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PolarDB:View and manage scheduled events

Last Updated:Feb 19, 2025

PolarDB scheduled O&M events, such as database software upgrades and hardware maintenance, will notify you via text message, voice, email, or internal message, and also through the console. You can view details of each scheduled event, including the event type, task ID, cluster name, and switchover time. Additionally, you have the option to manually change the switchover time.

Usage notes

  • Events fall into the following levels based on urgency:

    • [S0: Urgent] Risk fixing: Events at this level are unexpected events that need to be fixed at the earliest opportunity to prevent faults in most cases, such as urgent replacement, upgrades, or updates of faulty versions, host exception fixes, and SSL certificate upgrades before expiration. Event notifications may be sent three days or more in advance and the window for changing the scheduled switchover time is short.

    • [S1: Scheduled] System maintenance: Events at this level are resolution of low-risk issues or scheduled upgrades of software and hardware in most cases. Event notifications are sent more than three days in advance and you can cancel the events.

  • To ensure that you can receive notifications of scheduled O&M events, select the notification methods and configure the contacts for ApsaraDB Fault or Maintenance Notifications in the Message Center console. We recommend that you specify database O&M personnel as the contacts. The notification methods include Email and Internal Messages. We recommend that you select Email to improve the success rate of notifications.

    image.png

    Figure 1 Entry for Message Settings in the Message Center console

    image

    Figure 2 Notification settings for ApsaraDB Fault or Maintenance Notifications

  • If you want to be informed of O&M events at the earliest opportunity or want to customize event-driven O&M automation, you can use CloudMonitor to configure system event subscriptions. Then, cloud database services push CloudMonitor system events related to the lifecycle of O&M events, such as subscription, start, end, and cancellation. For more information, see Manage event subscription policies (recommended). For information about CloudMonitor system events to which you can subscribe, see the "Appendix 1 CloudMonitor-related system events" section of this topic.

    Sample CloudMonitor event:

    {
      "eventId": "c864b30b-7f69-5f04-b0e7-8dfb0eabcfd9", // The event ID. The same event has the same ID.
      "product": "RDS",                                  // The service code.
      "reason": "Host software/hardware upgrade",        // The cause of the event.
      "extra": {
         
        "impactEn": "Transient instance disconnection",  // The impact of the event.
        "eventCode": "rds_apsaradb_transfer",            // The code of the type of the O&M event.
        "eventNameEn": "Instance migration",             // The name of the O&M event.
            
        "switchTime": "2024-09-15T01:30:00+08:00",       // The scheduled switchover time, which is the time when a transient connection occurs on the instance if a switchover is performed.
        "startTime": "2024-09-14T21:30:00+08:00",          // The scheduled start time of the event, which is the time when the event enters the scheduling queue and waits to be executed.
        "cancelCode": "OutOfGoodPerfBySoftHardwareUpgrade", // The cancellation risk code. For more information, see the "Appendix 2 Detailed cause codes and cancellation risks" section of this topic.
        "detailCode": "HostSoftHardwareUpgrade",            // The detailed cause code. For more information, see the "Appendix 2 Detailed cause codes and cancellation risks" section of this topic.
        "instanceInfo": ""
      },
      "instanceId": "rm-2ze9d66o65q1g02g6",             // The instance ID.
      "eventType": "Maintenance",
      "instanceComment": "rm-2ze9d66o65q1g02g6",        // The alias of the instance.
      "instanceType": "Instance",
      "publishTime": "2024-09-10T16:01:47+08:00"
    }

Procedure

  1. Log on to the console of the database service of the instance or cluster that you want to manage.

  2. In the left-side navigation pane, choose Event Center (formerly known as Event Management) > Scheduled Events. In the top navigation bar, select the region in which the instance or cluster resides.

  3. On the Scheduled Events page, view the information about events. By default, events in the Planned state are displayed. You can click the Completed and Canceled tabs to switch between historical completed and canceled events. The following table describes the event attributes.

    Attribute

    Example

    Description

    Event type

    Risk fixing

    Events fall into the risk fixing and system maintenance levels based on urgency.

    Status

    Pending

    The scheduling status of the event. Take note of the following statuses:

    • Waiting Setting Time: The execution time of the event is empty and you must configure the time settings based on your business requirements. If you do not configure the time settings by the specified deadline, the system automatically cancels the execution of the event and does not automatically execute the event.

