This topic describes how to change the storage type of an ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instance from Premium Local SSD to Enterprise SSD (ESSD) or Premium ESSD in the ApsaraDB RDS console.
Prerequisites
The primary RDS instance runs MySQL 5.7 or 8.0 on RDS High-availability Edition and uses Premium Local SSDs.
NoteYou cannot directly change the storage type of RDS instances that run MySQL 5.6 because these instances support only Premium Local SSDs. For solutions, see FAQ.
The minor engine version of the RDS instance is 20201031 or later. You can update the minor engine version of your instance.
No read-only instances or disaster recovery instances are attached to the primary RDS instance.
The automatic performance scaling, database proxy, Transparent Data Encryption (TDE), and SSL encryption features are disabled for the RDS instance.
The network type of the RDS instance is VPC and the RDS instance does not have a classic network endpoint.
The RDS instance does not use the IPv6 network protocol or connect to multiple VPCs.
NoteThis prerequisite applies only to special scenarios.
The RDS instance is in the Running state.
If the preceding prerequisites are not met, you can create an RDS instance that uses ESSDs or Premium ESSDs storage and then migrate data from the original RDS instance to the new instance. For more information, see Migrate data between ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instances.
Differences among Premium Local SSDs, ESSDs, and Premium ESSDs
Metric | Premium Local SSD | Premium ESSD | ESSD |
I/O performance | ★★★★★ Delivers low I/O latency and high I/O performance:
| ★★★★★★ Provides the Use the I/O acceleration feature of general ESSDs, I/O performance burst feature, and data archiving feature. The following list describes the I/O performance:
| ★★★★★ Delivers higher I/O performance than standard SSDs:
|
Configuration flexibility | ★★★★ Provides various configuration options and allows you to separately adjust the storage capacity. For some RDS instances that use Premium Local SSDs, the storage capacity is bound to the instance type and cannot be separately adjusted. | ★★★★★ Provides various configuration options and allows you to expand or reduce the storage capacity of an RDS instance. Note Only some MySQL instances that meet specific requirements support storage capacity reduction. For more information, see Overview of instance changes and Change the specifications of an ApsaraDB RDS instance. | ★★★★★ Provides various configuration options and allows you to expand or reduce the storage capacity of an RDS instance. Note Only some MySQL instances that meet specific requirements support storage capacity reduction. For more information, see Overview of instance changes and Change the specifications of an ApsaraDB RDS instance. |
Backup method | Provides physical backups by using XtraBackup | Provides snapshot backups | Provides snapshot backups |
Time required for backup, read-only instance creation, and instance cloning | ★★ Requires a few hours based on the disk space. | ★★★★★ Requires a few seconds. | ★★★★★ Requires a few seconds. |
Duration | ★★★ Requires a few hours to copy data when you scale up the storage. | ★★★★★ Supports online storage capacity expansion. You can expand the storage capacity of an RDS instance within a few seconds. | ★★★★★ Supports online storage capacity expansion. You can expand the storage capacity of an RDS instance within a few seconds. |
Scale-out impact | Transient connections occur during the scale-out process. | None. | None. |
Data durability | ★★★★ Has a risk of data corruption due to hardware faults, which requires secondary databases to support disaster recovery. | ★★★★★ Provides 99.9999999% data reliability and supports RDS instances that run RDS Basic Edition to reduce costs. | ★★★★★ Provides 99.9999999% data reliability and supports RDS instances that run RDS Basic Edition to reduce costs. |
Billing rules
When you change the storage type of an RDS instance, the fee varies based on the region in which your RDS instance resides and the instance specifications. You can view the fee when you perform the change.
Usage notes
You can change the storage type of your RDS instance only from Premium Local SSD to ESSD or Premium ESSD.
The instance types that support the Premium Local SSD and ESSD storage types are different. When you change the storage type of some RDS instances, you must change the instance type. For more information, see Instance types for standard primary ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instances (original x86 architecture).
The change operation is affected by various factors and may fail in some scenarios. For more information, see Which factors affect the time that is required to change the specifications of my ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instance?
When you change the storage type of your RDS instance from local SSD to ESSD, data is incrementally synchronized from the local SSD to the ESSD. However, if a large amount of data is being written to the local SSD, the ESSD may fail to fully synchronize with the local SSD. In this case, the change operation lasts for a long period of time. We recommend that you reduce the frequency of data writing during the change operation to speed up the change.
