Release notes for PolarDB and links to relevant references - PolarDB

This topic describes the release notes for PolarDB and provides links to the relevant references.

2024

November 2024

Feature	Description	Release date	References
In-Memory Column Indexes (IMCI)	You can add read-only column store nodes in the PolarDB for MySQL purchase page.	2024-11-15	Add a read-only column store node

October 2024

Feature	Description	Release date	References
Temporary adding of nodes	Nodes can be temporarily added to a PolarDB for MySQL cluster.	2024-10-14	Temporarily add nodes
Change of Enterprise SSD (ESSD) performance	The ESSD configurations of a PolarDB for MySQL cluster can be changed.	2024-10-28	Change the ESSD performance

September 2024

Feature	Description	Release date	References
Support of serverless clusters for In-Memory Column Indexes (IMCIs)	The IMCI feature is supported on serverless clusters.	2024-09-27	Set a scaling policy for serverless cluster resources

August 2024

Feature	Description	Release date	References
Connection of a PolarDB for MySQL cluster to a self-managed AD domain	A PolarDB for MySQL cluster can be connected to a self-managed Active Directory (AD) domain based on Kerberos authentication.	2024-08-05	Connect a PolarDB for MySQL cluster to a self-managed AD domain
Parallel query execution on cold data	The elastic parallel query (ePQ) feature can be used in a PolarDB for MySQL cluster to optimize query performance on cold data.	2024-08-19	Parallel query execution on cold data
Cold data query acceleration by using the OSS file filter feature	Queries for cold data on Object Storage Service (OSS) can be accelerated by using the OSS file filter feature.	2024-08-19	Use the OSS file filter feature to accelerate cold data queries
Global domain name	A global domain name can be created to provide a unified endpoint for a global database network (GDN).	2024-08-26	Create a global domain name

July 2024

Feature	Description	Release date	References
Disaster recovery drill	Disaster recovery drills can be performed on a PolarDB for MySQL cluster.	2024-07-24	Disaster recovery drills
Custom temporary table	Custom temporary tables can be created on read-only nodes in a PolarDB for MySQL cluster.	2024-07-24	Create custom temporary tables
Compute node specifications of PolarDB for MySQL Enterprise Edition clusters	The maximum storage capacity of compute nodes in each edition of PolarDB for MySQL Enterprise Edition clusters is changed.	2024-07-30	Compute node specifications of PolarDB for MySQL Enterprise Edition

June 2024

Feature	Description	Release date	References
Tenant management and resource isolation	A PolarDB for MySQL cluster can operate in multi-tenant mode. In this mode, tenants share the computing and storage resources of the cluster and keep their data and operations isolated from each other. Each tenant can only access their own data. The tenants do not compete for resources, which ensures stable business operations.	2024-06-17	Tenant management and resource isolation

May 2024

Feature	Description	Release date	References
Serverless	The maximum number of read-only nodes to which a serverless cluster can scale out is increased from 8 to 15. Consequently, the upper limits for the Minimum Read-only Nodes and Maximum Read-only Nodes parameters of a serverless cluster are increased to 15.	2024-5-9	Create a serverless cluster
Upgrade	You can upgrade an ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instance to a PolarDB for MySQL serverless cluster with one click.	2024-5-10	Upgrade an ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instance to a PolarDB for MySQL cluster
Major version upgrade	You can upgrade a PolarDB for MySQL cluster to a PolarDB for MySQL serverless cluster of a later version.	2024-5-10	Major version upgrades

April 2024

Feature	Description	Release date	References
Database and table restoration	The database and table restoration feature is optimized. After the optimization, the time required to restore data to the original cluster is reduced by 30%. In addition, the hot standby cluster and the secondary cluster in the GDN can automatically synchronize data from the cluster, which greatly accelerates the overall restoration process.	2024-4-12	Overall process and estimated time Method 1 for database and table restoration: Restore data from a backup set Method 2 for database and table restoration: Restore data to a point in time
Download of backup files	You can download backup files in the CSV-with-header format. You can restore the data of a cluster to a self-managed MySQL database by using the downloaded backup files.	2024-4-17	Download backup files Restore the data of a PolarDB cluster to a self-managed MySQL database by using snapshot backup files
Switching of storage billing methods	You can switch the storage billing method of a PolarDB Enterprise Edition cluster between pay-as-you-go and subscription when the cluster uses the subscription billing method for compute resources.	2024-4-26	Switch storage billing methods

