Privileges determine what a user is authorized to do with the data and the database. Privileges should be assigned based on the type of work the person does within the organization. Is the user involved with administration of the geodatabase? Does the user need to edit or create data? Would the user only need to query the data?
User privileges are set at different levels. This topic describes the required database and dataset privileges for common types of users: data viewers, data editors, data creators, and the geodatabase administrator.
Individual database users in PostgreSQL are referred to as login roles. To group together login roles based on the common tasks the users perform, you can create group roles, add the login roles to the group roles, and assign privileges to the group roles.
You can use one of the administrative applications that connect to PostgreSQL databases, such as pgAdmin III, to administer user privileges. Or you can use SQL statements to grant and revoke privileges.
Privileges on datasets should be granted or revoked by the dataset owner using the Privileges dialog box or Change Privileges geoprocessing tool in ArcGIS for Desktop. See Grant and revoke dataset privileges for instructions.
Minimum privileges
The following table lists privileges to be granted to each of three common groups—data viewers, data editors, and data creators—and the minimum privileges needed by the geodatabase administrator (the sde login role) for day-to-day operations.
| Type of user | Database privileges | Dataset privileges | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
Data viewer |
| SELECT on specific datasets | If the user will be accessing feature classes that use PostGIS geometry storage, the user must be granted SELECT privileges on the public.geometry_columns and public.spatial_ref_sys tables. |
Data editor |
| SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, and DELETE on other users' datasets | If the user will be editing versioned data through a versioned view, the user must also be granted SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, and DELETE privileges on the versioned view. When you use the Privileges dialog box in ArcGIS to grant the SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, and DELETE privileges on a versioned feature class, those privileges are automatically granted on the associated versioned view. If the user will be accessing feature classes that use PostGIS geometry storage, the user must be granted SELECT privileges on the public.geometry_column and public.spatial_ref_sys tables. |
Data creator |
| If using the PostGIS geometry type, you must also grant SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, and DELETE on the public.geometry_columns table (syntax = GRANT SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE ON TABLE public.geometry_columns TO <role_name>). Also grant SELECT on the public.spatial_ref_sys table (syntax = GRANT SELECT ON TABLE public.spatial_ref_sys TO <role_name>). | |
Geodatabase administrator (the sde login role) | USAGE on all other user schemas | If this is not granted, sde will not be able to compress or upgrade the geodatabase. |
Privileges required to create or upgrade a geodatabase
The sde login role must be granted superuser status to create a geodatabase. To upgrade a geodatabase, the sde login role must be granted superuser status, have the ability to access all other users' schemas, and be able to select all the datasets in the geodatabase.
Superuser status is also required to drop database connections using ArcGIS tools. Therefore, you can revoke superuser privileges after the geodatabase is created or upgraded but only if you do not want the sde user to be able to drop connections.