Use an external PostgreSQL database for Supply Chain Security Tools - Store

This topic tells you how to configure Tanzu Application Platform (commonly known as TAP) to use an external database.

For production deployments, VMware recommends that you use an external PostgreSQL database rather than the one packaged with Tanzu Application Platform. You can manage an external database by using the best practices and processes that your organization has established.

Before you begin

Gather the following connection information for the external PostgreSQL database:

• Database Instance Connect Endpoint
• CA Certificate for the database instance TLS certificate (if applicable)
• Database credentials
• Name of the database

If migrating from the internal database to an external database, back up the data before proceeding.

Configure Artifact Metadata Repository (AMR) and the Metadata Store (MDS) to use the external database

To configure AMR and MDS to use the external database:

1. Update your tap-values.yaml file:

   metadata_store:
     db_host: "<DB Instance Endpoint>"
     db_user: "<Master Username>"
     db_password: "<Master Password>"
     db_name: "<Database Name>"
     # SEE NOTE BELOW
     # Disable the internal database deployment
     deploy_internal_db: "false"
     db_port: "5432"
     db_max_open_conns: 10
     db_max_idle_conns: 100
     db_conn_max_lifetime: 60
     # If TLS is enabled on PostgreSQL Instance
     db_sslmode: "verify-full"
     # If TLS Certificate is self-signed
     db_ca_certificate: |
       <Corresponding CA Certification>
       ...
       ...
       ...
   

   Caution

   If you initially deployed Tanzu Application Platform with an internal database and are migrating to an external database, setting deploy_internal_db to false removes the internal instance of PostgreSQL. Back up and migrate your data to the database before setting this value to false or you might lose data.

2. Apply the new configuration by running:

   tanzu package installed update tap -p tap.tanzu.vmware.com -v 1.12.1  \
   --values-file tap-values.yaml -n tap-install
   

3. (Optional) If you are migrating from the internal database to an external database, the reconciliation might fail. To manually delete the secret that cert-manager created, and cycle the AMR and MDS Services so that the new secret is picked up, run:

   kubectl delete secret -n metadata_store postgres-db-tls-cert
   kubectl rollout restart -n metadata_store deployment metadata_store-app
   

Validation

Use Bitnami PostgreSQL to validate. For more information, see the Bitnami documentation.