March 2024

Feature	Description	Release date	References
Cold data archiving	The path to enable cold data archiving on the website is changed.	2024-3-7	Enable cold data archiving
Task management	The progress of ongoing tasks can be monitored and the details of historical tasks can be viewed on the Tasks page in the PolarDB console. The progress of long-running tasks, such as cluster backups and restorations, can be tracked. This feature helps you manage PolarDB cluster tasks in an efficient manner and improves the efficiency of cluster O&M.	2024-3-15	Tasks

February 2024

Feature	Description	Release date	References
Migration evaluation	The migration evaluation feature is provided by PolarDB to ensure successful execution of migration tasks and high migration efficiency. The feature allows you to precheck the prerequisites such as the instance status, migration task dependencies, and attributes of the source instance before you upgrade an ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instance to a PolarDB for MySQL cluster. This way, you can identify the factors that may affect the migration progress and resolve issues at the earliest opportunity to reduce the processing and resource costs when you perform the migration.	2024-2-21	Migration assessment
Upgrade evaluation	The upgrade evaluation feature is provided by PolarDB for major version upgrades to ensure the successful execution of upgrade links and high upgrade efficiency. This feature allows you to pre-verify the prerequisites such as the cluster status, upgrade task dependencies, and attributes of the source cluster before you perform a major version upgrade. This way, you can identify the factors that may affect the upgrade progress and resolve the issue in advance to reduce the processing and resource costs during upgrade.	2024-2-21	Upgrade evaluation
PolarProxy	The On-demand Connections option is added to the SLB Settings configuration item. Note The option is available only if you set the Load Balancing Policy option to Active Request-based Load Balancing.	2024-02-22	Configure PolarProxy
Upgrade of an ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instance that uses X-Engine to a PolarDB for MySQL cluster	An ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instance that uses X-Engine can be upgraded to a PolarDB for MySQL cluster.	2024-02-29	Upgrade an ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instance that uses X-Engine to a PolarDB for MySQL cluster

January 2024

Feature	Description	Release date	References
Management of access to encryption rules by using RAM permission policies	Policies can be configured in the Resource Access Management (RAM) console for PolarDB for MySQL to prohibit database administrators (DBAs) and developers from making changes to encryption rules.	2024-01-08	Secure encryption rules against malicious changes by using a RAM permission policy
PolarProxy	The Column store nodes handle OLTP requests option is added to the HTAP Optimization configuration item of PolarDB for MySQL cluster endpoints.	2024-01-15	Configure PolarProxy

2023

December 2023

Feature	Description	Release date	References
Description for the retention period in backup and restoration policies	The term permanent retention is changed to long-term retention in documentations.	2023-12-26	Changes of the PolarDB backup retention policy
Weight-based load balancing	Endpoint-level weight can be configured for each node in a cluster endpoint or a custom endpoint in PolarDB for MySQL. The endpoint-level weight takes precedence over the global weight configured based on databases.	2023-12-28	Configure an endpoint-level weight

November 2023

Feature	Description	Release date	References
Download of backup files	The backup files of a cluster backup set in the CSV, SQL, or Parquet format can be downloaded to your on-premises computer for specific purposes. Sample purposes: Query the data of a backup file. Query data at a specific point in time. Save backup files to your on-premises computer. Download backup files for auditing. Upload backup files to an OSS bucket.	2023-11-24 Note This feature is in canary release and will be officially launched soon.	Download backup files Restore the data of a PolarDB cluster to a self-managed MySQL database by using snapshot backup files
IMCI-based multi-node MPP	Multi-node massively parallel processing (MPP) based on In-Memory Column Index (IMCI) is supported. IMCI-based multi-node MPP is a multi-node execution group that consists of multiple read-only column store nodes and implements the multi-node parallel execution of queries. IMCI-based multi-node MPP is suitable for the following scenarios: You want to use the scaling capability provided by MPP to increase the CPU resources and IOPS used in queries to reduce latency. You want to implement in-memory query handling by distributing queries to multiple nodes for higher throughput.	2023-11-06	Use multi-node MPP to accelerate mass data analysis
Manual switchover of secondary zones	The secondary zone of a cluster can be manually changed.	2023-11-01	Change the primary zone and vSwitch of a cluster

October 2023

Feature

Description

Release date

References

Database and table restoration for more than 50,000 tables in PolarDB clusters

Database and table restoration can be performed for more than 50,000 tables including system tables in PolarDB clusters.