    • Pending: The event waits until the scheduled start time is reached.

    • Executing: The event is being executed as scheduled. In this case, you cannot perform manual intervention. To terminate the event in an urgent manner, submit a ticket. Unknown risks may occur if non-standard operations are performed.

    • Successful: The event is successfully executed.

    • Canceled: The execution of the event fails or is canceled. The following list describes common cancellation causes:

      • User cancellation (UserCancel): The execution of the event is canceled in the console or by calling API operations.

      • User response timeout (UserResponseTimeout): The event is automatically canceled because the time settings of the event are not configured by the deadline.

      • Cancellation for database management (SupervisorCancel): The event initiator cancels the execution of the event for database management.

      • On-demand avoidance cancellation (AvoidCancel): The event does not need the execution because the risk is mitigated or the current status of the instance or cluster no longer necessitates the execution of this event. For example, no update is required if the instance or cluster is already of the latest version.

      • Automatic cancellation by the system (AutoCancel): The execution of the event is canceled because the system determines that the instance or cluster does not meet the conditions for execution during regular checks on scheduled events. For example, the current status of the instance or cluster is abnormal and action commands cannot be issued.

      • Execution timeout (ExecuteTimeout): The event enters the execution queue but the execution is not complete within the expected time.

      • Execution failure (ExecuteFail): The event fails during execution due to an unknown exception.

    Event type

    Minor version update

    The type of the event. For more information, see the "Event types and impacts" section of this topic.

    Cause

    -

    The cause of the event. For more information, see the "Appendix 2 Detailed cause codes and cancellation risks" section of this topic.

    Business impact

    Transient connections

    The business impact of the event. Different types of events have different impacts on your business. For more information, see the "Event types and impacts" section of this topic.

    O&M suggestions

    Make sure that your applications are automatically configured to reconnect to your instance or cluster and pay attention to the impacts on your business.

    The O&M suggestions for the event. The O&M suggestions vary based on events. For more information, see the "Appendix 1 CloudMonitor-related system events" section of this topic.

    Start time

    -

    The scheduled start time of the event, which is the time when the event enters the scheduling queue. Before the start time, the event does not affect the instance or cluster. After the start time, you can still access the instance or cluster. However, you cannot perform instance-level or cluster-level operations, such as changing instance or cluster configurations and migrating the instance or cluster across zones. This attribute is empty if the event is in the Waiting Setting Time state.

    Scheduled switchover time

    -

    The scheduled switchover time, which is the time when a transient connection occurs on the instance or cluster if a primary/secondary switchover or link switchover is performed. The time is an estimated value. Switchovers are expected to occur around the time. In extreme cases such as switching back to the original zone, two switchovers may occur.

    Note

    Considering that an amount of preparation time is required to perform steps such as event scheduling and data preparation before the switchover in most cases, the start time and the switchover time have a time difference. The time difference may vary based on database services.

    Deadline

    -

    The latest time by which you can configure the time settings for execution of the event. The switchover time that you want to use cannot be later than this time.

    Cancelable

    Yes

    To block this event, you can cancel it. In most cases, this feature is available for system O&M events.

    Important

    In most cases, scheduled events are issued by the cloud database management system during regular inspections. If you cancel an event once, a new event may be issued during the next inspection cycle. Frequent cancellations may result in increased risks. We recommend that you select an appropriate time to execute an event based on your business conditions rather than canceling the event. For information about the cancellation risks, see the "Appendix 2 Detailed cause codes and cancellation risks" section of this topic.

    Schedule changeable

    Yes

    In most cases, you can change the execution time of events. In few scenarios where the window for urgently fixing high risks is short, you cannot change the execution time of events.

  4. (Optional) Reschedule events.

    Select the events whose execution time you want to change and click Schedule Event. On the page that appears, configure one of the following settings:

    • Immediate execution: specifies the current time as the start time of the events. Then, the events enter the execution queue and are immediately executed.

    • Switchover at a specified time: allows you to select an appropriate switchover time based on the configurable switchover time range. The start time is automatically calculated based on the switchover time. The new start time cannot be earlier than the current time. Otherwise, the switchover time cannot be changed.

