upgrading-cluster-version

Upgrading Cluster Version

Guides CockroachDB version upgrades end-to-end. Before providing procedures, this skill gathers deployment context to deliver only the steps relevant to the operator's tier.

When to Use This Skill

• Planning or executing a version upgrade (Self-Hosted)
• Initiating a major version upgrade via Cloud Console (Advanced, BYOC)
• Configuring how patches are applied (Advanced, BYOC)
• Verifying upgrade completion (all tiers)
• Deciding whether to finalize or roll back (Self-Hosted)

For pre-upgrade health check: Use reviewing-cluster-health. For node drain during Self-Hosted upgrade: Use performing-cluster-maintenance. For maintenance window configuration: Use performing-cluster-maintenance.

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Step 1: Gather Context

Required Context

Question	Options	Why It Matters
Deployment tier?	Self-Hosted, Advanced, BYOC, Standard, Basic	Completely different upgrade procedures per tier
Current version?	e.g., v24.2.5	Validates upgrade path and compatibility

Additional Context (by tier)

If Self-Hosted:

Question	Options	Why It Matters
Upgrade type?	Major (e.g., 24.2→24.3), Patch (e.g., 24.2.5→24.2.8)	Major requires finalization; patches do not
Target version?	e.g., v24.3.1	Confirms version is available and sequential
Deployment platform?	Bare metal, VMs, Kubernetes (Operator/Helm/manual)	Changes binary replacement and restart procedure
Process manager?	systemd, manual, container orchestrator	Changes stop/start commands
Node count?	Number	Affects upgrade sequencing

If Advanced or BYOC:

Question	Options	Why It Matters
Upgrade type?	Major version, Patch	Major requires Console initiation; patches use maintenance windows
Cloud provider? (BYOC only)	AWS, GCP, Azure	For infrastructure-level monitoring during upgrade
Release channel?	Regular, Innovation	Innovation gives latest features, shorter support window

If Standard or Basic: No additional context needed — upgrades are fully automatic.

Context-Driven Routing

Tier	Go To
Self-Hosted	Self-Hosted Upgrade
Advanced	Advanced Upgrade
BYOC	BYOC Upgrade
Standard	Standard Upgrade
Basic	Basic Upgrade

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Self-Hosted Upgrade

Applies when: Tier = Self-Hosted

Major vs Patch

Aspect	Major (e.g., 24.2→24.3)	Patch (e.g., 24.2.5→24.2.8)
Finalization required	Yes	No
Rollback possible	Before finalization	Always (binary swap)
Auto-finalization	Enabled by default (disable recommended)	N/A

Pre-Upgrade Validation

# All nodes live, version-consistent, fully replicated
cockroach node status --decommission --certs-dir=<certs-dir> --host=<any-live-node>

In the output: every node should show is_live = true, the build column should be a single value, and ranges_underreplicated should be 0 everywhere.

-- No bulk operations running
WITH j AS (SHOW JOBS)
SELECT job_id, job_type, status, now() - created AS running_for FROM j
WHERE status IN ('running', 'paused')
  AND job_type IN ('SCHEMA CHANGE', 'BACKUP', 'RESTORE', 'IMPORT', 'NEW SCHEMA CHANGE');

-- No pending finalization from a previous upgrade
SHOW CLUSTER SETTING cluster.preserve_downgrade_option;

Disable Auto-Finalization (Major Version — Recommended)

SET CLUSTER SETTING cluster.preserve_downgrade_option = '<current_version>';
-- Example: SET CLUSTER SETTING cluster.preserve_downgrade_option = '24.2';

Rolling Node Upgrade (repeat for each node)

If process manager = systemd:

cockroach node drain --self --certs-dir=<certs-dir> --host=<node-address>
sudo systemctl stop cockroachdb
cp /path/to/new/cockroach /usr/local/bin/cockroach
cockroach version  # verify new binary
sudo systemctl start cockroachdb

If Kubernetes (Operator):

kubectl patch crdbcluster <name> --type merge -p '{"spec":{"cockroachDBVersion":"<new-version>"}}'
# Operator handles rolling restart automatically

If Kubernetes (Helm):

helm upgrade cockroachdb cockroachdb/cockroachdb --set image.tag=<new-version>

If Kubernetes (manual StatefulSet):

kubectl set image statefulset/cockroachdb cockroachdb=cockroachdb/cockroach:<new-version>

Verify each node before proceeding to the next:

cockroach node status --certs-dir=<certs-dir> --host=<any-live-node> <upgraded-node-id>

The targeted node should show is_live = true on the new build.

Monitor Progress

cockroach node status --certs-dir=<certs-dir> --host=<any-live-node>

Compare the build column across all rows. Nodes still on the old version are pending; rolling upgrade is complete when every row shows the new version.

