Upgrade the major version of a SQL Server 2008 R2 instance with Premium Local SSDs - ApsaraDB RDS

ApsaraDB RDS for SQL Server no longer provides security updates for SQL Server 2008 R2 instances purchased on or after July 9, 2019. Starting November 1, 2024, these instances no longer support the virtual private cloud (VPC) network type when using Premium Local SSDs. The classic network type became unavailable for purchase at 00:00 on February 28, 2025, which may disrupt workloads on instances using the classic network type.

Upgrade your instance to SQL Server 2012 or SQL Server 2016 to restore VPC connectivity and maintain service stability. During the upgrade, you can migrate the instance across zones to meet your deployment requirements.

For a comparison of features across SQL Server versions and RDS editions, see Features of ApsaraDB RDS instances that run different SQL Server versions and RDS editions.

Supported upgrade paths

Current version	Supported target versions
SQL Server 2008 R2 (Premium Local SSDs)	SQL Server 2012 EE
	SQL Server 2016 SE
	SQL Server 2016 EE

Important

TDE behavior changes based on the target version. Upgrading to SQL Server 2012 EE or SQL Server 2016 EE keeps Transparent Data Encryption (TDE) available. Upgrading to SQL Server 2016 SE makes TDE unavailable.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, make sure your instance meets the following requirements:

The instance runs SQL Server 2008 R2 with Premium Local SSDs.
The storage capacity is at least 20 GB. To expand storage, see Change instance specifications.
TDE is disabled. To disable TDE, see Configure TDE.

Upgrade impacts

Irreversible changes

Once started, the upgrade cannot be cancelled.
After the upgrade, the instance cannot be rolled back to an earlier major engine version.

Downtime

The upgrade requires a workload switchover, which causes approximately 20 minutes of downtime in most cases. The exact duration varies based on data volume. Schedule the switchover during your maintenance window to minimize impact, and configure your application to reconnect automatically.

Network and endpoint changes

The upgrade moves the instance into a VPC. The following table describes how endpoints change based on the original network type.

Original network type	Endpoint behavior after upgrade
Classic network	The instance connects over both the classic network and a VPC. The original classic network endpoint remains available and never expires. A new VPC endpoint is generated based on the VPC you specify.
VPC	A new VPC endpoint is generated based on the VPC you specify. This replaces the original VPC endpoint.
Classic network and VPC	Both the original classic network endpoint and the original VPC endpoint remain available. The expiration time of the classic network endpoint is unchanged.

Post-upgrade changes

Settings preserved: instance name, port, tags, and database accounts remain unchanged.

Virtual IP address: the upgrade changes the virtual IP address (VIP) of the instance. Use the instance endpoint rather than the IP address in your application connection string.

After the upgrade, clear cached DNS records from the database client. If the client runs on a Java virtual machine (JVM), set the time-to-live (TTL) for DNS caching to 60 seconds or less to ensure your application picks up VIP changes promptly.

To configure the JVM DNS TTL:

For all JVM-based applications: Set networkaddress.cache.ttl=60 in $JAVA_HOME/jre/lib/security/java.security.

For individual applications: Call java.security.Security.setProperty("networkaddress.cache.ttl", "60") in your initialization code before the first call to InetAddress.getByName().

DTS tasks: if the instance has an ongoing Data Transmission Service (DTS) task, reconfigure and restart the DTS task after the upgrade. See What is DTS?

Metadata: do not create or delete databases, or change database recovery models while the upgrade is in progress. These actions may cause data inconsistency.

Billing

The upgrade incurs fees. The exact amount is shown on the order page before you confirm the purchase. For details, see Change instance specifications.

Upgrade an instance

Warning

Before starting the upgrade, create a temporary RDS instance that runs the target version and test compatibility with your workloads. See Create a temporary instance for compatibility testing.