2023-10-19

Method 1 for database and table restoration: Restore data from a backup set

Method 2 for database and table restoration: Restore data to a point in time

Online switchover of the VPC and vSwitch of a PolarDB cluster

The virtual private cloud (VPC) and vSwitch of the primary endpoint, cluster endpoint, and custom endpoint can be changed in PolarDB for MySQL Enterprise Edition. You can use this feature to migrate the endpoint of a PolarDB cluster to another VPC or vSwitch.

2023-10-17

Change the VPC and vSwitch for a PolarDB for MySQL cluster

September 2023

Feature	Description	Release date	References
AATs for joining AI models and tables in PolarDB	PolarDB for AI augmented tables (AATs) that contain AI model inference columns in databases can be generated by PolarDB for AI. Data tables enhanced by AI can be used in scenarios in which data and AI converge to help you gain insights into data and make decisions based on the actual conditions.	2023-09-26	Write the AI model-based inference results back to a database
Integration of Tongyi Qianwen-7b (Qwen-7B) with PolarDB for AI	Qwen-7B is integrated with PolarDB for AI as a built-in model of PolarDB, and is suitable for various scenarios such as sentiment analysis, positive or negative evaluation, summary, translation, and dialogue.	2023-09-21	Use the Tongyi Qianwen model for data inference and interaction
Serverless feature for column store nodes	The serverless feature can be enabled for read-only column store nodes in PolarDB for MySQL. You can configure the scaling range of resources for a read-only column store node that has defined specifications to temporarily scale resources on demand. You can also create a read-only column store node that does not have defined specifications. The specifications of the column store node are scaled based on your business loads to reduce costs.	2023-09-20	Enable the serverless feature on a read-only column store node

August 2023

Feature

Description

Release date

References

Intelligent stress testing for major version upgrades

The intelligent stress testing feature is provided by Database Autonomy Service (DAS). Before you upgrade the PolarDB major version, you can use the intelligent stress testing feature to simulate the business traffic of a PolarDB cluster of a destination version. This helps you achieve the following goals:

Check whether the PolarDB cluster needs to be scaled up to handle business traffic peaks in an efficient manner.
Analyze performance differences in the SQL execution of the PolarDB cluster before and after the upgrade.

2023-08-31

Intelligent stress testing for major version upgrades

New offset items for storage plans

Storage plans can be used to offset fees for the storage usage of level-2 backups, log backups, cold data, and PL0 enterprise SSDs (ESSDs). In addition, some offset factors are adjusted.

2023-08-17

Support for using storage plans to offset fees for the storage usage of level-2 backups, log backups, cold data, and PL0 ESSDs, and adjustments to certain offset factors

July 2023

Feature	Description	Release date	References
Price reduction for the SQL Explorer and Audit feature	The new version of the SQL Explorer and Audit feature is supported. The new version of the SQL Explorer and Audit feature uses a different storage architecture that separates hot data from cold data. This reduces the cost of using the feature by 17% to 83%.	2023-07-24	Price reduction for the SQL Explorer and Audit feature

June 2023

Feature	Description	Release date	References
New method used to enable binary logging	A new method is provided to enable binary logging. You can click Enable binary logging on the Basic Information page of a cluster to enable binary logging for the cluster.	2023-06-09	Enable binary logging
Storage compression	Data stored in the PolarDB PSL4 storage can be compressed. The storage layer compresses and stores data by data block at a high compression ratio, which significantly reduces storage costs.	2023-06-15	How do I enable the storage compression feature?

April 2023

Feature	Description	Release date	References
Serverless clusters that have defined specifications	Serverless clusters that have defined specifications are supported. You can enable the serverless feature for an existing cluster that has defined specifications to create a serverless cluster that has defined specifications.	2023-04-14	Enable the serverless feature for a common cluster with defined specifications

March 2023

Feature	Description	Release date	References
Enhancement of version management	A PolarDB for MySQL cluster can be upgraded from an earlier version to a later version.	2023-03-31	Major version upgrade overview
Cold data archiving	Cold data can be archived to OSS to reduce data storage costs in PolarDB for MySQL. You can archive cold data in the CSV or ORC format. You can also create a data lifecycle management (DLM) policy on a primary node to automatically archive cold data. For more information, see Archive cold data and Usage.	2023-03-01	Cold data archiving overview

February 2023

Feature	Description	Release date	References
X-Engine Edition	X-Engine can be enabled for a purchased PolarDB MySQL cluster. You can execute the ALTER statement to change the storage engine of tables from InnoDB to X-Engine. The hybrid deployment of InnoDB and X-Engine can compress and store cold data of the cluster and dump the cold data to X-Engine without affecting the use of the InnoDB engine. This reduces storage costs by 70%.	2023-02-06	Enable X-Engine