  5. (Optional) Change the recurring time window settings.

    Click Recurring Time Window Settings in the upper right corner of the event list.

    In most cases, the execution time of a scheduled event of an instance or cluster is automatically calculated based on the maintenance window of the instance or cluster. For information about how to configure the maintenance window for an ApsaraDB RDS instance, a Tair (Redis OSS-compatible) instance, an ApsaraDB for MongoDB instance, and a PolarDB cluster, see Configure a maintenance window, Configure a maintenance window, Specify a maintenance window, and Set a maintenance window. You can also specify a custom recurring time window based on your O&M requirements. If the system initiates an event, the execution time of the event is preferentially calculated based on the specified time window.

    You can set the recurring time window by month or week. For example, if you set the recurring time window to 02:00 to 03:00 on Monday and Tuesday every week and the time window for a scheduled event to this Tuesday through next Sunday, the range for the switchover time of the event includes 02:00 to 03:00 on this Tuesday and 02:00 to 03:00 on next Monday. In most cases, the switchover is preferentially performed on this Tuesday.

    Important
    1. This configuration is valid only for the new events. If you want to change the execution time of an existing event, click Configure Execution Time.

    2. This configuration helps calculate the execution time of events only at the system maintenance level. The actual execution time is subject to the time displayed in the event list.

    3. This configuration is an account-level configuration. The configuration takes effect on all database services that support Recurring Time Window Settings.

  1. (Optional) Cancel scheduled events.

    Select the events that you want to cancel and click Cancel Scheduled Event. On the page that appears, read and confirm the cancellation risks, and then click Confirm.

Event types and impacts

Event Type

Impact Type

Impact Description

Cluster Migration

Note

Planned O&M operations initiated due to host risks, hardware warranty expiration, or operating system upgrades. The system will migrate the cluster to a new server node, including non-high availability clusters and read-only clusters.

Cluster Transient Connection

After the scheduled switchover time starts, the following impacts will occur:

Note

Pending events usually result in cluster switchover operations, which will be executed during the cluster maintenance window after the scheduled switchover time.

  • The cluster or shards involved in the switchover will experience a transient connection and a read-only state within 30 seconds (used to wait for data to be fully synchronized). Please execute during off-peak business hours and ensure that the application has a reconnection mechanism.

  • Temporarily affects the use of the cluster in DMS and DTS. After the operation is completed, it will automatically return to normal.

Primary/Secondary Switchover

Note

Planned O&M operations initiated due to host risks, hardware warranty expiration, or operating system upgrades. The system will initiate a primary/secondary node switchover operation, only including high availability clusters.

Cluster Parameter Adjustment

Note

Planned O&M operations initiated due to known parameter risks. The system will initiate parameter modification operations for the cluster. If the issued parameters include parameters that require a restart, the cluster will be restarted.

Host Risk Fix

Note

Fix the fault risks existing in the host to which the cluster belongs.

SSL Certificate Renewal

Note

To ensure that the cluster continues to provide excellent security and stability, this operation will be initiated when the SSL certificate of the cluster is about to expire.

Backup Mode Upgrade

Note

To ensure that the cluster provides faster backup and recovery capabilities, switch the backup mode of the cluster from logical backup to physical database table backup.

Zone Migration

Note

Upgrade and technical transformation of physical infrastructure in some existing regions and zones.

Minor Version Upgrade

Note

To improve user experience, cloud databases will release minor versions of clusters from time to time to enrich cloud product features or fix known issues.

Cluster Transient Connection

After the scheduled switchover time starts, the following impacts will occur:

Note

Pending events usually result in cluster switchover operations, which will be executed during the cluster maintenance window after the scheduled switchover time.

  • The cluster or shards involved in the switchover will experience a transient connection and a read-only state within 30 seconds (used to wait for data to be fully synchronized). Please execute during off-peak business hours and ensure that the application has a reconnection mechanism.

  • Temporarily affects the use of the cluster in DMS and DTS. After the operation is completed, it will automatically return to normal.

