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Percona Documentation

Set up pg_tde

Load the pg_tde at the start time. The extension requires additional shared memory; therefore, add the pg_tde value for the shared_preload_libraries parameter and restart the postgresql instance.

  1. Use the ALTER SYSTEM command from psql terminal to modify the shared_preload_libraries parameter.

    ALTER SYSTEM SET shared_preload_libraries = 'pg_tde';

  2. Start or restart the postgresql instance to apply the changes.

    • On Debian and Ubuntu: 
    sudo systemctl restart postgresql.service
    • On RHEL and derivatives
    sudo systemctl restart postgresql-16

  3. Create the extension using the CREATE EXTENSION command. You must have the privileges of a superuser or a database owner to use this command. Connect to psql as a superuser for a database and run the following command:

    CREATE EXTENSION pg_tde;

    By default, the pg_tde extension is created for the currently used database. To enable data encryption in other databases, you must explicitly run the CREATE EXTENSION command against them.

    Tip

    You can have the pg_tde extension automatically enabled for every newly created database. Modify the template template1 database as follows: 

    psql -d template1 -c 'CREATE EXTENSION pg_tde;'

  4. Set up a key provider for the database where you have enabled the extension

    SELECT pg_tde_add_key_provider_vault_v2('provider-name',:'secret_token','url','mount','ca_path');

    where:

    • url is the URL of the Vault server
    • mount is the mount point where the keyring should store the keys
    • secret_token is an access token with read and write access to the above mount point
    • [optional] ca_path is the path of the CA file used for SSL verification

    This setup is intended for development and stores the keys unencrypted in the specified data file. 

    SELECT pg_tde_add_key_provider_file('provider-name','/path/to/the/keyring/data.file');

  5. Add a principal key

    SELECT pg_tde_set_principal_key('name-of-the-principal-key', 'provider-name');

Info: The key provider configuration is stored in the database catalog in an unencrypted table. See how to use external reference to parameters to add an extra security layer to your setup.

Next steps

Test TDE

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