January 2023

Feature	Description	Release date	References
Logical backup by using DBS	Logical backup by using Database Backup (DBS) is supported in PolarDB for MySQL.	2023-01-31	Backup method 3: Use DBS for logical backup
PolarDB for AI	PolarDB for AI is an in-database distributed machine learning component based on PolarDB for MySQL. PolarDB for AI adopts the cloud-native architecture and provides a series of machine learning operations (MLOps) that supports machine learning by using SQL statements. The MLOps include creating models, training models, viewing model status, viewing model lists, and performing model-based reasoning. PolarDB for AI also provides multiple built-in algorithms for machine learning and artificial intelligence, including classification algorithms, regression algorithms, and clustering algorithms.	2023-01-10	PolarDB for AI
Connection diagnostics	The connection diagnostics feature of PolarDB for MySQL can be used to check whether an Elastic Compute Service (ECS) instance or an IP address can access databases.	2023-01-10	Connection diagnostics

2022

December 2022

Feature	Description	Release date	References
Advanced monitoring	The advanced monitoring feature is provided by PolarDB for MySQL. The feature supports a wide range of performance metrics and custom charts and provides powerful diagnostic capabilities. The feature can detect events on clusters at the earliest opportunity and perform diagnostics on the events. The feature provides root cause analysis and suggestions and the option to manually select time periods for diagnostic analysis.	2022-12-29	Advanced monitoring
Performance insight (new)	The diagnostics feature that integrates specific features of DAS is provided by PolarDB for MySQL. You can use the performance insight (new) feature to aggregate statistics on SQL statements, quickly evaluate workloads on your cluster, identify the root causes of performance issues, and seek appropriate solutions. This helps you improve the stability of your cluster.	2022-12-26	Performance insight (new)
Serverless clusters	Serverless clusters are supported. Serverless clusters provide real-time scalability for CPU, memory, storage, and network resources and contribute to a new form of PolarDB for MySQL that uses a storage-compute separation architecture.	2022-12-23	Serverless

November 2022

Feature	Description	Release date	References
Cluster lock	The cluster lock feature can be enabled to prevent potential irreversible consequences due to accidental manual release of clusters.	2022-11-20	Cluster lock feature

September 2022

Feature	Description	Release date	References
Global IP whitelist template	Custom IP whitelist templates can be configured and associated with a cluster. You need to only configure one set of IP whitelist templates for all associated clusters.	2022-09-26	Configure a global IP whitelist template

June 2022

Feature	Description	Release date	References
PolarStore Level 4 (PSL4)	PSL4 is supported. PSL4 is a new storage type in PolarDB that uses the Smart-SSD technology developed by Alibaba Cloud to compress and decompress data at the physical SSD disk level. This can minimize the storage price of data and ensure that disk performance remains consistently high.	2022-06-21	Comparison between PSL4 and PSL5
Cross-region backup	The cross-region backup feature is supported in PolarDB. You can use the feature to back up data from a region to another region for regulation or disaster recovery purposes. You can configure a backup policy to enable the cross-region backup feature.	2022-06-17	Release notes on commercial user of cross-region backup
SQL firewall	The SQL firewall feature is supported in PolarDB PolarProxy. The feature can identify SQL statements to be allowed and blocked after you configure blacklist and whitelist rules.	2022-06-13	SQL firewall overview

May 2022

Feature	Description	Release date	References
IMCI	The IMCI feature is supported. The feature is suitable for online analytical processing (OLAP) scenarios in which a large amount of data is processed and complex queries are required. PolarDB for MySQL provides the IMCI feature to integrate online transaction processing (OLTP) and OLAP. The integration allows PolarDB for MySQL to function as a one-stop hybrid transaction/analytical processing (HTAP) solution. PolarDB for MySQL allows you to use only one system to meet the requirements of OLTP and OLAP scenarios.	2022-05-27	IMCI overview

April 2022

Feature	Description	Release date	References
Selection of different specifications for the primary node and read-only nodes	The primary node and read-only nodes can be separately upgraded or downgraded for a PolarDB cluster. This way, you can select different specifications for the primary node and read-only nodes.	2022-04-22	Manually upgrade or downgrade a PolarDB cluster Temporary upgrade Add or remove read-only nodes
Failover with hot standby	The failover with hot standby feature is supported. You can enable hot standby for the read-only nodes in your cluster to improve failover speed and prevent service interruptions.	2022-04-13	Failover with hot replica overview

