server, even if
concurrent updates are occurring on the remote server due to other
activities. That behavior would be expected anyway if the local
transaction uses <code class="literal">SERIALIZABLE</code> or <code class="literal">REPEATABLE READ</code>
isolation level, but it might be surprising for a <code class="literal">READ
COMMITTED</code> local transaction. A future
<span class="productname">PostgreSQL</span> release might modify these rules.
</p></div><div class="sect2" id="id-1.11.7.42.13"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title">F.33.4. Remote Query Optimization</h3></div></div></div><p>
<code class="filename">postgres_fdw</code> attempts to optimize remote queries to reduce
the amount of data transferred from foreign servers. This is done by
sending query <code class="literal">WHERE</code> clauses to the remote server for
execution, and by not retrieving table columns that are not needed for
the current query. To reduce the risk of misexecution of queries,
<code class="literal">WHERE</code> clauses are not sent to the remote server unless they use
only data types, operators, and functions that are built-in or belong to an
extension that's listed in the foreign server's <code class="literal">extensions</code>
option. Operators and functions in such clauses must
be <code class="literal">IMMUTABLE</code> as well.
For an <code class="command">UPDATE</code> or <code class="command">DELETE</code> query,
<code class="filename">postgres_fdw</code> attempts to optimize the query execution by
sending the whole query to the remote server if there are no query
<code class="literal">WHERE</code> clauses that cannot be sent to the remote server,
no local joins for the query, no row-level local <code class="literal">BEFORE</code> or
<code class="literal">AFTER</code> triggers on the target table, and no
<code class="literal">CHECK OPTION</code> constraints from parent views.
In <code class="command">UPDATE</code>,
expressions to assign to target columns must use only built-in data types,
<code class="literal">IMMUTABLE</code> operators, or <code class="literal">IMMUTABLE</code> functions,
to reduce the risk of misexecution of the query.
</p><p>
When <code class="filename">postgres_fdw</code> encounters a join between foreign tables on
the same foreign server, it sends the entire join to the foreign server,
unless for some reason it believes that it will be more efficient to fetch
rows from each table individually, or unless the table references involved
are subject to different user mappings. While sending the <code class="literal">JOIN</code>
clauses, it takes the same precautions as mentioned above for the
<code class="literal">WHERE</code> clauses.
</p><p>
The query that is actually sent to the remote server for execution can
be examined using <code class="command">EXPLAIN VERBOSE</code>.
</p></div><div class="sect2" id="id-1.11.7.42.14"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title">F.33.5. Remote Query Execution Environment</h3></div></div></div><p>
In the remote sessions opened by <code class="filename">postgres_fdw</code>,
the <a class="xref" href="runtime-config-client.html#GUC-SEARCH-PATH">search_path</a> parameter is set to
just <code class="literal">pg_catalog</code>, so that only built-in objects are visible
without schema qualification. This is not an issue for queries
generated by <code class="filename">postgres_fdw</code> itself, because it always
supplies such qualification. However, this can pose a hazard for
functions that are executed on the remote server via triggers or rules
on remote tables. For example, if a remote table is actually a view,
any functions used in that view will be executed with the restricted
search path. It is recommended to schema-qualify all names in such
functions, or else attach <code class="literal">SET search_path</code> options
(see <a class="xref" href="sql-createfunction.html" title="CREATE FUNCTION"><span class="refentrytitle">CREATE FUNCTION</span></a>) to such functions
to establish their expected search path environment.
</p><p>
<code class="filename">postgres_fdw</code> likewise establishes remote session settings
for various parameters:
</p><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist compact" style="list-style-type: disc; "><li class="listitem"><p>
<a class="xref" href="runtime-config-client.html#GUC-TIMEZONE">TimeZone</a> is set to <code class="literal">UTC</code>
</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
<a class="xref" href="runtime-config-client.html#GUC-DATESTYLE">DateStyle</a> is set to <code class="literal">ISO</code>
</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
<a class="xref" href="runtime-config-client.html#GUC-INTERVALSTYLE">IntervalStyle</a> is set to <code class="literal">postgres</code>
</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
<a class="xref" href="runtime-config-client.html#GUC-EXTRA-FLOAT-DIGITS">extra_float_digits</a> is set to <code class="literal">3</code> for remote
servers 9.0 and newer and is set to <code class="literal">2</code> for older versions
</p></li></ul></div><p>
These are less likely to be problematic than <code class="varname">search_path</code>, but
can be handled with function <code class="literal">SET</code> options if the need arises.
