How to use LIKE for an Inet column? - postgresql

Question

I have a column in my database called mgmt which is an inet type
I would like to do this:
select * from source
where mgmt LIKE inet('10.208.6%')
but this gives the error "ERROR: invalid input syntax for type inet:"
Any idea how I can use the LIKE clause for an inet type?

Answer 1

First idea:
Casting into text and try then:
WHERE mgmt::text LIKE '10.208.6%'
Second idea:
Try this
WHERE mgmt BETWEEN inet('10.208.60.0') AND inet('10.208.69.255')
(or, even more precise, because your wildcard covers both, 6 and 60s)
WHERE (mgmt BETWEEN inet('10.208.60.0') AND inet('10.208.69.255'))
OR (mgmt BETWEEN inet('10.208.6.0') AND inet('10.208.6.255'))
Third idea:
If you just want to check the 6 range, use the << operator to check the IP range:
WHERE mgmt << inet('10.208.6/24')

Answer 2

I would use the << operator to do inet operations:
postgres=# SELECT '192.168.1.1'::inet << '192.168.1.0/24'::inet;
?column?
----------
t
(1 row)
postgres=# SELECT '192.168.10.1'::inet << '192.168.1.0/24'::inet;
?column?
----------
f
(1 row)
But if you really must use ILIKE for some reason, you can cast to text:
postgres=# SELECT text('192.168.10.1'::inet) ilike '192.168.1%';
?column?
----------
t
(1 row)
More information can be found in the documentation