March 2022

Feature	Description	Release date	References
Automatic scaling of local resources	Automatic scaling of local resources is supported in PolarDB for MySQL Cluster Edition clusters. You can configure automatic scaling policies for local resources in the DAS console. When the average CPU utilization of a PolarDB cluster within an observation window reaches the specified threshold, the number of CPU cores of the cluster is automatically increased to the specified value.	2022-03-23	Automatically scale local resources
Solutions for PolarProxy specification upgrade	The following PolarProxy specification upgrade solutions are provided: Standard specification: For Standard Enterprise Edition clusters, the number of vCPUs of the cluster nodes occupied by PolarProxy is rounded up from one sixth of the total vCPUs of the cluster nodes. For Dedicated Enterprise Edition clusters, the number of vCPUs of the cluster nodes occupied by PolarProxy is rounded up from one fourth of the total vCPUs of the cluster nodes. Standard specification × 2: The number of vCPUs is twice that of the standard specification. Standard specification × 4: The number of vCPUs is four times that of the standard specification.	2022-03-10	Upgrade the specifications of PolarProxy
Custom parameters of cluster nodes	Custom parameters can be configured for PolarDB cluster nodes. You can configure the parameters of each cluster node based on your business requirements.	2022-03-03	Specify cluster and node parameters

February 2022

Feature	Description	Release date	References
New specification for general-purpose clusters of Cluster Edition: 32 cores and 128 GB of memory	The following specification is provided for general-purpose clusters of Cluster Edition: 32 cores and 128 GB of memory.	2022-02-18	Compute node specifications of PolarDB for MySQL Enterprise Edition
New edition: Multi-master Cluster (Database/Table) Edition	Multi-master Cluster (Database/Table) Edition clusters are developed based on a multi-master architecture that contains multiple primary nodes and read-only nodes. The architecture is suitable for high-concurrency read and write scenarios such as multitenancy, gaming, and e-commerce. To improve the overall concurrent read and write capabilities of clusters, the architecture supports concurrent data writes to databases from different compute nodes and allows you to dynamically switch the primary nodes of databases within seconds.	2022-02-11	Multi-master Cluster (Database/Table) overview

2021

December 2021

Feature	Description	Release date	References
PolarProxy Enterprise Editions	The following PolarProxy Enterprise Editions are available: Standard Enterprise Edition and Dedicated Enterprise Edition. Standard Enterprise Edition is used by general-purpose clusters. This edition provides shared CPU resources and gives you the flexibility to scale resources within seconds based on business loads. Dedicated Enterprise Edition is used by dedicated clusters. This edition allows CPU resources to be exclusively allocated to ensure better stability. Compared with the previous free edition of PolarProxy, PolarProxy Enterprise Editions provide additional advanced features such as the multi-master architecture, elastic scaling of compute nodes within seconds, and proxy throttling protection. Note You can use PolarProxy Enterprise Edition free of charge.	2021-12-09	PolarProxy
New edition: X-Engine	X-Engine is developed based on Archive Database (High Compression Ratio). A cluster that runs X-Engine Edition consists of one primary node and at least one read-only node based on shared storage. The multi-node architecture of X-Engine inherits the advantages of Archive Database (High Compression Ratio) and ensures the high availability of your cluster. If the primary node in your cluster fails, the cluster can automatically fail over to a read-only node. Then, the read-only node serves as the new primary node. This ensures that the service availability is no less than 99.99%.	2021-12-01	X-Engine Edition

November 2021

Feature	Description	Release date	References
Automatic upgrade and downgrade of subscription PolarDB clusters	Automatic scale-out and scale-in are supported for PolarDB for MySQL subscription clusters.	2021-11-05	Automatic configuration changes (auto scaling)

October 2021

Feature	Description	Release date	References
New parameters for the thread pool feature	Multiple parameters, such as bypass_thread_pool_ips and bypass_thread_pool_check_ignore_proxy, are added to the thread pool feature for PolarDB for MySQL 8.0 clusters whose revision version is 8.0.1.1.9 or later.	2021-10-25	Thread Pool

August 2021

Feature	Description	Release date	References
New parameter for PolarDB: polar_replica_work_on_nonblock_mdl_mode	The polar_replica_work_on_nonblock_mdl_mode parameter is supported in PolarDB. You can set this parameter to ON to prevent long-running transactions on PolarDB read-only nodes from blocking DDL operations performed on the primary node.	2021-08-26	Prevent long-running transactions on read-only nodes from blocking DDL operations
Scheduled event	The scheduled event feature is supported. You can receive notifications by text message, phone call, email, or internal message for scheduled PolarDB O&M events. You can also receive notifications in the PolarDB console. Scheduled PolarDB O&M events include database software upgrade events and hardware maintenance and upgrade events. You can view the details of each scheduled event, including the event type, task ID, cluster name, and switchover time. You can also change the switchover time.	2021-08-06	View and manage scheduled events

