Upgrading to the latest version ensures long-term stability, access to new features, and better support. Recently, I worked on upgrading a critical production PostgreSQL environment from version 11 to 15. Version 15 was chosen because the client’s application had only been tested up to that release. The system supported large batch workloads and live applications, so we had to be meticulous. While this article draws from that specific project, the steps are broadly applicable to anyone planning a major PostgreSQL upgrade, especially when crossing several versions.
This guide outlines a generalized, production-ready approach for performing major version upgrades using the pg_dump/pg_restore method.
Click through for two upgrade methods and some of the things to keep in mind during the process.