Steps for Installation of Postgresql in RHEL 7 with different data directory

Installation of Postgresql steps

By default, on CentOS 7, the PostgreSQL v10 data directory is located in /var/lib/pgsql/10/data.

Here’s a simple trick to easily place it somewhere else without using symbolic links.

First of all, install PostgreSQL 10:

# yum install -y https://download.postgresql.org/pub/repos/yum/10/redhat/rhel-7-x86_64/pgdg-centos10-10-2.noarch.rpm
# yum install -y postgresql10-server

If you wish to place your data in (e.g.) /database/pg_data, create the directory with the good rights:

# mkdir -p /database/pg_data
# chown -R postgres:postgres /pgdata

Then, customize the systemd service:

# systemctl edit postgresql-10.service

Add the following content:

[Service]
Environment=PGDATA=/database/pg_data

This will create a /etc/systemd/system/postgresql-10.service.d/override.conf file which will be merged with the original service file.

To check its content:

# cat /etc/systemd/system/postgresql-10.service.d/override.conf
[Service]
Environment=PGDATA=/pgdata/10/data

Reload systemd:

# systemctl daemon-reload

Initialize the PostgreSQL data directory:

# /usr/pgsql-10/bin/postgresql-10-setup initdb

Start and enable the service:

# systemctl enable postgresql-10
# systemctl start postgresql-10