July 2021

Feature	Description	Release date	References
Specification change of clusters in a global database network (GDN)	2-core node specifications are not supported by clusters in a GDN.	2021-07-02	Compute node specifications of PolarDB for MySQL Enterprise Edition
Support for database and table restoration for PolarDB for MySQL 5.7 clusters	Databases and tables can be restored from a backup set or to a previous point in time in PolarDB for MySQL 5.7 clusters whose revision version is 5.7.1.0.8 or later.	2021-07-02	Method 1 for database and table restoration: Restore data from a backup set and Method 2 for database and table restoration: Restore data to an earlier point in time

June 2021

Feature	Description	Release date	References
Support for automatic encryption of new tables in transparent data encryption (TDE)	Automatic encryption of new tables is supported in PolarDB for MySQL 8.0 clusters whose revision version is 8.0.1.1.15 or later.	2021-06-15	Advanced settings

May 2021

Feature	Description	Release date	References
Support for automatic rotation of SSL certificates in SSL configurations	SSL certificates can be automatically rotated in SSL configurations. After you enable automatic certificate rotation, PolarDB automatically renews the SSL certificate during the maintenance window of the cluster within 10 days before the certificate expires.	2021-05-28	Configure an SSL certificate

March 2021

Feature	Description	Release date	References
Support for the parameter template feature to manage database clusters in a centralized manner	The parameter template feature is supported. You can configure multiple parameters at the same time by using a parameter template and apply the template to a PolarDB cluster.	2021-03-09	Apply a parameter template
Enhancement of data backup to improve data recovery speed	Data backup in PolarDB is enhanced to allow you to create backups every 2, 3, or 4 hours for the data that is generated over the previous 24 hours.	2021-03-09	Overview
General-purpose compute node specifications	PolarDB for MySQL Cluster Edition supports the General-purpose compute node specifications, which enable that idle compute resources such as CPUs are shared among clusters that run on the same server. Resource sharing allows you to deploy a large number of clusters at low costs.	2021-03-02	Compute node specifications of PolarDB for MySQL Enterprise Edition

February 2021

Feature

Description

Release date

References

Support for the instant ADD COLUMN and statement queue features in PolarDB for MySQL 5.7 clusters

The instant ADD COLUMN and statement queue features are supported for PolarDB for MySQL 5.7 clusters whose revision version is 5.7.1.0.6 or later. You can use the instant ADD COLUMN feature to quickly add columns to large tables and the statement queue feature to reduce conflict overheads and improve database performance.

2021-02-09

Instant ADD COLUMN

Statement Queue

Acceleration of data recovery

Data recovery is accelerated by the backup and restoration features. The backup and restoration features of PolarDB clusters use multiple threads and other innovative technologies. This allows you to restore data from a backup set (snapshot) to a new cluster within 10 minutes.

2021-02-09

Backup and restoration overview

January 2021

Feature	Description	Release date	References
Archive Database Edition available for commercial use	PolarDB Archive Database Edition is available for commercial use. This edition uses X-Engine to provide a high data compression ratio and reduce storage costs by up to 70%. PolarDB Archive Database Edition is suitable for services that do not require a large number of computing resources but need to store archived data, such as DingTalk messages. PolarDB Archive Database Edition is highly compatible with MySQL and supports a storage capacity of up to 200 TB.	2021-01-13	X-Engine Edition
Support for two new features: scheduled configuration upgrade and node addition	Configurations can be upgraded and nodes can be added. When you upgrade cluster configurations or add nodes, you can create a schedule to perform the operation during off-peak hours within 24 hours. The operation may cause short service interruptions. The new features help you reduce the impact of service interruptions.	2021-01-12	Manually upgrade or downgrade a PolarDB cluster Add or remove read-only nodes
Support for the upgrade of storage plans to increase storage capacity	Storage plans can be upgraded to increase storage capacity. If your storage plan is about to expire or has insufficient storage capacity, you can renew or upgrade the storage plan.	2021-01-04	Renew or upgrade a storage plan