Before you change the storage type, make sure that more than 10% of the storage capacity of the RDS instance is available. If the storage capacity is exhausted, the RDS instance is locked. For more information, see What do I do if an ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instance is in the Locked state because its storage capacity is exhausted by data files?
Impacts
The storage type change can trigger a migration of underlying data, which requires a period of time to complete. After the migration is complete, the system switches over your workloads at the specified switching time. During the switchover, a transient connection that lasts approximately 30 seconds occurs. We recommend that you change the storage type during off-peak hours and make sure that your application is configured to automatically reconnect to your RDS instance.
NoteAfter you change the storage type of an RDS instance, the endpoints of the RDS instance remain unchanged. You do not need to change the endpoints for your application.
After you change the storage type of your RDS instance, you cannot use the backup sets that are generated before the change to restore the data of the RDS instance that uses Premium ESSDs or ESSDs. You can restore the data of the RDS instance by using only the backup sets that are generated after the change.
When the storage type is being changed, you cannot perform specific 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.
After the storage type is changed from Premium Local SSD to ESSD or Premium ESSD, the cross-region backup feature for the RDS instance is automatically disabled due to differences in the underlying architectures of the storage types. We recommend that you reconfigure the cross-region backup policy for the RDS instance after the change is complete. This helps ensure that the cross-region backup feature can work as expected. For more information, see Use the cross-region backup feature.
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 Configuration Information section of the Basic Information page, click Change Specifications.

On the Change Instance Type page, select Storage Type. Select Premium ESSD or ESSD(PL1, PL2, or PL3).
In some zones, resources may be insufficient or cloud disks may be no longer available for purchase. As a result, you cannot set the storage type to ESSD or Premium ESSD. In this case, you must migrate the RDS instance to a zone in which cloud disks are available for purchase and then upgrade the storage type to cloud disk.
NoteThe following list describes the performance of ESSDs of different PLs:
The performance of ESSDs of different PLs is ranked in descending order: PL3 ESSD delivers the highest performance, followed by PL2 ESSD, and then PL1 ESSD.
A PL3 ESSD provides 20 times the IOPS and 11 times the throughput of a PL1 ESSD.
A PL2 ESSD delivers twice the IOPS and throughput of a PL1 ESSD.
The minimum storage capacities supported by PL1 ESSD, PL2 ESSD, and PL3 ESSD are 20 GB, 500 GB, and 1,500 GB.
The minimum storage capacity of a Premium ESSD is 10 GB.
Optional. Configure the Instance Type parameter.
Select an instance family. You can select General-purpose or Dedicated.
Instance type
Description
Benefit
General-purpose instance type
A general-purpose instance exclusively occupies the allocated memory and I/O resources.
A general-purpose instance shares CPU and storage resources with the other general-purpose instances that are deployed on the same host.
A general-purpose instance is cost-effective.
Dedicated instance type
A dedicated instance exclusively occupies the allocated CPU, memory, storage, and I/O resources.
NoteThe dedicated host instance family is the highest configuration of the dedicated instance family. A dedicated host RDS instance occupies all CPU, memory, storage, and I/O resources of the host on which the RDS instance is deployed.
A dedicated instance provides better performance and stability.
Select an instance type.
In a test environment, select an instance type that provides 1 or more cores.
For a production environment, select an instance type that provides four or more cores.
NoteFor more information about instance types, see Instance types for standard primary ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instances (original x86 architecture).
Optional. Expand or reduce the storage capacity based on your business requirements.
NoteThe storage capacity of the ESSD or Premium ESSD must be at least 1.2 times greater than the used storage of the Premium Local SSD of the RDS instance.
Configure the Switching Time parameter. This parameter specifies the time to perform the primary/secondary switchover after the storage type is upgraded.
Execute Immediately
Switch Within Maintenance Window: The system switches your workloads over to the new RDS instance within the maintenance window that you specify.
NoteThe switchover causes a transient connection that lasts approximately 30 seconds. We recommend that you change the storage type during off-peak hours and make sure that your application is configured to automatically reconnect to your RDS instance.
If you select Switch Within Maintenance Window, the RDS instance remains in the upgrading or downgrading state until the switchover is complete. During the switchover, you cannot perform specific operations on the RDS instance. For example, you cannot upgrade or downgrade the specifications of the RDS instance, upgrade the database engine version of the RDS instance, or migrate the RDS instance across zones.
Read and select the terms of service, click Pay Now, and then complete the payment.
After the payment is complete, the status of the instance changes to Upgrading. When the instance status changes to Running, the change is complete.
FAQ
Related API operations
Operation | Description |
Changes instance specifications. |

