What are the database requirements?

PostgreSQL version and configuration requirements for the CAST Imaging database server

General database requirements

CAST Imaging requires at least one RDBMS to store both the data generated during analyses and persistence data (settings/properties etc.):

  • CAST supports only PostgreSQL external link.
  • Customers are responsible for installing PostgreSQL on their own machines on both Microsoft Windows or Linux (see the note below about Linux deployments where a database instance is provided as part of the installation)
  • Details about one instance will be required during the CAST Imaging installation process (both analysis and persistence data will automatically be stored on this instance).
  • Customers are free to install additional database instances post-install, for example to separate the storage of persistence data and analysis data on two separate instances.

Depending on your installation scenario:

Requirements for analysis data

Three schemas will be created automatically in a database of your choice (postgres by default) for each application you onboard in CAST Imaging:

  • <application_name>_local
  • <application_name>_central
  • <application_name>_mngt

An additional schema will be created automatically in a database of your choice (postgres by default) if you are using the CAST Health/Management Dashboard, where results for all applications are consolidated together:

  • general_measure (or other custom name)

Requirements for persistence data

Two schemas (control_panel and keycloak) will be created automatically in the database of your choice (postgres by default) during the installation.

Supported PostgreSQL releases

CAST supports the following official PostgreSQL releases on both Microsoft Windows and Linux (64-bit):

PostgreSQL release Architecture Notes
18.x 64bit Recommended. Requires com.castsoftware.imaging.core external link 8.4.8 or above.
17.x 64bit Requires com.castsoftware.imaging.core external link 8.4.8 or above.

Note: When using a 17.x instance with CAST Imaging 3.5.4-funcrel installed on Docker/Podman/Kubernetes, schema backups via the built-in application backup feature are unavailable. This is a known issue, resolved in 3.5.5-funcrel.
16.x 64bit Requires com.castsoftware.imaging.core external link 8.4.1 or above.
15.x 64bit CAST provides this release of PostgreSQL as a Docker image when installing CAST Imaging on Linux via Docker/Podman.

Requirements for the database user and encoding

These requirements apply to any instance you provide yourself - all Microsoft Windows installations, and Linux installations using DB_MODE=external. The instance CAST provides on Linux/Podman (DB_MODE=embedded) already meets them.

During the installation and each time an application is onboarded, CAST Imaging creates schemas, roles and objects on your behalf using the account you provide (DB_USER on Linux/Podman, CSS_USER on Microsoft Windows), so that account needs sufficient rights:

Requirement Detail
Role privileges The login role must be SUPERUSER, or hold both CREATEDB and CREATEROLE.
Tablespace privileges The login role must hold CREATE on the pg_default tablespace.
Server encoding The database must use the UTF8 encoding.

To check the instance before you install:

SELECT rolsuper, rolcreatedb, rolcreaterole FROM pg_roles WHERE rolname = current_user;
SELECT has_tablespace_privilege(current_user, 'pg_default', 'CREATE');
SHOW server_encoding;

Where the role privileges are missing, grant them with a superuser account - for example, for a login role called operator:

ALTER ROLE operator CREATEDB CREATEROLE;
GRANT CREATE ON TABLESPACE pg_default TO operator;