hi, I am not sure if this is a bug. My PG_HBA.CONF ---------------------------- local all all trust host all all 127.0.0.1 255.255.255.255 trust host all all 192.168.0.0/16 trust hostssl dbm all 192.168.200.201 255.255.255.255 md5 CODE --------------------------- PGConn* connection=PQconnectdb("hostaddr=192.168.200.10 dbname=dbm user=postgres sslmode=prefer"); if (PQstatus(connection)==CONNECTION_OK) return 0; else { fprintf(stderr. "connection failure: %s",PQerrorMessage(connection)); return -1; } -------------- OUTPUT: connection failure: SSL error: sslv3 alert handshake failure ----------- Now when I change the above function to one with sslmode=allow, the connection is established and query runs. I do have (ssl=true) in postgresql.conf and have tested the certificates and they are working right. I also restart the postmaster after every change in postgresql.conf and pg_hba.conf. I would prefer the connections are SSL and hence would like to use the default "prefer" sslmode. vish ---------------------------(end of broadcast)--------------------------- TIP 3: Have you checked our extensive FAQ? http://www.postgresql.org/docs/faq