Pool Settings
Pool Settings
Each record in the pool is the name of the virtual database that the pg-doorman client can connect to.
server_host
The directory with unix sockets or the IPv4 address of the PostgreSQL server that serves this pool.
Example: "/var/run/postgresql" or "127.0.0.1".
server_port
The port through which PostgreSQL server accepts incoming connections.
Default: 5432.
server_database
Optional parameter that determines which database should be connected to on the PostgreSQL server.
Example: "exampledb-2"
application_name
Parameter application_name, is sent to the server when opening a connection with PostgreSQL. It may be useful with the sync_server_parameters = false setting.
Example: "exampledb-pool"
connect_timeout
Maximum time to allow for establishing a new server connection for this pool, in milliseconds. If not specified, the global connect_timeout setting is used.
Default: None (uses global setting).
idle_timeout
Close idle connections in this pool that have been opened for longer than this value, in milliseconds. If not specified, the global idle_timeout setting is used.
Default: None (uses global setting).
server_lifetime
Close server connections in this pool that have been opened for longer than this value, in milliseconds. Only applied to idle connections. If not specified, the global server_lifetime setting is used.
Default: None (uses global setting).
pool_mode
-
session: Server is released back to pool after client disconnects. -
transaction: Server is released back to pool after transaction finishes.
Example: "session" or "transaction".
log_client_parameter_status_changes
Log information about any SET command in the log.
Default: false.
cleanup_server_connections
When enabled, the pool will automatically clean up server connections that are no longer needed. This helps manage resources efficiently by closing idle connections.
Default: true.
Pool Users Settings
[pools.exampledb.users.0]
username = "exampledb-user-0" # A virtual user who can connect to this virtual database.
username
A virtual username who can connect to this virtual database (pool).
Example: "exampledb-user-0".
password
The password for the virtual pool user.
Password can be specified in MD5, SCRAM-SHA-256, or JWT format.
Also, you can create a mirror list of users using secrets from the PostgreSQL instance: select usename, passwd from pg_shadow.
Example: md5dd9a0f2...76a09bbfad or SCRAM-SHA-256$4096:E+QNCSW3r58yM+Twj1P5Uw==$LQrKl...Ro1iBKM= or in jwt format: jwt-pkey-fpath:/etc/pg_doorman/jwt/public-exampledb-user.pem
auth_pam_service
The pam-service that is responsible for client authorization. In this case, pg_doorman will ignore the password value.
server_username
The real PostgreSQL username used to connect to the database server.
By default, PgDoorman uses the same username for both client authentication and server connections. However, if the client password is an MD5 or SCRAM hash (which is the typical setup), PostgreSQL will reject the connection because it expects a plaintext password, not a hash.
To fix this, set server_username and server_password to the actual PostgreSQL credentials. Both must be specified together.
Example: "exampledb_server_user".
server_password
The plaintext password for the PostgreSQL server user specified in server_username.
This is needed because PgDoorman stores client passwords as MD5/SCRAM hashes for client authentication, but PostgreSQL requires a plaintext password during server-side authentication.
Example: "real_password_here".
Common Setup Issue
If you see authentication errors when PgDoorman tries to connect to PostgreSQL, the most likely cause is that server_username and server_password are not set. Without these, PgDoorman tries to authenticate to PostgreSQL using the MD5/SCRAM hash from the password field, which PostgreSQL rejects.
Solution: Set both server_username and server_password to the actual PostgreSQL credentials:
pool_size
The maximum number of simultaneous connections to the PostgreSQL server available for this pool and user.
Default: 40.
min_pool_size
The minimum number of connections to maintain in the pool for this user. This helps with performance by keeping connections ready. If specified, it must be less than or equal to pool_size.
Default: None.
server_lifetime
Close server connections for this user that have been opened for longer than this value, in milliseconds. Only applied to idle connections. If not specified, the pool's server_lifetime setting is used.
Default: None (uses pool setting).