Amazon Aurora versioning

Amazon Aurora versions are different from the upstream community databases that they’re compatible with. To help you maintain application compatibility and leverage the latest DB engine features, the following sections explain Aurora versioning conventions and how Aurora versions map to their respective community databases.

For a ist of the relational databases that are available on Amazon Aurora, see Supported database engines for Amazon Aurora database clusters.

Differences in version numbers between community databases and Aurora

Each Amazon Aurora version is compatible with a specific version of its corresponding community database. You can find the community version of your database with the version function, and the Aurora version with the aurora_version function.

The following examples show how to find the community version of your database for Aurora MySQL and Aurora PostgreSQL.

Aurora MySQL

The version function returns the community version of your database for Aurora MySQL.

mysql> select version();

Output example:

+------------------+
|   version()      |
+------------------+
|  8.0.32          | 
+------------------+

And the aurora_version function returns the Aurora version:

mysql> select aurora_version(), @@aurora_version;

Output example:

+------------------+------------------+
| aurora_version() | @@aurora_version |
+------------------+------------------+
| 3.05.2           | 3.05.2           |
+------------------+------------------+

Aurora PostgreSQL

The version function returns the community version of your database for Aurora PostgreSQL.

postgres=> select version();

Output example:

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
PostgreSQL 11.7 on x86_64-pc-linux-gnu, compiled by gcc (GCC) 4.9.3, 64-bit
(1 row)

And the aurora_version function returns the Aurora version:

postgres=> select aurora_version();

Output example:

aurora_version
----------------
3.2.2

For more information, see Checking Aurora MySQL versions using SQL and Identifying versions of Amazon Aurora PostgreSQL.

Default Amazon Aurora versions

When a new Aurora minor version contains significant improvements compared to a previous one, it's marked as the default version for new DB clusters. Typically, we release two default versions for each major version per year.

We recommend that you keep your DB cluster upgraded to the most current default minor version, because that version contains the latest security and functionality fixes.

Amazon Aurora major versions

Aurora versions use the major.minor.patch scheme. An Aurora major version refers to the MySQL or PostgreSQL community major version that Aurora is compatible with. Aurora MySQL and Aurora PostgreSQL major versions are available under standard support at least until community end of life for the corresponding community version. You can continue to run a major version past its Aurora end of standard support date for a fee. For more information, see Amazon RDS Extended Support with Amazon Aurora and Amazon Aurora pricing.

For more information on major versions and the release calendar for Aurora MySQL and Aurora PostgreSQL, see the following pages in the respective Release Notes:

How long Amazon Aurora major versions remain available

Amazon Aurora major versions remain available at least until community end of life for the corresponding community version. You can use Aurora end of standard support dates to plan your testing and upgrade cycles. These dates represent the earliest date that an upgrade to a newer version might be required. For more information on the dates, see Amazon Aurora major versions.

Before we ask that you upgrade to a newer major version and to help you plan, we generally provide a reminder at least 12 months in advance. We do so to communicate the detailed upgrade process. Details include the timing of certain milestones, the impact on your DB clusters, and the actions that we recommend that you take. We always recommend that you thoroughly test your applications with new database versions before performing a major version upgrade.

After the major version reaches the Aurora end of standard support, any DB cluster still running the older version will be automatically upgraded to an Extended Support version during a scheduled maintenance window. Extended Support charges may apply. For more information on Amazon RDS Extended Support, see Using Amazon RDS Extended support.

Amazon Aurora minor versions

Aurora versions use the major.minor.patch scheme. An Aurora minor version provides incremental community and Aurora-specific improvements to the service, for example new features and fixes.

For more information on minor versions and the release calendar for Aurora MySQL and Aurora PostgreSQL, see the following pages in the respective Release Notes:

The following sections describe details about the cadence and lifetime that you can expect for Aurora minor versions.

How often Amazon Aurora minor versions are released

In general, Amazon Aurora minor versions are released quarterly. The release schedule might vary to pick up additional features or fixes.

How long Amazon Aurora minor versions remain available

We intend to make each Amazon Aurora minor version of a particular major version available for at least 12 months. At the end of this period, Aurora might apply an auto minor version upgrade to the subsequent default minor version. Such an upgrade is started during the scheduled maintenance window for any cluster that is still running the older minor version.

We might replace a minor version of a particular major version sooner than the usual 12-month period if there are critical matters such as security issues, or if the major version has reached end of life.

Before beginning automatic upgrades of minor versions that are approaching end of life, we generally provide a reminder three months in advance. We do this to communicate the detailed upgrade process. Details include the timing of certain milestones, the impact on your DB clusters, and the actions that we recommend that you take. Notifications with less than three months notice are used when there are critical matters, such as security issues, that necessitate quicker action.

If you don't have the Auto minor version upgrade setting enabled, you get a reminder but no RDS event notification. Upgrades occur within a maintenance window after the mandatory upgrade deadline has passed.

If you do have the Auto minor version upgrade setting enabled, you get a reminder and an Amazon RDS DB cluster event with a category of maintenance and ID of RDS-EVENT-0156. Upgrades occur during the next maintenance window.

For more information on auto minor version upgrades, see Automatic minor version upgrades for Aurora DB clusters.

Amazon Aurora patch versions

Aurora versions use the major.minor.patch scheme. An Aurora patch version includes important fixes added to a minor version after its initial release (for example, Aurora MySQL 3.04.0, 3.04.1, ..., 3.04.3). While each new minor version provides new Aurora features, new patch versions within a specific minor version are primarily used to resolve important issues.

For more information on patching, see Maintaining an Amazon Aurora DB cluster.