This page describes the support and upgrade policy for clusters deployed in CockroachDB Cloud. For CockroachDB Self-Hosted, refer to the CockroachDB Release Support Policy.
CockroachDB Cloud Support Policy
Major versions of CockroachDB are labeled either Regular releases or Innovation releases. - Regular releases are supported for 12 months from their initial production release date. - Innovation releases are supported for 6 months from their initial production release date.
For each release type, the end date of this period is called End of Support (EOS).
A cluster running an unsupported CockroachDB version is not eligible for Cockroach Labs’ availability SLA.
All CockroachDB Basic clusters, and CockroachDB Standard clusters by default, will automatically be upgraded to the next major version while the current one is still supported, to prevent the cluster from reaching EOS.
- If you disable automatic major-version upgrades for CockroachDB Standard, you are responsible for upgrading the cluster before its version reaches its EOS date to maintain uninterrupted support and SLA guarantees.
- You are responsible for upgrading a CockroachDB Advanced cluster before its current version reaches its EOS date to maintain uninterrupted support and SLA guarantees.
When a CockroachDB Advanced cluster is nearing its EOS date, you will be reminded to upgrade the cluster at least 30 days before the EOS date to avoid losing support. A Cluster Administrator can upgrade a cluster directly from the CockroachDB Cloud Console. An Org Administrator or Folder Admin can grant the Cluster Administrator role.
Currently supported versions
| Version | Release Type | Support period | Release date | EOS date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| v23.2 | Regular | 12 months | 2024-02-05 | 2025-02-05 |
| v24.1 | Regular | 12 months | 2024-05-20 | 2025-05-20 |
| v24.2 | Innovation | 6 months | 2024-08-12 | 2025-02-12 |
For expected future versions, refer to Upcoming releases.
EOS versions
| Version | Release Type | Support period | Release date | EOS date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| v23.1 | Regular | 12 months | 2023-05-15 | 2024-05-15 |
Patch version upgrades
Patch version releases, or "maintenance" releases, contain stable, backward-compatible improvements to the major versions of CockroachDB. For example, v24.2 is a patch release. (for example, v23.1.12 and v23.1.13).
For CockroachDB Advanced clusters, Org Administrators can set a weekly 6-hour maintenance window during which available maintenance and patch upgrades will be applied. During the window, your cluster may experience restarts, degraded performance, and downtime for single-node clusters. Upgrades may not always be completed by the end of the window, and maintenance that is critical for security or stability may occur outside the window. Patch upgrades can also be deferred for 60 days. If no maintenance window is configured, CockroachDB Advanced clusters will be automatically upgraded to the latest supported patch version as soon as it becomes available.
CockroachDB Basic and Standard clusters are subject to automatic upgrades to the latest supported patch version.
Single-node clusters will experience some downtime while the node is restarted during cluster maintenance, including patch version upgrades.
CockroachDB Advanced patch upgrades and maintenance windows
CockroachDB Advanced clusters are automatically upgraded to the latest patch version release of the cluster’s current CockroachDB major version, but a major-version upgrade must be initiated by an Org Administrator.
A Cluster Administrator can set a weekly 6-hour maintenance window for a CockroachDB Advanced cluster. During the maintenance window, patch upgrades may be applied, and the cluster may experience restarts, degraded performance, and, for single-node clusters, downtime. Upgrades may not always be completed by the end of the window, and maintenance that is critical for security or stability may occur outside of the window. A patch upgrade can be deferred for 60 days. If no maintenance window is configured, a CockroachDB Advanced cluster will be upgraded automatically to the latest supported patch version soon after it becomes available.
CockroachDB Standard and Basic automatic upgrades
CockroachDB Standard clusters default to automatic upgrades for both new patch versions and new major versions. If you disable manual upgrades, to maintain support for the cluster, you must manually upgrade it to a later major version before its current version reaches End of Support (EOS).
CockroachDB Basic clusters are automatically upgraded to new patch versions, as well as new major versions, to maintain support.
Major version upgrades
Major version releases contain new functionality and may include backward-incompatible changes to CockroachDB. v24.2 is an example of a major version.
Major version upgrades are:
- Automatic for CockroachDB Basic.
- Enabled by default on Standard clusters.