Log on to the ApsaraDB RDS console. In the top navigation bar, select the region where your instance resides. Find the instance and click its ID.
On the Basic Information page, go to the Configuration Information section and click Upgrade Version. In the dialog box, click OK.
If Upgrade Version is not displayed, check that all prerequisites are met. For example, TDE must be disabled and no temporary instance can exist for the instance.

On the Upgrade Engine Version page, configure the following parameters.

Parameter	Description
Upgrade To	Select the target SQL Server version. Valid values: SQL Server 2012 EE, SQL Server 2016 SE, SQL Server 2016 EE. The available options for Edition, Storage Type, and Instance Type depend on the version you select.
Edition	Select High-availability Edition. The instance runs with a primary and secondary RDS instance in high availability mode.
Storage Type	Select PL1 ESSD. Enterprise SSD (ESSD) uses 25 Gigabit Ethernet and remote direct memory access (RDMA) to reduce one-way latency and support up to 1 million random IOPS. For details, see Storage types.
Zone	Select a zone. Choose Multi-zone Deployment for cross-zone disaster recovery, or Single-zone Deployment if your deployment requires it.
Zone of Secondary Node	Required for Multi-zone Deployment. Select manually — do not use the default zone.
Instance Type	Select an instance type based on the required CPU cores, memory, maximum connections, and IOPS. See Instance families and Primary ApsaraDB RDS instance types.
Network Type	Select VPC.
VPC	Select a VPC. Do not use the default VPC — select one manually. If no VPCs are available, create a VPC. Note If the instance currently uses a VPC or supports both classic network and VPC, you cannot change the VPC during the upgrade. You can only change the vSwitch.
vSwitch of Primary Node	Select a vSwitch. If no vSwitches are available, create a vSwitch. If the instance currently uses the classic network, do not use the default vSwitch — select one manually.
vSwitch of Secondary Node	Required when Multi-zone Deployment is selected.
Switching Time	Select when the workload switchover occurs: Switch Immediately After Data Migration (switchover happens as soon as data migration completes), Switch Within Maintenance Window (data migrates immediately; switchover happens during the maintenance window), or Take Effect at Specified Time Range (data migrates immediately; switchover happens at a specified time at least 12 hours from now).

Read and accept the Terms of Service, then click Pay Now.
In the confirmation dialog, click Agree and Place Order.

The instance status changes to Upgrading/Downgrading > Upgrading Across Networks. When the status returns to Running, the upgrade is complete.

Create a temporary instance for compatibility testing

Before the main upgrade, create a temporary RDS instance that runs the target version to validate that your workloads are compatible. A temporary instance is independent — creating it does not affect data on the original instance.

To create a temporary instance for a SQL Server 2008 R2 instance, both TDE and SSL encryption must be disabled on the original instance. See Configure TDE and Configure SSL encryption.

Log on to the ApsaraDB RDS console. In the top navigation bar, select the region where your instance resides. Find the instance and click its ID.
In the left-side navigation pane, click Backup and Restoration.
On the Temporary Instance tab, specify a point in time to clone data from, then click Create Temporary Instance of Higher Version.

Configure the following parameters.

Important

The system assigns a default instance type and storage type to the temporary instance. The temporary instance is available for seven days, after which the system releases it automatically.

Parameter	Description
Zone	Select the zone for the temporary instance.
Upgrade To	Select the SQL Server version for the temporary instance. Valid values: SQL Server 2016 SE, SQL Server 2016 EE, SQL Server 2012 EE.
VPC	Select the VPC of the Elastic Compute Service (ECS) instance you want to connect to. If the VPCs do not match, the temporary instance cannot communicate with the ECS instance over the internal network.
vSwitch	Select a vSwitch within the selected VPC.

Click OK to confirm.

What's next

After the upgrade completes, verify your application connects successfully to the new instance endpoint and monitor performance to confirm workloads run as expected.

For more information, see Restore the data of an ApsaraDB RDS for SQL Server instance by using a temporary RDS instance.