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Database Upgrade Process

Follow these steps to upgrade the database:

Step 1: Prepare for Upgrade​

Ensure you have a recent backup and enable point-in-time recovery:

Using Google Cloud Console​

  1. Navigate to Cloud SQL → Instances
  2. Select your PostgreSQL 13 instance
  3. Click Edit
  4. Under Backup:
    • Enable Automated backups
    • Enable Point-in-time recovery
  5. Click Save

Using gcloud CLI​

# Create an on-demand backup before upgrade
gcloud sql backups create \
  --instance=your-instance-id \
  --description="Pre-upgrade backup before PostgreSQL 16 migration"

# Enable point-in-time recovery if not already enabled
gcloud sql instances patch your-instance-id \
  --backup-start-time=03:00 \
  --enable-point-in-time-recovery

Step 2: Upgrade Cloud SQL PostgreSQL to 16​

Following the console workflow from the screenshots:

  1. Navigate to Cloud SQL:
    • Go to Google Cloud Console → Cloud SQL → Instances
  2. Select Your Database Instance:
    • Click on your PostgreSQL 13 database instance
  3. Access the Upgrade Interface:
    • Look for Database version upgrades are available notification
    • Click Upgrade next to this notification
    • OR click Edit and look for upgrade options
    • When prompted "Go to instance upgrade page?", click Go to upgrade page
  4. Choose Database Version:
    • On the "Upgrade database version" page:
      • Current database version will show: PostgreSQL 13
      • In Database version to upgrade dropdown, select: PostgreSQL 16
    • Important notes displayed:
      • Review documentation to ensure your system is ready
      • Test on a clone first (you should have done this!)
      • Cloud SQL will create a backup automatically
      • Take your own pre-upgrade backup as well
    • Click Continue
  5. Review and Confirm:
    • Review the upgrade summary
    • Important post-upgrade steps are shown (run ANALYZE to refresh database statistics)
    • Click Upgrade instance to begin
  6. Monitor Upgrade Progress:
    • The instance status will show "MAINTENANCE"
    • Upgrade typically takes 15-45 minutes depending on database size
    • Wait for status to return to "RUNNABLE"
    • Verify Database version shows PostgreSQL 16 in instance details

Using gcloud CLI​

# Upgrade your Cloud SQL instance to PostgreSQL 16
gcloud sql instances patch your-instance-id \
  --database-version=POSTGRES_16 \
  --async

# Monitor the operation
gcloud sql operations list --instance=your-instance-id --limit=5

# Check instance status
gcloud sql instances describe your-instance-id \
  --format="value(state,databaseVersion)"

Step 3: SSL Certificate Configuration (Optional)​

note

Google Cloud SQL automatically handles SSL encryption and certificate validation. SSL certificates are only required if you have specific custom SSL configurations or use client certificates for authentication.

For most standard deployments, you can skip this step and proceed directly to your deployment configuration.

If you need custom SSL certificate configuration:

# Download the Google Cloud SQL server CA certificate
gcloud sql ssl-certs list --instance=your-instance-id

# Download the server CA certificate
gcloud sql ssl-certs describe server-ca-cert \
  --instance=your-instance-id \
  --format="value(cert)" > server-ca.pem

# Verify the certificate file
head -5 server-ca.pem
# Should show: -----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----

Alternative method using curl:

# Download Google Cloud SQL CA certificates
curl -o server-ca.pem https://dl.google.com/cloudsql/cloud-sql-ca-cert.pem

# Verify the certificate file
head -5 server-ca.pem