RDS MySQL 5.6 5.7 Update Issues

Question

I'm trying to upgrade my MySQL database to 5.7, but am running into numerous issues.

1. I first took a snapshot and tried to restore as a new instance so that I could test out the upgrade and run a test version of my app against it.  However, it won't let me restore the snapshot as it says I can't create a database instance using 5.6.

2. Hopefully this means that I don't just have to do it live in production, but even if I wanted to... When I try to "modify" the existing database, it doesn't give me 5.7 as an option, the only option in the dropdown for version is 5.6.

It's unclear to me why the "forced upgrade" would happen a whole month after we're blocked from creating (testing) against a new instance.

How do you recommend that I proceed?  This is a small side business for me and I am a team of one.

I greatly appreciate any help or guidance.  Thank you!

Answer

Hi Nolan, It's hard to say exactly what's happening without looking at your instance specifically, but here's a few things that could be preventing a successful major version upgrade:

- The [MySQL documentation for upgrades](https://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.7/en/upgrade-paths.html) says "*Upgrading to the latest release is recommended before upgrading to the next version. For example, upgrade to the latest MySQL 5.6 release before upgrading to MySQL 5.7.*" If there is a higher 5.6.x version available to upgrade, start there.

Before attempting a major version upgrade, AWS also recommends that the instance
- Be running in a [current/recent generation instance class](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/UserGuide/instance-types.html#AvailableInstanceTypes)
- Have all RDS [pending/available maintenance actions](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/cli/latest/reference/rds/describe-pending-maintenance-actions.html) applied

Additionally, because a major version upgrade can be time-consuming and resource-consuming, we recommend that the instance be running in one of the larger instance sizes, to minimize downtime.

Should these tips not get the instance to the point where it can upgrade, I'd advise [opening a support case](https://console.aws.amazon.com/support/home#/) for help specific to your instance.

RDS MySQL 5.6 > 5.7 Update Issues

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