/amazon-aurora-mysql

Pre-Upgrade Checklist

Common Steps (Both Engines)

1. Create test environment via snapshot restore

   aws rds create-db-cluster-snapshot --db-cluster-identifier {cluster} \
     --db-cluster-snapshot-identifier {cluster}-pre-upgrade-snapshot --region {region}
   aws rds restore-db-cluster-from-snapshot --db-cluster-identifier {cluster}-upgrade-test \
     --snapshot-identifier {cluster}-pre-upgrade-snapshot \
     --engine {engine} --engine-version {target_version} --region {region}

2. Review and create new parameter group

   aws rds describe-db-cluster-parameters --db-cluster-parameter-group-name {current_pg} \
     --query "Parameters[?Source=='user' && ParameterValue!=null].{Name:ParameterName,Value:ParameterValue}" \
     --output table --region {region}

   Create new group for target version family and apply custom parameters.

3. Check pending maintenance actions

   aws rds describe-pending-maintenance-actions \
     --resource-identifier arn:aws:rds:{region}:{account}:cluster:{cluster} --region {region}

4. Capture baseline performance metrics — CloudWatch: CPUUtilization, DatabaseConnections, ReadLatency, WriteLatency, FreeableMemory, BufferCacheHitRatio. Save EXPLAIN plans for critical queries.

5. Consider Blue/Green Deployments for minimal downtime. Ref: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonRDS/latest/AuroraUserGuide/blue-green-deployments.html

6. Plan maintenance window — schedule during lowest traffic (use Performance Insights).

Aurora MySQL-Specific

1. Run upgrade prechecks on test cluster first. Ref: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonRDS/latest/AuroraUserGuide/AuroraMySQL.upgrade-prechecks.html

2. Check reserved keywords — MySQL 8.0 added: CUME_DIST, DENSE_RANK, EMPTY, EXCEPT, FIRST_VALUE, GROUPING, GROUPS, JSON_TABLE, LAG, LAST_VALUE, LATERAL, LEAD, NTH_VALUE, NTILE, OF, OVER, PERCENT_RANK, RANK, RECURSIVE, ROW, ROWS, ROW_NUMBER, SYSTEM, WINDOW. Full list: https://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/8.0/en/keywords.html

3. Review MySQL 8.0 behavior changes — Customer MUST review:

   • What's New: https://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/8.0/en/mysql-nutshell.html
   • Release Notes: https://dev.mysql.com/doc/relnotes/mysql/8.0/en/
   • Upgrade Guide: https://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/8.0/en/upgrading.html
   • Key changes: latin1→utf8mb4 default, GROUP BY no implicit sort, query cache removed, caching_sha2_password default, optimizer changes

4. Check XA transactions: XA RECOVER; — must commit/rollback before upgrade.

5. Enable binary logging for Blue/Green — associate the cluster with a custom DB cluster parameter group that has binlog_format turned ON (ROW recommended; STATEMENT/MIXED also work), then reboot the writer so it is in sync with the parameter group (otherwise Blue/Green creation fails). Also set a non-NULL binlog retention period. Note binlog_format is deprecated as of MySQL 8.0.34, so ROW is preferred for new setups. Ref: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonRDS/latest/AuroraUserGuide/blue-green-deployments-creating.html

6. Check deprecated features: mysql_native_password, partitioned tables in shared tablespaces, old temporal columns.