by kraada » Fri Aug 14, 2009 12:17 pm
You could keep the database in a separate partition but unless you're using a virtualization solution - or another computer to run the database - you're going to need to install PostgreSQL on each machine in order to have something running the database when you're booted in there.
I think that might be a bit confusing so let me elaborate a bit:
Say you have one physical computer C. C has different partitions: C1, C2 and C3. C1 and C2 each have their own operating system and C3 is just a data partition. Assume C1 and C2 are both running Windows, and you reboot when you want to switch.
You can install PT3 in C1 and have PostgreSQL put the data in C3. But when you boot into C2, and install PT3 there, there's still no running instance of PostgreSQL. You can't run the PostgreSQL server from C1's installation because of registry conflicts, you will need to install PostgreSQL on C2. The good news though is that you can reuse the data on C3 so you still only have one database.
The other option is to have one large partition and run a host OS and use virtual machines. Obviously your setup needs may vary but at least I have had good experiences with them and I've heard good things about Virtual Box (which is free).