I would check two things right away:
1. Is the Postmaster running (ps ax | grep postmaster) and is it accepting
IP connections (i.e., not just UNIX socket connections)? This is shown by
the -i option you should see in the ps command. You did not mention the
version of Postgresql/RPM you are running but as I recall, the first ones I
used from RedHat did NOT have the -i option to the postmaster on. I had to
edit the startup script.
2. Can you run psql (i.e., don't use the Perl/DBI/DBD part yet)? It's
always easier to break down the problem and find out what IS working first.
If you can make connections with psql (on ANOTHER machine not the one the
server is on), then you know the database server is ok and the problem is
probably on the perl side. I will have to defer to others to help you there
since I use tcl/Tk.
You might also want to check the pg_hba.conf file and make sure that you are
allowing connections from other machines. As I recall, the stock RPMs are
not set up to allow connections from anyone accept users on the same machine
the server is on. pg_hba.conf is very well documented with comments.
You also mentioned in the error message about port #5583 not responding.
This would lead me to believe that someone has changed the stock port number
(5432) to 5583 at least for the process trying to connect (i.e., perl/DBD).
If you have the server listening on different port, you will end up with a
situation like my first marriage where one program is talking on one port#
while the other is listening to something else. The results will be the
same as mine. :-(
I hope this helps you out. I'm sure you'll get other responses. We tend to
be a helpful bunch!
len morgan
