Upgrade a Cloud Databases Instance from MySQL 5.6 to a newer version of MariaDB or Percona database

This article shows you how to upgrade from a Cloud Databases MySQL® 5.6 instance to a newer MariaDB® or Percona database instance. The steps assume that you haven't enabled the root database user on the source or destination instance and that you're using the Rackspace Cloud Control Panel to manage your Cloud Databases.

Because database replication isn't available, this article includes some additional steps to ensure that no content is lost during the migration process. As a result, we recommend that you perform this upgrade during a low-traffic period.

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Before you upgrade from a Cloud Databases MySQL 5.6 instance to a newer MariaDB or Percona database instance, identify any unique features of the prior datastore that you might be using and verify that the destination datastore also has them. You can add those unique features by creating links to the upstream content.

Back up the original Cloud Databases instance

It's important to back up the original instance first. If you discover any structure discrepancies after you begin using your new instance, you can use the backup copy to rebuild your previous MySQL 5.6 database.

Use the following steps to create a copy of the original instance:

Log in to the Cloud Control Panel.
In the top navigation bar, click Select a Product > Rackspace Cloud.
Click Databases > MySQL.

A list of your Cloud Databases instances appears.
Click the gear icon for the instance that you want to back up, then select Create Backup.
Enter a Name and Description for the backup, then click Create Backup.

Create the destination instance

Use the following steps to create a new Cloud Databases instance:

In the Cloud Control Panel, click Databases > MySQL Instance.
In the Identity section of the Create Instance page, enter an Instance Name and select a Region from the drop-down list.
In the Engine section, choose either MariaDB or Percona for the instance type.
In the Build section, select the amount of memory that you want the server to use from the RAM drop-down list and choose a Disk size.
Click Create Single Instance.

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If your current database uses any custom my.cnf configuration options, review the configuration of the new instance to ensure that those options are updated before you import your database. This step is especially important when your configuration options involve character set and collation specifications. Custom my.cnf options can cause the imported content to populate the new database instance in an unexpected way, leading to discrepancies with table character data encoding.

Rebuild databases and users for a new instance

This section explains how to generate lists of databases and users from the MySQL 5.6 instance and recreate them on your new instance.

Rebuild databases on the new instance

Use the following steps to rebuild databases on your new instance:

In the Cloud Control Panel, click on the name of the new MariaDB or Percona instance.

The Instance Details page appears.
In the Databases section, click Create Database, then enter the name of a database from the MySQL 5.6 instance. Repeat this step until you have recreated all of the databases.

Rebuild users on the new instance

To rebuild users on the new MariaDB or Percona instance, you first have to reconfigure the passwords for the database users. If your application is already configured for a specific password, you should have the list of passwords before you create the users so that you don't have to update the application configuration later.

Use the following steps to rebuild users on your new MariaDB or Percona instance:

In the Cloud Control Panel, click on the MySQL 5.6 instance.

The list of users displays on the Instance Details page.
Open the Instance Details page for the new MariaDB or Percona instance. In the Users section, click Create User, then enter the name of a user from the 5.6 instance. Repeat this step until you have recreated all
of the users.

Configure the application for read-only or maintenance mode

Configure your application or website to a maintenance mode or read-only state until the transfer is complete. This step prevents any new data from being added to the MySQL 5.6 instance while you're finishing the upgrade and
transitioning to the new MariaDB or Percona instance.

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The following sections describe how to export your current databases and import them to the new instance. During this process, the MySQL 5.6 database is in a read-only state, and any updates to the database could potentially be lost to the new destination instance during the export and import process.

Export databases from MySQL 5.6 and import them into the new instance

This section describes two methods for exporting and importing the databases by using the mysqldump command. This command locks the source database instance as it exports the data. Before you begin, ensure that your application is prepared for the database to be in a read-only state.

Export the list of databases and direct the output to the database instance

The following steps export a list of databases from your source instance and redirect the output to the destination instance that you choose.

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To complete the following steps, both instances must have a user who has full access to all of the databases that you want to export and import.

