Getting Started

This tutorial is a short introduction to using an IBM Cloud® Databases for EnterpriseDB deployment. pgAdmin is an open source administration platform for PostgreSQL, and provides many tools for managing your data and databases. Download and install the version that is appropriate to your environment, and then follow the steps to connect it to your Databases for EnterpriseDB deployment.

Before you begin

You need to have an IBM Cloud account.
You also need a Databases for EnterpriseDB deployment. You can provision one from the IBM Cloud catalog. Give your deployment a memorable name that appears in your account's Resource List.
Set the Admin Password for your deployment.
Install pgAdmin4.
Review Getting to production for general guidance on setting up a basic IBM Cloud® Databases for EnterpriseDB deployment.

Connect with pgAdmin

pgAdmin runs as a server and you connect to it through a browser. When the server is started, it runs on localhost at default http://127.0.0.1:53113/browser/.

When you first open pgAdmin, you are prompted to set a primary password. This password differs from your deployment's password and is used specifically by pgAdmin to store passwords to your Databases for EnterpriseDB servers or deployments.

From the Dashboard on the Welcome screen, click Add New Server.

Provide pgAdmin with the information needed to connect to your deployment.

First, complete the Connection information,

For Host name/address, use the Hostname of your deployment.
For the Port, use the Port of your deployment.
The Maintenance database remains postgres.
For Username and Password, use the admin credentials that you set after provisioning your deployment. You can choose to have pgAdmin save the password.
The Role and Service fields can be left empty.

Then, configure the SSL settings.

Copy the certificate information from the Endpoints pane.
Save the certificate to a file. (You can use the name that is provided in the download, or your own file name.)
Set the SSL mode field to Verify-Full.
In the Root certificate field, select the file where you saved your deployment's certificate.

Back in your deplyment's General tab, give your deployment a name and add any comments to describe or identify your deployment in pgAdmin.

If the Connect now? field is checked, pgAdmin attempts to connect to your deployment when you click Save.

Use pgAdmin

When pgAdmin connects, your deployment appears in the Servers list and you get a Dashboard with information and statistics.

In the list of databases in the Browser, you see both the postgres database, which you are connected to, and the ibmclouddb database, which is the default database for all Databases for EnterpriseDB deployments. Click ibmclouddb to connect to it and expand the information about it.

Now you can use pgAdmin to view, administer, and manage your data and databases in your Databases for EnterpriseDB deployment. A complete guide can be found in the pgAdmin documentation.

Administrative features that require a superuser are not available through pgAdmin because superuser access is not available to users of a Databases for EnterpriseDB deployment.

Next Steps

If you are using PostgreSQL for the first time, take a tour through the official PostgreSQL documentation.

You can connect to and manage your databases and data with PostgreSQL's command-line tool psql.

Looking for more tools on managing your deployment? Connect to your deployment with the IBM Cloud CLI using the Cloud Databases CLI plug-in, or the Cloud Databases API.

If you plan to use Databases for EnterpriseDB for your applications, check out Connecting an external application and Connecting an IBM Cloud application.

To ensure the stability of your applications and your database, check out High-Availability and Performance.