Differences between minor engine versions

Different minor engine versions have distinct updates. It's important to understand the differences between the current minor engine version and the version you plan to update to. For more information, see the relevant release notes. Release notes are available for the following services:

Proxy Minor Version Upgrade

Note

To improve user experience, cloud databases will release minor versions of proxy nodes from time to time to enrich proxy service features or fix known issues.

Transient Cluster Connection

After the scheduled switchover time begins, the following impacts will be observed:

Note

Pending events typically lead to cluster switchover operations, which are executed during the cluster maintenance window following the scheduled switchover time.

  • Clusters or shards undergoing the switchover will encounter a transient connection and enter a read-only state for approximately 30 seconds to allow for complete data synchronization. Please carry out this process during non-peak business hours and ensure that your application includes a reconnection mechanism.

  • The use of the cluster in DMS and DTS will be temporarily affected. Normal operations will resume automatically after the switchover is complete.

Differences Between Minor Versions

Different minor versions feature various updates. It is important to understand the differences between the current minor version and the one you plan to update to. For more information, consult the relevant release notes. Release notes are provided for the following services only:

Network Upgrade

Note

Upgrade network hardware to enhance the performance and stability of the cluster's network.

Cluster Transient Connection

After the scheduled switchover time begins, the following impacts will occur:

Note

Pending events typically lead to cluster switchover operations, which are carried out during the maintenance window following the scheduled switchover time.

  • Clusters or shards undergoing the switchover will face a transient connection and enter a read-only state for up to 30 seconds to allow for full data synchronization. Please perform this during non-peak business hours and ensure your application includes a reconnection mechanism.

  • This will temporarily affect the use of the cluster in DMS and DTS. Normal operations will resume automatically after the procedure is complete.

Change of Virtual IP Addresses (VIPs)

During certain network upgrades involving cross-zone migration, the Virtual IP (VIP) address of the cluster may change. This can result in a connection interruption if the client relies on the VIP to connect to the cloud database.

Note

To prevent any impact, you should utilize the domain name format of the connection address provided by the cluster and ensure the DNS cache is disabled on both the application and its host server.

Storage Gateway Upgrade

Note

Upgrading the storage gateway can enhance the storage performance and stability of the cluster.

I/O Jitter

You may experience temporary I/O jitter, and SQL latency could increase, but these effects should not last longer than 3 seconds.

Activate Seamless Migration Feature

Note

Activate seamless migration to enhance the user experience.

Parameter Adjustment

No Impact

Note

This adjustment does not require a restart, ensuring no disruption to your ongoing operations.

Proxy Migration

Note

To enhance the stability of the proxy node, upgrade or maintain the host where the proxy resides.

Proxy Node Migration

During proxy node migration, the cluster endpoint and custom endpoint may experience a brief interruption, not exceeding 10 seconds.

FAQ

FAQ about notifications

Why do I receive notifications of O&M events?

To ensure the continuity, stability, and high quality of cloud database services, Alibaba Cloud provides scheduled O&M events so that you can perform operations such as software and hardware upgrades, configuration upgrades, and network upgrades for your instances or clusters. The event types include instance or cluster migration, primary/secondary switchover, version upgrades and updates, and parameter modifications. If you enable the automatic version update feature for your instance or cluster, you can receive event notifications for minor version updates on a regular basis.

How much in advance are notifications sent? Why cannot I receive event notifications?

In most cases, notifications of scheduled events are sent one to three days in advance based on the urgency of the events. The notification methods include emails. You can view the notification contacts in the Message Center console and check emails titled Notification of ApsaraDB for Planned operation and maintenance sent to the contacts in the last month.

I receive database O&M notifications but cannot view events in the scheduled event list on the Scheduled Events tab. Why?

  • The notification status callback is delayed. After you receive notifications, you can wait 1 to 3 minutes and then refresh the Scheduled Events tab. In addition, make sure that you select the region in which your instance or cluster resides.

  • Notifications of non-database scheduled O&M events, such as notifications in emails with subjects such as Alibaba Cloud Database Network Upgrade Notice, are about software and hardware upgrades initiated by infrastructure teams such as the underlying network team. These upgrades involve cluster or data center-level changes instead of changes at the database instance or cluster level. You cannot change the execution time or cancel execution for an instance or cluster. Therefore, no scheduled events exist. The actual impacts and descriptions of non-database scheduled O&M events in the emails or internal messages prevail.

