This browser is no longer supported.
Upgrade to Microsoft Edge to take advantage of the latest features, security updates, and technical support.
I'm trying to migrate an onprem PostgreSQL 16 database to an Azure database from PostgreSQL flexible server and I'm having the following problem:
However, trying to run the command
CREATE EXTENSION postgis_tiger_geocoder;
from Dbeaver to destination database does not cause any errors.
I added the following extensions to the server
and also I changed search_path and shared_preload_libraries
Thanks to anyone who can help me
I've solved the issue dropping the extension on the source server before migration and re-CREATE it after migration on target database.
Hi @Pilladi Padma Sai Manisha thanks for your detailed reply.
What do you mean with "To proceed, make sure the extension already exists in the target database before rerunning validation, and then configure the migration to move only schema and data, excluding extension creation"
Using native migration tool in flexible server I cannot exclude estensions. Tool requires only source and target database.
I cannot temporarily remove the extension from source database.
I tried to manually add the extension and relaunch the migration but the problem remains
Thanks for your support
![](data:image/svg+xml, %3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' height='64' class='font-weight-bold' style='font: 600 30.11764705882353px "SegoeUI", Arial' width='64'%3E%3Ccircle fill='hsl(12.8, 24%, 11%)' cx='32' cy='32' r='32' /%3E%3Ctext x='50%25' y='55%25' dominant-baseline='middle' text-anchor='middle' fill='%23FFF' %3EPP%3C/text%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Hi Pasquale Ceglie,
Thank you for the clarification. You are correct , with the native Azure PostgreSQL Flexible Server migration tool, extensions cannot be excluded, and there is no option to migrate only schema and data. The tool always tries to recreate all extensions found on the source database during its validation phase.
Even if postgis_tiger_geocoder already exists on the target and can be created manually, the migration service still attempts to create it again using its own restricted identity. That validation step fails for this extension, which blocks the migration. This behavior is a current limitation of the native migration tool, not a configuration or permission issue on your side.
At this time, there is no setting or workaround within the native tool to bypass this validation. If you need to proceed immediately, the only supported option is to use a logical migration approach such as pg_dump/pg_restore, with extensions created manually on the target beforehand. Otherwise, migration using the native tool will remain blocked until this limitation is addressed.
You haven’t missed any steps, and your setup is correct.
Hi Pasquale Ceglie,
I hope you had a chance to review the information shared earlier, and I hope this information has been helpful! If you still have questions, please let us know what is needed in the comments so the question can be answered.
Hi Pilladi no good news, I'm waiting for a response by Microsoft DMA team.
thank you
![](data:image/svg+xml, %3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' height='64' class='font-weight-bold' style='font: 600 30.11764705882353px "SegoeUI", Arial' width='64'%3E%3Ccircle fill='hsl(16, 2%, 11%)' cx='32' cy='32' r='32' /%3E%3Ctext x='50%25' y='55%25' dominant-baseline='middle' text-anchor='middle' fill='%23FFF' %3EMK%3C/text%3E%3C/svg%3E)
If you have already raised a support request, please share the SR number with us so we can coordinate with the team and get back to you.
Hi Pasquale Ceglie,
Thanks for the detailed information and screenshots. This behavior is expected during Azure Database Migration Service (DMS) validation and is not caused by an issue in your PostgreSQL Flexible Server configuration.
Although postgis_tiger_geocoder is enabled at the server level and you can successfully run CREATE EXTENSION postgis_tiger_geocoder; manually from DBeaver, DMS runs its own pre-validation using a restricted migration identity and a fixed execution order. During this step, DMS always attempts to create required extensions itself. For postgis_tiger_geocoder, this can fail because the extension has hard dependencies on other PostGIS components and internal objects, and DMS does not always detect that the extension already exists. The migration identity used by DMS also does not have the same effective privileges or search path context as an interactive user session.
This explains why manual creation of the extension succeeds while the DMS validation reports “Unable to create postgis_tiger_geocoder extension(s)”. Your azure.extensions configuration is correct, and changing shared_preload_libraries is not required for PostGIS or the tiger geocoder. This is also not related to PostgreSQL 16 compatibility.
To proceed, make sure the extension already exists in the target database before rerunning validation, and then configure the migration to move only schema and data, excluding extension creation. Alternatively, you can temporarily remove the tiger geocoder extension from the source, complete the migration, and recreate it manually on the target after the migration finishes.
postgis_tiger_geocoder is supported on Azure Database for PostgreSQL Flexible Server, and the error is a limitation of the DMS validation process rather than a problem with your setup. Continuing the migration after pre-creating the extension or excluding it from migration will allow it to complete successfully.