</p><p>
It is <span class="emphasis"><em>not</em></span> recommended that you override this behavior by
changing the session-level settings of these parameters; that is likely
to cause <code class="filename">postgres_fdw</code> to malfunction.
</p></div><div class="sect2" id="id-1.11.7.42.15"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title">F.33.6. Cross-Version Compatibility</h3></div></div></div><p>
<code class="filename">postgres_fdw</code> can be used with remote servers dating back
to <span class="productname">PostgreSQL</span> 8.3. Read-only capability is available
back to 8.1. A limitation however is that <code class="filename">postgres_fdw</code>
generally assumes that immutable built-in functions and operators are
safe to send to the remote server for execution, if they appear in a
<code class="literal">WHERE</code> clause for a foreign table. Thus, a built-in
function that was added since the remote server's release might be sent
to it for execution, resulting in <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">function does not exist</span>”</span> or
a similar error. This type of failure can be worked around by
rewriting the query, for example by embedding the foreign table
reference in a sub-<code class="literal">SELECT</code> with <code class="literal">OFFSET 0</code> as an
optimization fence, and placing the problematic function or operator
outside the sub-<code class="literal">SELECT</code>.
</p></div><div class="sect2" id="id-1.11.7.42.16"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title">F.33.7. Examples</h3></div></div></div><p>
Here is an example of creating a foreign table with
<code class="literal">postgres_fdw</code>. First install the extension:
</p><pre class="programlisting">
CREATE EXTENSION postgres_fdw;
</pre><p>
Then create a foreign server using <a class="xref" href="sql-createserver.html" title="CREATE SERVER"><span class="refentrytitle">CREATE SERVER</span></a>.
In this example we wish to connect to a <span class="productname">PostgreSQL</span> server
on host <code class="literal">192.83.123.89</code> listening on
port <code class="literal">5432</code>. The database to which the connection is made
is named <code class="literal">foreign_db</code> on the remote server:
</p><pre class="programlisting">
CREATE SERVER foreign_server
FOREIGN DATA WRAPPER postgres_fdw
OPTIONS (host '192.83.123.89', port '5432', dbname 'foreign_db');
</pre><p>
</p><p>
A user mapping, defined with <a class="xref" href="sql-createusermapping.html" title="CREATE USER MAPPING"><span class="refentrytitle">CREATE USER MAPPING</span></a>, is
needed as well to identify the role that will be used on the remote
server:
</p><pre class="programlisting">
CREATE USER MAPPING FOR local_user
SERVER foreign_server
OPTIONS (user 'foreign_user', password 'password');
</pre><p>
</p><p>
Now it is possible to create a foreign table with
<a class="xref" href="sql-createforeigntable.html" title="CREATE FOREIGN TABLE"><span class="refentrytitle">CREATE FOREIGN TABLE</span></a>. In this example we
wish to access the table named <code class="structname">some_schema.some_table</code>
on the remote server. The local name for it will
be <code class="structname">foreign_table</code>:
</p><pre class="programlisting">
CREATE FOREIGN TABLE foreign_table (
id integer NOT NULL,
data text
)
SERVER foreign_server
OPTIONS (schema_name 'some_schema', table_name 'some_table');
</pre><p>
It's essential that the data types and other properties of the columns
declared in <code class="command">CREATE FOREIGN TABLE</code> match the actual remote table.
Column names must match as well, unless you attach <code class="literal">column_name</code>
options to the individual columns to show how they are named in the remote
table.
In many cases, use of <a class="xref" href="sql-importforeignschema.html" title="IMPORT FOREIGN SCHEMA"><span class="refentrytitle">IMPORT FOREIGN SCHEMA</span></a> is
preferable to constructing foreign table definitions manually.
</p></div><div class="sect2" id="id-1.11.7.42.17"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title">F.33.8. Author</h3></div></div></div><p>
Shigeru Hanada <code class="email"><<a class="email" href="mailto:shigeru.hanada@gmail.com">shigeru.hanada@gmail.com</a>></code>
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