Setting up gnucash to use postgesql back end - close but no cigar ...

[John Ralls]

> On Mar 9, 2015, at 6:45 PM, Colin Law <clanlaw at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> On 9 March 2015 at 09:03, Wm <wm+gnc at tarrcity.demon.co.uk> wrote:
>> Sun, 8 Mar 2015 22:42:16 <54FD0888.1070203 at gmail.com>  Michael Wagner
>> <mikepwagner at gmail.com>
>> 
>>> I have an ubuntu laptop at home that I would like to set up to use as a
>>> personal financial machine. I'd like to use postgrsql as my backend. The
>>> ubuntu in question is 14.04
>>> 
>>> I am new to both postgres and gnu cash, and I am confused as to where the
>>> disconnect is.
> 
> That is irrelevant.  The guy appears to be doing everything right but
> it does not work.  Though it would be worthwhile pointing out that the
> database backends are not yet recommended for 'production' use due to
> insufficient testing.  Unless people use them, however, they will
> never get enough testing.  Perhaps the guy has found a gnucash bug, or
> a packaging problem on ubuntu.
> 
> Michael, are you absolutely sure you put the same username and
> password in that you use when you connect to pg from the command line?
> 
> Which version of gnucash are you using and how did you install it?
> 
>>> 
>>> If I look in the postgres log, it says:
>>> 
>>> 2015-03-08 22:35:54 EDT FATAL:  password authentication failed for user
>>> "michael"
>>> 2015-03-08 22:35:54 EDT DETAIL:  Connection matched pg_hba.conf line 92:
>>> "host    all             all             127.0.0.1/32 md5"
>>> 2015-03-08 22:35:54 EDT FATAL:  password authentication failed for user
>>> "michael"
>>> 2015-03-08 22:35:54 EDT DETAIL:  Connection matched pg_hba.conf line 92:
>>> "host    all             all             127.0.0.1/32 md5"
>>> 
>>> I think that means that gnucash and postgres are using different
>>> authentication mechanisms. I am pretty clueless about this, but I think that
>>> "md5" and  "ident" are two different auithentication mechanisms.
>>> 
>>> Is that correct?
> 
> I doubt it, gc should just be passing it to pg to authenticate.
> 
> Have a look in /tmp and see if there is a gnucash.trace there (run gc
> till you get the error first). If so is there anything significant
> there?


Wm's answer is closer to being right that Colin's.

The bottom line for both MySQL and PostgresQL is that they're both complex servers with steep learning curves for prospective admins and neither the GnuCash user community nor its developers are able to provide any support on that aspect. If you're not an experienced Database Administrator for your server of choice, you hmust either use a different backend, hire an experienced DBA (expect to pay a 6-figure USD salary), or spend the several years of study and practice required to gain the needed knowledge and experience. I recommend the first for home and SoHo users.

A much simpler way is to just use either a shared file system if everything is on the same LAN or a file-sharing service like Dropbox or Google Drive. The latter option has the added benefit of providing off-site backup as part of the package, though you might want to use your own encryption if you're the least bit paranoid about the service proviers.

Regards,
John Ralls