- Not enabled on CockroachDB Advanced.
On CockroachDB Standard with manual upgrades, and on CockroachDB Advanced, a major-version upgrade can be initiated by an Org Administrator. Major versions labeled Regular releases are required upgrades, and Innovation releases are optional. When a new major version is available, you can start an upgrade from the CockroachDB Cloud Console. The cluster will be upgraded to the latest patch release within that major version.
Innovation releases
As of v24.2, Cockroach Labs releases a major version of CockroachDB once per quarter, alternating between releases classified as a Regular release or an Innovation release. Regular releases provide a longer support period and a longer period between upgrades, while Innovation releases offer a shorter support period and faster access to new features.
- Regular releases are not optional; they must be applied to CockroachDB Advanced and CockroachDB Standard clusters. They are applied automatically to CockroachDB Basic and Standard clusters. Regular releases are produced twice a year, alternating with Innovation Releases. They are supported for one year. It is supported to upgrade CockroachDB Advanced directly from one regular release to the next regular release and skip the intervening Innovation release.
- Innovation releases are optional and can be skipped for CockroachDB Advanced and CockroachDB Standard clusters but are required for CockroachDB Basic. Innovation releases are produced twice a year, alternating with Regular releases. An Innovation release is supported for 6 months, at which time the cluster must be upgraded to the next Regular Release. At a given time, only one Innovation release is typically supported. Upgrading a cluster directly from one Innovation release to the next Innovation release is not supported.
To opt out of Innovation releases entirely and hide them from your CockroachDB organization, contact Support.
To summarize the available major-version upgrade paths for CockroachDB Advanced:
- When your cluster is running a Regular release, you can select which of the next two major versions to upgrade to:
- The next version, an Innovation release.
- The Regular release that follows that Innovation release, when it is available.
- When your cluster is running an Innovation release, you can upgrade only to the subsequent Regular release, not directly to the newer Innovation release, if it is available.
Pre-production preview upgrades
Prior to the GA release of a major CockroachDB version, CockroachDB Cloud organizations can create new CockroachDB Advanced clusters on a Pre-Production Preview release or upgrade an existing cluster to a Pre-Production Preview. Pre-Production Preview releases are beta or release candidate (RC) builds that next major version of CockroachDB, and are provided for testing and experimentation. Upgrading to a Pre-Production Preview is a major-version upgrade. After a cluster is upgraded to a Pre-Production Preview release, it is automatically upgraded to all subsequent releases within the same major version—including additional beta and RC releases, the GA release, and subsequent production patch releases as patch version upgrades. Upgrading to a Pre-Production Preview follows the same procedure as updating to a Production release. To learn more, refer to Upgrade to v24.2.
Rollback support
When upgrading a CockroachDB Advanced or CockroachDB Standard cluster to a new major version, once all nodes are running the new version, the upgrade is finalized automatically in approximately 72 hours. During this window, if you see unexpected behavior, you can trigger a rollback to the previous major version from the CockroachDB Cloud Console.
If you choose to roll back a major version upgrade, your cluster will be rolled back to the latest patch release of the previous major version, which may differ from the patch release you were running before you initiated the upgrade.
During rollback, nodes are reverted one at a time to reduce the impact of the operation on the cluster's health and availability.
If you notice problems after a major version upgrade has been finalized, it will not be possible to roll back via the CockroachDB Cloud Console. For assistance, contact support.
End of Support for CockroachDB versions
As CockroachDB releases new major versions, older versions reach their End of Support (EOS) on CockroachDB Cloud. A CockroachDB version reaches EOS when it is two major versions behind the latest version. For example, when CockroachDB v21.2 was released, CockroachDB v20.2 reached EOS.
Clusters running unsupported CockroachDB versions are not eligible for our availability SLA. Further downgrades in support may occur as per the CockroachDB Release Support Policy.
If you are running a CockroachDB version nearing EOS, you will be reminded at least one month before that version’s EOS that your clusters must be upgraded by the EOS date to avoid losing support. An Org Administrator can upgrade your cluster directly from the CockroachDB Cloud Console.
Additional information
For more details about the upgrade and finalization process in CockroachDB, refer to the instructions on upgrading to the latest CockroachDB version.
Was this helpful?