Use the following steps to export the list of databases and direct the output to the database instance:

Log in to a cloud server that's available within the same data center as your source and destination database instances.
Run the mysqldump command, replacing the following items in each section of the command:
- source_db_user: The database that the user created on the source instance for the export
- source_password: The password specified for the source database user
- xxxxx.rackspaceclouddb.com: The host name of the source instance
- database 01 database 02 database 03: A list of the databases that you're exporting and importing
Run the mysqldump command, replacing the following items in each section of the command:
- destination_db_user: The database that the user created on the destination for the import
- destination_password: The password specified for the destination database user
- yyyyy.rackspaceclouddb.com: The host name of the destination instance
The following code provides an example:
```
 mysqldump --user=source_db_user --host=xxxxx.rackspaceclouddb.com --password=source_password --no-create-db --databases database_01 database_02 database_03 | mysql
	    --user=destination_db_user --host=yyyyy.rackspaceclouddb.com --password=destination_password
```

Export the list of databases to a file on the server before importing

This method follows the same concept as the preceding method, but instead of redirecting the mysqldump export directly to the new instance, you first create a copy of the data and compress it on a disk. Then you import the content from this file to the destination instance.

Use the following steps to perform this task:

Log in to a cloud server that is available within the same data center as your source and destination database instances.
Run the mysqldump command, replacing the following items in each section of the command:
- source_db_user: The database that the user created on the source instance for the export
- source_password: The password specified for the source database user
- xxxxx.rackspaceclouddb.com: The host name of the source instance
- database 01 database 02 database 03: A list of the databases that you're exporting and importing
The following code provides an example:
```
mysqldump --user=source_db_user --host=xxxxx.rackspaceclouddb.com --password=source_password --no-create-db --databases database_01 database_02 database_03 |
gzip
-1 > sourceDB.sql.gz
```
Run the mysql command, replacing the following items in each section of the command:
- destination_db_user: The database that the user created on the destination for the import
- destination_password: The password specified for the destination database user
- yyyyy.rackspaceclouddb.com: The host name of the destination instance
The following code provides an example:
```
 zcat sourceDB.sql.gz | mysql --user=destination_db_user --host=yyyyy.rackspaceclouddb.com --password=destination_password
```

Verify the dataset on the new instance

Before you transition to the new MariaDB or Percona instance, check the database content to verify that your data was imported and formatted in the way that you expected. The mysqldump export creates a logical
copy of your database content. The destination database instance uses this logical copy of your data to rebuild the database table files. For this reason, it's important to verify that certain configurations such as character sets and time zone data are updated to match your previous 5.6 database instance.

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We recommend that you use a staging or test server for your applications to verify functionality before you transition the applications to the new MariaDB or Percona instance.

Transition applications to the MariaDB or Percona instance

When you have imported and verified your data, you can transition your applications to the new database instance by using the new host name.

Upgrade a Cloud Databases Instance from MySQL 5.6 to a newer version of MariaDB or Percona database

Back up the original Cloud Databases instance

Create the destination instance

Rebuild databases and users for a new instance

Rebuild databases on the new instance

Rebuild users on the new instance

Configure the application for read-only or maintenance mode

Export databases from MySQL 5.6 and import them into the new instance

Export the list of databases and direct the output to the database instance

📘
To complete the following steps, both instances must have a user who has full access to all of the databases that you want to export and import.

Export the list of databases to a file on the server before importing

Verify the dataset on the new instance

📘
We recommend that you use a staging or test server for your applications to verify functionality before you transition the applications to the new MariaDB or Percona instance.

Transition applications to the MariaDB or Percona instance

Back up the original Cloud Databases instance

Create the destination instance

Rebuild databases and users for a new instance

Rebuild databases on the new instance

Rebuild users on the new instance

Configure the application for read-only or maintenance mode

Export databases from MySQL 5.6 and import them into the new instance

Export the list of databases and direct the output to the database instance

📘To complete the following steps, both instances must have a user who has full access to all of the databases that you want to export and import.

Export the list of databases to a file on the server before importing

Verify the dataset on the new instance

📘We recommend that you use a staging or test server for your applications to verify functionality before you transition the applications to the new MariaDB or Percona instance.

Transition applications to the MariaDB or Percona instance

📘
To complete the following steps, both instances must have a user who has full access to all of the databases that you want to export and import.

📘
We recommend that you use a staging or test server for your applications to verify functionality before you transition the applications to the new MariaDB or Percona instance.