Mapping Broadcom PostgreSQL packages to native RHEL repositories in VMware Aria Automation Config

Products

• VCF Operations/Automation (formerly VMware Aria Suite)

Issue/Introduction

After upgrading VMware Aria Automation Config to version 8.18.3 using Broadcom-provided binaries, you may observe that the PostgreSQL RPM files provided in the installation download are sourced from the PostgreSQL Global Development Group (PGDG) repository rather than a native Red Hat (RHEL) repository.

If your organizational policies require installing database components directly from a native RHEL AppStream repository using the Broadcom SLS file, you will notice a mismatch in RPM file names between the Broadcom download and the RHEL repository.

The specific Broadcom-provided PGDG packages in question are:

• postgresql15-libs-15.16-1PGDG.rhel8.10.x86_64.rpm

• postgresql15-15.16-1PGDG.rhel8.10.x86_64.rpm

• postgresql15-server-15.16-1PGDG.rhel8.10.x86_64.rpm

• postgresql15-contrib-15.16-1PGDG.rhel8.10.x86_64.rpm

Environment

• VMware Aria Automation Config 8.18.3

• Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 8.x / 9.x

Cause

The Broadcom-provided installer includes the official upstream packages directly from PGDG purely to simplify the installation process. PGDG prefixes their files with the version number (e.g., postgresql15-...) because they allow multiple versions of PostgreSQL to be installed on the same machine simultaneously.

Red Hat uses module streams instead, meaning their AppStream packages use the base name (e.g., postgresql-...). The naming discrepancy stems directly from where the packages were originally sourced, not from any proprietary renaming.

Resolution

You are permitted to install Valkey and PostgreSQL from alternative repositories (such as your own RHEL repos) rather than using the files provided in the Broadcom installation package. As long as the installed versions match the supported matrix outlined in the official VMware Salt Installation Documentation, your environment remains fully supported.

To perform the installation using native RHEL repositories, map the Broadcom-provided RPMs to their RHEL AppStream equivalents as follows:

1. Map the core database server engine:

   • Broadcom: postgresql15-server

   • RHEL Equivalent: postgresql-server

2. Map the shared libraries (required for client applications to connect):

   • Broadcom: postgresql15-libs

   • RHEL Equivalent: postgresql-private-libs (Note: RHEL sometimes splits out libpq as a dependency, but functionally, this is the correct match).

3. Map the client utilities and base programs (e.g., psql, pg_dump):

   • Broadcom: postgresql15 (Matches file: postgresql15-15.16-1PGDG...rpm)

   • RHEL Equivalent: postgresql

4. Map the additional supplied modules, tools, and extensions:

   • Broadcom: postgresql15-contrib

   • RHEL Equivalent: postgresql-contrib

To download the necessary packages from your RHEL AppStream repository: Use your standard package manager. For example, to locate or download the contrib package, run:

dnf download postgresql-contrib

or

yum search postgresql-contrib

Additional Information

Broadcom Support and Engineering do not provide custom modifications to the installer Salt states.

Creating custom installation states falls outside the scope of standard support and would instead require engagement with the Professional Services Organization (PSO).

However, because the installer files and states are not restricted materials, you are welcome to modify the installation states yourself to fit your specific deployment requirements.

VCF Salt RaaS System Requirements docs

REDIS/VALKEY:

Since Valkey is a third-party software, you are responsible for ongoing maintenance and other administrative tasks.

PostgreSQL version

Since PostgreSQL is a third-party software, you are responsible for ongoing maintenance, backups, and other administrative tasks. For information about PostgreSQL database maintenance and administration, see the PostgreSQL documentation.