Presented by:

Karen Ng

AWS

As a Senior Technical Account Manager at Amazon Web Services (AWS), I help customers achieve their business goals by providing technical guidance, best practices, and solutions for their cloud and database needs. I have over 20 years of experience in multiple IT roles, with expertise in database administration, cloud architecture, performance tuning, crisis management, and high availability.

Anita Singh brings over two decades of experience architecting database solutions for mission-critical applications across diverse industries and technologies. For the past 5+ years at AWS, she has specialized in accelerating PostgreSQL adoption—particularly migrations from Oracle and SQL Server to PostgreSQL. She thrives in customer-focused environments, combining strong analytical capabilities with interpersonal skills to navigate complex technical challenges while inspiring teams to achieve their best.

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As PostgreSQL continues to evolve with annual major releases and regular security patches, database administrators face the critical challenge of maintaining up-to-date RDS PostgreSQL instances while minimizing operational disruption. This paper presents a comprehensive analysis of patching strategies and engine upgrade methodologies for Amazon RDS PostgreSQL, examining the trade-offs between downtime, risk mitigation, and operational complexity. We explore the fundamental differences between minor version upgrades—which deliver essential security patches without introducing new functionality—and major version upgrades that bring significant enhancements but require careful planning and execution. The paper evaluates five distinct upgrade approaches, ranging from traditional in-place upgrades to modern Blue/Green deployment strategies, analyzing each method's impact on application availability and data integrity. Key topics include: * Auto Minor Version Upgrade (AMVU) configuration and best practices for automated patching * Downtime characteristics across different RDS deployment models (Single-AZ, Multi-AZ Instance, Multi-AZ Cluster, and Aurora PostgreSQL) * Prerequisites and compatibility considerations for major version upgrades, including extension management and parameter group preparation * Comparative analysis of upgrade methodologies: in-place upgrades, snapshot migration, Database Migration Service (DMS), logical replication, and Blue/Green deployments * Risk mitigation strategies through pre-production testing and validation * Post-upgrade optimization techniques, including statistics management with ANALYZE The paper demonstrates that Blue/Green deployments represent the optimal balance of minimal downtime, reduced risk, and comprehensive testing capability, utilizing logical replication to maintain a synchronized staging environment before production switchover. We also examine RDS PostgreSQL 12/13 Extended Major Version Support, which provides organizations with additional time for upgrade planning while maintaining critical security patches. This research provides database administrators and cloud architects with actionable frameworks for developing upgrade strategies aligned with their organization's availability requirements, risk tolerance, and operational capabilities. By implementing these strategic approaches, organizations can maintain secure, performant PostgreSQL environments while minimizing business disruption during essential maintenance activities.

Date:
Duration:
50 min
Room:
Conference:
Postgres Conference: 2026
Language:
Track:
Ops
Difficulty:
Medium