2020

December 2020

Feature	Description	Release date	References
Increase in the maximum storage capacity of nodes of some specifications	The maximum storage capacity of nodes of some specifications is increased. In PolarDB for MySQL, the maximum storage capacity of 8-core 32 GB nodes is increased to 20 TB. The maximum storage capacity of 16-core 128 GB, 32-core 256 GB, and 64-core 512 GB nodes is increased to 100 TB.	2020-12-24	Compute node specifications of PolarDB for MySQL Enterprise Edition
Task progress bar available in the PolarDB console	The task progress bar is added in the PolarDB console. In the upper-right corner of the PolarDB console, you can click the icon to view the progress of tasks, such as backup and restoration tasks.	2020-12-03	N/A
Support for databases and table restoration in PolarDB for MySQL 5.6 clusters	Database and table restoration is supported in PolarDB for MySQL 5.6 clusters.	2020-12-01	Method 1 for database and table restoration: Restore data from a backup set Method 2 for database and table restoration: Restore data to a point in time
Support for TDE in PolarDB for MySQL 5.6 clusters	TDE is supported in PolarDB for MySQL 5.6 clusters.	2020-12-01	Configure TDE for a PolarDB for MySQL cluster

November 2020

Feature	Description	Release date	References
Support for storage plans that can be used to offset level-1 backup storage fees	Storage plans can be used to offset fees for the used storage of PolarDB clusters and used storage that exceeds the free quota for level-1 backups.	2020-11-27	Billing rules for backup storage that exceeds the free quota

September 2020

Feature	Description	Release date	References
Support for the configuration of time zones and the case sensitivity of table names during cluster creation	The time zones and the case sensitivity of table names can be configured. When you create a PolarDB for MySQL cluster, you can specify whether the table names are case-sensitive.	2020-09-21	Purchase an Enterprise Edition cluster Purchase a subscription cluster

August 2020

Feature	Description	Release date	References
Availability of PolarDB for MySQL in the China (Qingdao) region	PolarDB for MySQL clusters are officially available in the China (Qingdao) region.	2020-08-21	Purchase an Enterprise Edition cluster Purchase a subscription cluster
PolarDB for MySQL 5.7 available for commercial use	PolarDB for MySQL 5.7 is available for commercial use. Users who use PolarDB for MySQL 5.7 during public preview can purchase PolarDB for MySQL 5.7 clusters for their production environments.	2020-08-21	Purchase an Enterprise Edition cluster Purchase a subscription cluster
Availability of PolarDB for MySQL in the UK (London) region	PolarDB for MySQL is officially available in the UK (London) region.	2020-08-15	Purchase an Enterprise Edition cluster Purchase a subscription cluster

July 2020

Feature	Description	Release date	References
Support for concurrent addition of multiple read-only nodes on the configuration change page	Multiple read-only nodes can be concurrently added to a PolarDB for MySQL cluster when you change cluster configurations. Approximately 5 minutes is required to concurrently add multiple read-only nodes.	2020-07-28	Add or remove read-only nodes
PolarDB for MySQL 5.7 available for public preview	PolarDB for MySQL 5.7 is available for public preview.	2020-07-28	Purchase an Enterprise Edition cluster Purchase a subscription cluster
Global read/write splitting available for GDNs	The read/write mode can be set to Read and Write (Automatic Read-write Splitting) for all cluster endpoints in the GDNs of PolarDB for MySQL. Read requests are sent to the on-premises secondary cluster, and write requests are automatically forwarded to the primary cluster in the central region.	2020-07-01	Create a GDN

June 2020

Feature	Description	Release date	References
Switchover with endpoints (connection changes not required)	The Switch with Endpoints (Connection Changes not Required) option can be used to upgrade an existing ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instance to a PolarDB for MySQL cluster. The original endpoint of the ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instance can be retained. You do not need to modify the configurations or the code of your applications.	2020-06-10	Overview

May 2020

Feature	Description	Release date	References
Enhancement of the backup feature	The backup feature provided by PolarDB is optimized to deliver more advanced configurations and capabilities to meet enterprise-level data backup requirements. This ensures data security.	2020-05-12	Backup and restoration
Backup feature available for commercial use	The backup feature is available for commercial use. You are charged for the storage space occupied by backup files and log files. PolarDB provides a limited quota of free storage space.	2020-05-12	Billing rules

April 2020

Feature

Description

Release date

References

Availability of database services in the Japan (Tokyo) region

PolarDB for MySQL, , and are officially available in the Japan (Tokyo) region.

2020-04-30

Availability of PolarDB for MySQL in the China (Chengdu) region

PolarDB for MySQL is officially available in the China (Chengdu) region.