Finalize (Major Version Only — Irreversible)

Confirm via cockroach node status that the build column has a single value (every node upgraded). Then:

RESET CLUSTER SETTING cluster.preserve_downgrade_option;
SHOW CLUSTER SETTING version;  -- Monitor until updated

Roll Back (Before Finalization Only)

Verify cluster.preserve_downgrade_option still returns the old version, then replace each node's binary with the previous version and restart. After all nodes are back:

RESET CLUSTER SETTING cluster.preserve_downgrade_option;

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Advanced Upgrade

Applies when: Tier = Advanced

Advanced clusters are managed by Cockroach Labs. You initiate major upgrades; patches are applied automatically.

Major Version Upgrade

1. Cloud Console → Cluster → Settings → Upgrade
2. Select target version
3. CRL performs rolling upgrade across nodes automatically
4. Monitor progress in Cloud Console
5. Finalize via Cloud Console when testing is complete

Verification during upgrade:

cockroach node status --certs-dir=<certs-dir> --host=<any-live-node>

Tally the build column to see how many nodes are on the new version vs the old.

Patch Upgrades

Patches are applied automatically during the configured maintenance window. See performing-cluster-maintenance for maintenance window configuration and patch deferral.

Release Channel

• Regular: Stability-focused, longer support windows
• Innovation: Latest features, shorter support, can be skipped

Configure via Cloud Console → Cluster → Settings → Upgrades.

Upgrade Before End of Support

You are responsible for initiating major upgrades before the current version reaches End of Support (EOS). Failure to upgrade before EOS may affect SLA guarantees.

Cloud API

# Check current version
curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer $COCKROACH_API_KEY" \
  "https://cockroachlabs.cloud/api/v1/clusters/<cluster-id>" | jq '.cockroach_version'

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BYOC Upgrade

Applies when: Tier = BYOC

BYOC upgrade procedures are the same as Advanced. Follow all Advanced Upgrade steps.

Cloud Provider Monitoring During Upgrade

Since BYOC clusters run in your cloud account, you can observe the rolling upgrade in your infrastructure:

If AWS: EC2 console shows instance restarts; CloudWatch metrics show brief dips during node cycling.

If GCP: Compute Engine console shows VM restarts; Cloud Monitoring shows instance-level events.

If Azure: Azure portal shows VM restarts; Azure Monitor captures instance events.

Additional BYOC Considerations

• Verify PrivateLink/PSC/VPC Peering connections remain healthy during the upgrade
• Reserved instances and committed use discounts are unaffected (instance types don't change)

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Standard Upgrade

Applies when: Tier = Standard

Standard is a multi-tenant managed service. There are no nodes or infrastructure for you to manage. All upgrades — both major versions and patches — are applied automatically by Cockroach Labs.

• Only Regular releases (no Innovation channel)
• No maintenance window configuration
• No deferral capability
• No downtime during upgrades

After an Upgrade

1. Monitor Cloud Console for upgrade notifications
2. Review release notes for behavior changes
3. Verify application compatibility:

   SELECT version();
   

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Basic Upgrade

Applies when: Tier = Basic

Basic is a serverless offering. All upgrades are fully managed and transparent. The serverless architecture is designed for zero-downtime upgrades with no customer action required.

After an Upgrade

1. Review release notes for behavior changes
2. Verify version if needed: SELECT version();

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Safety Considerations

Operation	Tier	Reversible?
Set preserve_downgrade_option	SH	Yes
Replace node binary	SH	Yes (swap back before finalization)
Finalize upgrade	SH	No — irreversible
Initiate Cloud Console upgrade	ADV/BYOC	Contact support to discuss
Automatic upgrade	STD/BAS	N/A (managed by CRL)

Critical:

• Never skip major versions (SH) — upgrades must be sequential
• Never finalize before testing (SH) — finalization is irreversible
• Never change cluster settings during an upgrade (SH, ADV, BYOC)

Troubleshooting

Issue	Tier	Fix
Cannot set preserve_downgrade_option	SH	Value must match output of SHOW CLUSTER SETTING version
Finalization stuck	SH	Decommission dead nodes; ensure all live nodes are upgraded
Auto-finalization triggered early	SH	Cannot undo; test application on new version
Upgrade not available in Console	ADV/BYOC	Check release schedule; contact support
Behavior change after automatic upgrade	STD/BAS	Review release notes; contact support

References

Related skills:

• reviewing-cluster-health — Pre/post-upgrade health
• performing-cluster-maintenance — Node drain (SH) and maintenance windows (ADV/BYOC)
• managing-cluster-settings — preserve_downgrade_option

Official CockroachDB Documentation:

• Upgrade Self-Hosted
• Upgrade Cloud Cluster
• Cloud Upgrade Policy
• Upgrade on Kubernetes