The four types of engine release that correspond to the four parts of an engine version number are as follows:
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Product version – This only changes if the product undergoes sweeping, fundamental changes in functionality or interface. The current Neptune product version is 1.
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Major version – Major versions introduce important new features and breaking changes, and generally have a useful lifespan of at least two years.
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Minor version – Minor versions can contain new features, improvements, and bug fixes but do not contain any breaking changes. You can choose whether or not to have them applied them automatically during the next maintenance window, and you can also choose to be notified whenever one is released.
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Patch version – Patch versions are released only to address urgent bug fixes or critical security updates. They seldom contain breaking changes, and they are automatically applied during the next maintenance window following their release.
Amazon Neptune major version updates
A major version update generally introduces one or more important new features and often contains breaking changes. It usually has a support lifetime of around two years. Neptune major versions are listed in Engine releases, along with the date they were released and their estimated end of life.
Major version updates are entirely optional until the major version that you're using reaches its end of life. If you do choose to upgrade to a new major version, you must install the new version yourself using the AWS CLI or the Neptune console as described in Major version upgrades.
If the major version that you're using reaches its end of life, however, you'll be notified that you are required to upgrade to a more recent major version. Then, if you don't upgrade within a grace period after the notification, an upgrade to the most recent major version is automatically scheduled to occur during the next maintenance window. See Engine version life-spans for more information.
Amazon Neptune minor version updates
Most Neptune engine updates are minor version updates. They happen quite frequently and do not contain breaking changes.
If you have the AutoMinorVersionUpgrade
field set to true in the writer (primary) instance of your DB cluster,
minor version updates are applied automatically to all instances in your DB cluster
during the next maintenance window after they are released.
If you have the AutoMinorVersionUpgrade
field set to false in the writer instance of your DB cluster, they are
applied only if you explicitly install them.
Note
Minor version updates are self-contained (they don't depend on previous minor version updates to the same major version), and cumulative (they contain all the features and fixes introduced in previous minor version updates). This means that you can install any given minor version update whether or not you have installed previous ones.
It's easy to keep track of minor-version releases by subscribing to the RDS-EVENT-0156 event (see Subscribing to Neptune event notification). You will then be notified every time a new minor version is released.
Also, whether or not you subscribe to notifications, you can always check to see what updates are pending.
Amazon Neptune patch version updates
In the case of security issues or other serious defects that affect instance reliability, Neptune deploys mandatory patches. They are applied to all instances in your DB cluster during your next maintenance window without any intervention on your part.
A patch release is only deployed when the risks of not deploying it outweigh any risks and downtime associated with deploying it. Patch releases happen infrequently (typically once every few months) and seldom require more than a fraction of your maintenance window to apply.