2020-04-13

March 2020

Feature	Description	Release date	References
Availability of PolarDB for MySQL in the US (Virginia) region	PolarDB for MySQL 5.6 and 8.0 are officially available in the US (Virginia) region.	2020-03-09	Purchase an Enterprise Edition cluster Purchase a subscription cluster
Global consistency	PolarDB for MySQL can provide global consistency to ensure that queries directed to a cluster endpoint always return the most recent data, even in the event of primary/secondary replication delays.	2020-03-03	Configure PolarProxy Read/write splitting Consistency levels

February 2020

Feature	Description	Release date	References
SSL for encrypted transmission	SSL is supported by the primary endpoints of PolarDB for MySQL clusters. SSL encrypts network connections at the transport layer. This improves data security and integrity but increases network response time. You can enable SSL encryption based on your business requirements.	2020-02-11	Configure the SSL encryption feature
Offloading of read requests from the primary node	Read requests can be offloaded from the primary node in a PolarDB for MySQL cluster. SQL query requests are sent to read-only nodes while data consistency is ensured. This reduces the workloads of the primary node and ensures the stable performance of the primary node.	2020-02-07	Configure PolarProxy

January 2020

Feature

Description

Release date

References

New alert rules

The new alert rule feature (PolarDB for MySQL cluster) is available in CloudMonitor. This feature supports more performance metrics and helps improve user experience with notifications.

To obtain better user experience with notifications, we recommend that you use the new alert rules.

2020-01-09

Create an alert rule

2019

November 2019

Feature	Description	Release date	References
Availability of the diagnostics and optimization features in more regions	The diagnostics and optimization features of PolarDB for MySQL are available in the US (Silicon Valley) and Germany (Frankfurt) regions. The diagnostics and optimization features include the following features: Diagnostics: This feature provides session management and real-time performance display. You can view diagnostic results in tables and charts. Slow SQL query: This feature allows you to view the trends and statistics of slow SQL statements that are recorded in slow query logs. You can also view recommendations on SQL statements and perform diagnostic analysis.	2019-11-19	Diagnosis Slow SQL queries
Availability of PolarDB for MySQL in the Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur) region	PolarDB for MySQL 5.6 and 8.0 are officially available in the Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur) region.	2019-11-14	Purchase an Enterprise Edition cluster Purchase a subscription cluster
Data migration across zones	Data in PolarDB for MySQL can be migrated across zones. You can use this feature to migrate the compute nodes of a cluster to another zone. This feature is suitable for various scenarios. For example, you can use this feature when you perform disaster recovery or enable nearby access for ECS instances.	2019-11-13	Multi-zone deployment

October 2019

Feature	Description	Release date	References
API operations for performance monitoring	The following API operation is provided by PolarDB to query the performance data of PolarDB clusters: DescribeDBClusterPerformance. The following API operation is provided by PolarDB to query the performance data of PolarDB cluster nodes: DescribeDBNodePerformance.	2019-10-21	DescribeDBClusterPerformance DescribeDBNodePerformance Performance metric monitoring
Node failover priority	Node failover priorities can be configured in PolarDB. By default, the priority of each node is 1. You can specify an integer from 1 to 15 as the priority. The configuration change takes effect in real time and does not affect the performance of database services.	2019-10-14	N/A
Failover	The scheduled failover feature is supported in PolarDB. You can switch the workloads of the primary node to a specified read-only node based on your business requirements.	2019-10-14	Automatic failover and manual failover

September 2019

Feature

Description

Release date

References

PolarDB for MySQL 8.0 available for commercial use

PolarDB for MySQL 8.0 is available for commercial use. PolarDB for MySQL 8.0 supports parallel queries. In specific scenarios, the performance of your cluster improves by 10 times. You can add fields without the need to lock tables. This significantly reduces the negative impact on service stability. PolarDB for MySQL 8.0 optimizes specific features of NoSQL databases, provides an easy way to use JSON data, and adds specific advanced SQL features, such as window functions.

2019-09-12

Elastic parallel query overview

PolarDB for MySQL available for commercial use

PolarDB for MySQL is available for commercial use in the following regions:

China (Beijing)
China (Zhangjiakou)
China (Hangzhou)
China (Shanghai)
China (Shenzhen)
China (Hohhot)
China (Hong Kong)
Singapore
US (Silicon Valley)

2019-09-05

What is PolarDB for MySQL Enterprise Edition?

August 2019

Feature	Description	Release date	References
Availability of PolarDB for MySQL in the Indonesia (Jakarta) region	PolarDB for MySQL is officially available in the Indonesia (Jakarta) region.	2019-08-20	What is PolarDB for MySQL Enterprise Edition?