Modifying cluster mode - Amazon ElastiCache for Redis
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Modifying cluster mode

Redis is a distributed in-memory database that supports sharding and replication. ElastiCache for Redis clusters are the distributed implementation of Redis that allows data to be partitioned across multiple Redis nodes. An ElastiCache for Redis cluster has two modes of operation, Cluster mode enabled (CME) and cluster mode disabled (CMD). In CME, Redis works as a distributed database with multiple shards and nodes, while in CMD, Redis works as a single node.

Before migrating from CMD to CME, the following conditions must be met:

Important

Cluster mode configuration can only be changed from cluster mode disabled to cluster mode enabled. Reverting this configuration is not possible.

  • The cluster may only have keys in database 0 only.

  • Applications must use a Redis client that is capable of using Cluster protocol and use a configuration endpoint.

  • Auto-failover must be enabled on the cluster with a minimum of 1 replica.

  • The minimum Redis engine version required for migration is 7.0.

To migrate from CMD to CME, the cluster mode configuration must be changed from cluster mode disabled to cluster mode enabled. This is a two-step procedure that ensures cluster availability during the migration process.

Note

You need to provide a parameter group with cluster-enabled configuration, that is, the cluster-enabled parameter is set as yes. If you are using a default parameter group, ElastiCache for Redis will automatically pick the corresponding default parameter group with a cluster-enabled configuration. The cluster-enabled parameter value is set to no for a CMD cluster. As the cluster moves to the compatible mode, the cluster-enabled parameter value is updated to yes as part of the modification action.

For more information, see Configuring engine parameters using parameter groups

  1. Prepare – Create a test CME cluster and make sure your stack is ready to work with it. ElastiCache for Redis has no way to verify your readiness. For more information, see Creating a cluster.

  2. Modify existing CMD Cluster Configuration to cluster mode compatible – In this mode, there will be a single shard deployed, and ElastiCache for Redis will work as a single node but also as a single shard cluster. Compatible mode means the client application can use either protocol to communicate with the cluster. In this mode, applications must be reconfigured to start using Redis Cluster protocol and configuration endpoint. To change the Redis cluster mode to cluster mode compatible, follow the steps below:

    Note

    In compatible mode, other modification operations such as scaling and engine version are not allowed for the cluster. Additionally, parameters (excluding cacheParameterGroupName) cannot be modified when defining cluster-mode parameter within the ModifyReplicationGroup request.

    1. Using the Amazon Web Services Management Console, see Modifying a replication group and set the cluster mode to Compatible

    2. Using the API, see ModifyReplicationGroup and update the ClusterMode parameter to compatible.

    3. Using the Amazon CLI, see modify-replication-group and update the cluster-mode parameter to compatible.

    After changing the Redis cluster mode to cluster mode compatible, the DescribeReplicationGroups API will return the ElastiCache for Redis cluster configuration endpoint. The cluster configuration endpoint is a single endpoint that can be used by applications to connect to the cluster. For more information, see Finding connection endpoints.

  3. Modify Cluster Configuration to cluster mode enabled – Once the cluster mode is set to cluster mode compatible, the second step is to modify the cluster configuration to cluster mode enabled. In this mode, a single shard is running, and customers can now scale their clusters or modify other cluster configurations.

    To change the cluster mode to enabled, follow the steps below:

    Before you begin, make sure your Redis clients have migrated to using cluster protocol and that the cluster's configuration endpoint is not in use.

    1. Using the Amazon Web Services Management Console, see Modifying a replication group and set the cluster mode to Enabled.

    2. Using the API, see ModifyReplicationGroup and update the ClusterMode parameter to enabled.

    3. Using the Amazon CLI, see modify-replication-group and update the cluster-mode parameter to enabled.

    After changing the cluster mode to enabled, the endpoints will be configured as per the Redis cluster specification. The DescribeReplicationGroups API will return the cluster mode parameter as enabled and the cluster endpoints that are now available to be used by applications to connect to the cluster.

    Note that the cluster endpoints will change once the cluster mode is changed to enabled. Make sure to update your applications with the new endpoints.

You can also choose to revert back to cluster mode disabled (CMD) from cluster mode compatible and preserve the original configurations.

Modify Cluster Configuration to cluster mode disabled from cluster mode compatible

  1. Using the Amazon Web Services Management Console, see Modifying a replication group and set the cluster mode to Disabled

  2. Using the API, see ModifyReplicationGroup and update the ClusterMode parameter to disabled.

  3. Using the Amazon CLI, see modify-replication-group and update the cluster-mode parameter to disabled.

After changing the cluster mode to disabled, the DescribeReplicationGroups API will return the cluster mode parameter as disabled.