Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS) | Database Engine Versions Flashcards
What should I do if my queries seem to be running slow?
Database Engine Versions
Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS) | Database
For production databases we encourage you to enable Enhanced Monitoring, which provides access to over 50 CPU, memory, file system, and disk I/O metrics. You can enable these features on a per-instance basis and you can choose the granularity (all the way down to 1 second). High levels of CPU utilization can reduce query performance and in this case you may want to consider scaling your DB instance class. For more information on monitoring your DB instance, refer to the Amazon RDS User Guide.
If you are using RDS for MySQL or MariaDB, you can access the slow query logs for your database to determine if there are slow-running SQL queries and, if so, the performance characteristics of each. You could set the “slow_query_log” DB Parameter and query the mysql.slow_log table to review the slow-running SQL queries. Please refer to the Amazon RDS User Guide to learn more.
If you are using RDS for Oracle, you can use the Oracle trace file data to identify slow queries. For more information on accessing trace file data, please refer to Amazon RDS User Guide.
If you are using RDS for SQL Server, you can use the client side SQL Server traces to identify slow queries. For information on accessing server side trace file data, please refer to Amazon RDS User Guide.
Which relational database engine versions does Amazon RDS support?
Database Engine Versions
Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS) | Database
For the list of supported database engine versions, please refer to the documentation for each engine:
Amazon RDS for MySQL
Amazon RDS for MariaDB
Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL
Amazon RDS for Oracle
Amazon RDS for SQL Server
Amazon Aurora
How does Amazon RDS distinguish between “major” and “minor” DB engine versions?
Database Engine Versions
Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS) | Database
Refer to the FAQs page for each Amazon RDS database engine for specifics on version numbering.
Does Amazon RDS provide guidelines for support of new DB engine versions?
Database Engine Versions
Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS) | Database
Over time, Amazon RDS adds support for new major and minor database engine versions. The number of new versions supported will vary based on the frequency and content of releases and patches from the engine’s vendor or development organization, and the outcome of a thorough vetting of these releases and patches by our database engineering team. However, as a general guidance, we aim to support new engine versions within 5 months of their general availability.
How do I specify which supported DB engine version I would like my DB instance to run?
Database Engine Versions
Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS) | Database
You can specify any currently supported version (major and minor) when creating a new DB instance via the Launch DB Instance operation in the AWS Management Console or the CreateDBInstance API. Please note that not every database engine version is available in every AWS region.
How do I control if and when the engine version of my DB instance is upgraded to new supported versions?
Database Engine Versions
Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS) | Database
Amazon RDS strives to keep your database instance up to date by providing you newer versions of the supported database engines. After a new version of a database engine is released by the vendor or development organization, it is thoroughly tested by our database engineering team before it is made available in Amazon RDS.
We recommend that you keep your database instance upgraded to the most current minor version as it will contain the latest security and functionality fixes. Unlike major version upgrades, minor version upgrades only include database changes that are backward-compatible with previous minor versions (of the same major version) of the database engine.
If a new minor version does not contain fixes that would benefit RDS customers, we may choose not to make it available in RDS. Soon after a new minor version is available in RDS, we will set it to be the preferred minor version for new DB instances.
To manually upgrade a database instance to a supported engine version, use the Modify DB Instance command on the AWS Management Console or the ModifyDBInstance API and set the DB Engine Version parameter to the desired version. By default, the upgrade will be applied or during your next maintenance window. You can also choose to upgrade immediately by selecting the Apply Immediately option in the console API.
If we determine that a new engine minor version contains significant bug fixes compared to a previously released minor version, we will schedule automatic upgrades for DB instances which have the Auto Minor Version Upgrade setting to “Yes”. These upgrades will be scheduled to occur during customer-specified maintenance windows.
We will announce scheduled upgrades on the Amazon RDS Forum and send customer e-mail notifications at least 30 days in advance. We schedule them so you can plan around them, because downtime is required to upgrade a DB engine version, even for Multi-AZ instances. If you wish to turn off automatic minor version upgrades, you can do so by setting the Auto Minor Version Upgrade setting to “No”.
In the case of RDS for Oracle and RDS for SQL Server, if the upgrade to the next minor version requires a change to a different edition, then we may not schedule automatic upgrades even if you have enabled the Auto Minor Version Upgrade setting. The determination on whether to schedule automatic upgrades in such situations will be made on a case-by-case basis.
Since major version upgrades involve some compatibility risk, they will not occur automatically and must be initiated by you (except in the case of major version deprecation, see below).
For more information about upgrading a DB instance to a new DB engine version, refer to the Amazon RDS User Guide.
Can I test my DB instance with a new version before upgrading?
Database Engine Versions
Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS) | Database
Yes. You can do so by creating a DB snapshot of your existing DB instance, restoring from the DB snapshot to create a new DB instance, and then initiating a version upgrade for the new DB instance. You can then experiment safely on the upgraded copy of your DB instance before deciding whether or not to upgrade your original DB instance.
For more information about restoring a DB snapshot, refer to the Amazon RDS User Guide.
Does Amazon RDS provide guidelines for deprecating database engine versions that are currently supported?
Database Engine Versions
Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS) | Database
We intend to support major version releases (e.g., MySQL 5.6, PostgreSQL 9.6) for at least 3 years after they are initially supported by Amazon RDS.
We intend to support minor versions (e.g., MySQL 5.6.37, PostgreSQL 9.6.1) for at least 1 year after they are initially supported by Amazon RDS.
Periodically, we will deprecate major or minor engine versions. For major versions, this is typically when the version has moved to extended support or is no longer receiving software fixes or security updates. For minor versions, this is when a minor version has significant bugs or security issues that have been resolved in a later minor version.
While we strive to meet these guidelines, in some cases we may deprecate specific major or minor versions sooner, such as when there are security issues. In the unlikely event that such cases occur, Amazon RDS will automatically upgrade your database engine to address the issue. Specific circumstances may dictate different timelines depending on the issue being addressed.