FAQ about the start time and switchover time

Why cannot I view that an event is being executed on the scheduled event list of an instance or cluster after the start time of the event is reached?

  • After the start time is reached, the event enters the scheduling queue to wait for execution. During the waiting process, operations such as execution check, environment initialization, and O&M action orchestration are performed and instance-level or cluster-level tasks may not be issued, which does not affect the availability of the instance or cluster. Please wait. You only need to pay attention to the switchover time.

  • The O&M orchestration process varies based on database services and events. Tasks related to the events are issued at different points in time after the start time. For example, the instance migration process of high-availability instances includes cross-data center recreation of the secondary instance, primary/secondary switchover, and cross-data center recreation of the secondary instance in most cases. However, the migration process of a primary instance migration includes primary/secondary switchover and recreation of the secondary instance. Tasks are not immediately issued after the start time but are issued around the switchover time.

How do I change the scheduled switchover time?

You can change the scheduled switchover time for an event in the console or by calling API operations. For more information, see the "(Optional) Reschedule events" step in the "Procedure" section of this topic and ModifyActiveOperationTasks.

Why do I fail to change the scheduled switchover time?

You cannot change the scheduled switchover time of an event in the following scenarios:

  • The event is in the Executing state.

  • The start time of the event is exceeded.

  • The current time is later than the deadline of the event.

  • The new start time of the event is earlier than the current time.

  • The switchover time of the event cannot be changed.

What do I do if the switchover time is not within the time range that I can configure? How do I set the switchover time to a later time?

By default, the switchover time of an event cannot be later than the deadline of the event. The time before the deadline is a safe maintenance window defined by the system. If the switchover time is later than the deadline, failure risks exist. We recommend that you set the switchover time before the deadline. To set the switchover time to a later time when you confirm the extension risks, submit a ticket.

Can I estimate the end time of a migration task?

Only the start time and approximate switchover time of a migration is displayed. The end time cannot be estimated because it is affected by multiple factors, such as the network latency, task queue, and data size.

Can an event in the Waiting Setting Time state be automatically executed if I do not set the execution time before the deadline?

No. If you do not set the execution time after the deadline is exceeded, the system automatically cancels the execution of the event. If the system determines that the execution is required, it will send a new notification.

FAQ about event operations

How do I cancel a scheduled event?

We recommend that you do not cancel an event. You can reschedule the switchover time. For example, you can select a point in time during off-peak hours to perform the switchover. If you want to cancel a scheduled event, see the "(Optional) Cancel scheduled events" step in the "Procedure" section of this topic.

Are the notifications of an event resent if I manually cancel the event?

Most events are issued by the inspection system during periodic inspections. If you manually cancel an event, it may be resent after a specific silent period that ranges from 1 to 30 days. For information about the trigger periods of events with specific detailed cause codes, see the "Appendix 2 Detailed cause codes and cancellation risks" section of this topic.

How do I block scheduled events?

Important

Scheduled events are designed to improve service quality and stability. We recommend that you do not block scheduled events. If scheduled events are blocked, stability risks may occur.

To block scheduled events when you confirm the risks, submit a ticket. However, to ensure service stability, you cannot block urgent risk fixing events in scenarios such as host failure, lock due to full disk, and SSL certificate upgrade before expiration.

FAQ about other issues

How do I determine if the execution of an event is complete?

After the execution of an event is complete, the event is removed from the scheduled event list. You can view the event in the completed event list on the Completed tab. To detect event statuses in an event-driven manner, use CloudMonitor to configure system event subscriptions. For more information, see the third item in the "Usage notes" section of this topic.

Can an instance or cluster be migrated across zones after an instance or cluster migration event is executed?

No. After an instance or cluster migration event is executed, the zone, account, network, and endpoint of the instance or cluster do not change.

API references

API

Description

DescribePendingMaintenanceActions - Retrieves the number of pending maintenance actions for various task types

Retrieves the number of pending maintenance actions for various task types.

ModifyPendingMaintenanceAction - Modifies the rescheduling time for a pending maintenance action

Modifies the rescheduling time for a pending maintenance action.

DescribePendingMaintenanceAction - Provides details on scheduled maintenance actions

Provides details on scheduled maintenance actions.