Upgrading MySQL Instances

This topic describes how to upgrade a VMware MySQL Operator instance after Upgrading the Operator.

Prerequisites

Before you upgrade a MySQL instance, you must have:

Upgraded the MySQL operator. See Upgrading the VMware SQL with MySQL for Kubernetes Operator.
Access to and permissions for the MySQL instance.
The Kubernetes Command Line Interface (kubectl) installed. For more information, see the Kubernetes documentation.

List Instance Versions

The MySQL instance property spec.mysqlVersion.name can be used to specify a required MySQL version. Every VMware MySQL Operator (after 1.4.0 release) supports several MySQL versions, giving the customers the flexibility to specify their preference, and upgrade to a later MySQL version.

NOTE: Upgrading the MySQL Operator does not automatically upgrade any existing MySQL instances. Any instance upgrades require user intervention.

To list the supported MySQL versions for a specific Operator, run:

kubectl get mysqlversions

Depending on the Operator version, the command displays an ouput similar to:

NAME           DB VERSION
mysql-8.0.27   8.0.27
mysql-8.0.28   8.0.28
mysql-8.0.29   8.0.29
mysql-8.0.31   8.0.31
mysql-latest   8.0.31

For a mapping of the VMware Operator version, with the corresponding instance version(s) supported with that Operator, review the table under Software Component Versions in the release notes.

Upgrade an Instance

The VMware MySQL Operator supports two columns to help users identify upgrade actions for existing instances, UPDATE STATUS and USER ACTION.

WARNING: User actions specified under the USER ACTION column result in instance reboot. Ensure these actions are executed during an agreed maintenance window.

List the versions of all deployed instances, and their compatibility with the latest Operator by running:

kubectl get mysql

with an output similar to:

NAME           READY   STATUS    AGE    OPERATOR VERSION   DB VERSION   UPDATE STATUS       USER ACTION
mysql-sample   true    Running   41m    1.4.0              8.0.26       NoUpdateRequired
DBUPDONC-9     true    Running   20d    1.3.0              8.0.26       UpdateRequired      Annotate “mysql.with.sql.tanzu.vmware.com/update=once”
instance-8     true    Running   21d    1.3.0              8.0.25       UpdateRequired      Annotate “mysql.with.sql.tanzu.vmware.com/update=once”
instance-7     true    Running   22d    1.3.0              8.0.23       DBUpgradeRequired   Set spec.mysqlVersion.name to a supported DB version
DBAUTOUPG-6    true    Running   120d   1.2.0              8.0.26       UpdateRequired      Annotate “mysql.with.sql.tanzu.vmware.com/update=once”
instance-5     true    Running   121d   1.2.0              8.0.25       UpdateRequired      Annotate “mysql.with.sql.tanzu.vmware.com/update=once”
instance-4     true    Running   122d   1.2.0              8.0.23       DBUpgradeRequired   Set spec.mysqlVersion.name to a supported DB version
DBAUTOUPG-3    true    Running   150d   1.1.0              8.0.25       UpdateRequired      Annotate “mysql.with.sql.tanzu.vmware.com/update=once”
instance-2     true    Running   151d   1.1.0              8.0.23       DBUpgradeRequired   Set spec.mysqlVersion.name to a supported DB version
instance-1     true    Running   202d   1.0.0              8.0.23       DBUpgradeRequired   Set spec.mysqlVersion.name to a supported DB version

Where:

OPERATOR VERSION column refers to the Operator version that the instance was last reconciled (synchronized) with.
DB VERSION column refers to the instance's current MySQL database version.
UPDATE STATUS refers to whether the instance needs an update or a database version upgrade.
- "UpdateRequired" indicates that the instance's last reconciled Operator version is different to the current Operator version. For more details, see Updating an Instance.
- "DBUpgradeRequired" indicates that an instance needs a MySQL database version upgrade. The instance's current MySQL version is not supported by the current Operator. Follow the remaining steps in this topic.
USER ACTION specifies the user action required to ensure the MySQL instances are under a supported version, or the need for reconciliation.

For each of the instances with UPDATE STATUS=DBUpgradeRequired, target the namespace of the MySQL instance:
```
kubectl config set-context --current --namespace=DEVELOPMENT-NAMESPACE
```
Where DEVELOPMENT-NAMESPACE is the namespace in which the instance was created. For example:
```
kubectl config set-context --current --namespace=my-namespace
```

Edit the configuration file for the MySQL instance, setting the spec.mysqlVersion.name property to the desired new version. For example:

---
apiVersion: with.sql.tanzu.vmware.com/v1
kind: MySQL
metadata:
  name: instance-7
spec:
  mysqlVersion:
    name: mysql-8.0.31
  ...

Apply the changes by running:

kubectl apply -f FILENAME

Where FILENAME is the name of the configuration file. For example:

kubectl apply -f instance-7-db.yaml

mysql.with.sql.tanzu.vmware.com/mysql-sample configured

Verify that the instance was upgraded successfully by running:
```
kubectl get mysql 
```
The UPDATE STATUS column of the instance should display NoUpdateRequired. The OPERATOR VERSION should display the latest Operator.

For instances requiring an update (UPDATE STATUS="UpdateRequired"), refer to Updating an Instance.