Alibaba Cloud provides enhanced SSDs (ESSDs), which come in different performance levels (PLs). PL1 ESSDS are designed based on the new-generation distributed block storage architecture. An PL1 ESSD delivers higher IOPS, higher throughput, and more stable I/O performance than a standard SSD. However, the fee for an PL1 ESSD is the same as the fee for a standard SSD in most Alibaba Cloud regions. You can upgrade the storage type of an ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instance from standard SSDs to PL1 ESSD to increase cost-effectiveness.
Prerequisites
The RDS instance is in the Running state.
The RDS instance runs one of the following MySQL versions and RDS editions:
MySQL 8.0 on RDS High-availability Edition or RDS Basic Edition with standard SSDs
MySQL 5.7 on RDS High-availability Edition or RDS Basic Edition with standard SSDs
The minor engine version of the RDS instance is 20201031 or later. This requirement must be met if the RDS instance runs RDS Basic Edition. For more information, see Upgrade the minor engine version.
Performance comparison between PL1 ESSD and standard SSDs
The fee for an PL1 ESSD is similar to the fee for a standard SSD. However, the PL1 ESSD delivers significantly higher performance than the standard SSD. The following table describes the differences between PL1 ESSD and standard SSDs.
Comparison item | PL1 ESSD | Standard SSD |
Maximum capacity per SSD (GB) | 20 to 32,768 | 32,768 |
Maximum IOPS | 50,000 | 25,000 |
Maximum throughput (MB/s) | 350 | 300 |
IOPS per SSD | min{1,800 + 50 × Capacity, 50,000} | min{1,800 + 30 × Capacity, 25,000} |
Throughput per SSD (MB/s) | min{120 + 0.5 × Capacity, 350} | min{120 + 0.5 × Capacity, 300} |
Average latency of random writes per connection (ms) | 0.2 | 0.5 to 2 |
Billing rules
When you upgrade the storage type of an RDS instance, the upgrade fee covers the following items:
Backup: To ensure data security, the system performs a temporary full backup on the data of the RDS instance and retains the backup file for seven days. You may be charged for the backup fee. For more information, see Backup storage fees.
ESSDs: You may be charged for the ESSD fee, which varies based on the region of the RDS instance. You can view the fee when you perform the upgrade.
Impacts
When you upgrade the storage type, a transient connection that lasts approximately 30 seconds occurs. We recommend that you perform the upgrade during off-peak hours and make sure that your application is configured to automatically reconnect to the RDS instance.
When the storage type is being upgraded, you cannot perform operations on the RDS instance. For example, you cannot upgrade or downgrade the RDS instance, upgrade the database engine version of the RDS instance, or migrate the RDS instance across zones.
Procedure
- Go to the Instances page. In the top navigation bar, select the region in which the RDS instance resides. Then, find the RDS instance and click the ID of the instance.
In the Basic Information section of the page that appears, click Upgrade Storage Type to the right of Storage Type.
NoteIf Upgrade Storage Type is not found, you must check whether the RDS instance meets all requirements that are described in Prerequisites. If all the requirements are met but you cannot find Upgrade Storage Type, the region in which the RDS instance resides does not support ESSDs.
On the Change Specifications tab, read and select the terms of service, click Pay Now, and then complete the payment.
The status of the RDS instance changes to Upgrading/Downgrading. When the status of the RDS instance changes back to Running, the upgrade is complete.
FAQ
Why am I unable to select the ESSD storage type for my RDS instance?
If the zones in which your RDS instance resides cannot provide sufficient resources or do not support ESSDs, you cannot select the ESSD storage type for your RDS instance. In this case, you must update the minor engine version of your RDS instance, migrate your RDS instance to zones in which ESSDs are supported, and then upgrade the storage type of your RDS instance to ESSD. For more information, see Update the minor engine version and Migrate an ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instance across zones in the same region.
When I upgrade the storage type of my RDS instance, does the system automatically upgrade the storage types of the read-only RDS instances that are attached to my RDS instance?
No, the system does not automatically upgrade the storage types of the read-only RDS instances. You must repeat the procedure in this topic to manually upgrade the storage type of each read-only RDS instance.
When I change the specifications of my RDS instance, are my online workloads interrupted?
For more information, see the "Impacts" section of this topic.
Do the endpoints and IP addresses of my RDS instance change after I change the storage type?
The endpoints of your RDS instance remain unchanged after you change the storage type. An example endpoint is rm-bpxxxxx.mysql.rds.aliyuncs.com. However, the IP addresses that are associated with the endpoints may change. We recommend that you add the endpoints rather than the IP addresses to your application.
Which factors affect the amount of time that is required to change the storage type of my RDS instance?
For more information, see Which factors affect the time that is required to change the specifications of my ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instance?
Related operations
Operation | Description |
Changes the specifications of an instance. |