Neptune Blue/Green solution best practices

Before switching your green cluster over to production, it is worth thoroughly verifying that it is functioning properly. Check the consistency of the data and the configuration of the database. It is possible that some of the new engine versions require client upgrades as well. Check the engine release notes before you upgrade. It is worth testing all this in development, testing, and pre-production environments before starting a blue/green upgrade in production.

It is best to perform the switch-over from the blue to the green server during your maintence window.

To ensure that everything is working properly after upgrading and synchronizing, it's worth keeping your original cluster for some period of time before deleting it. It could prove useful if an unforseen issue arises.

Avoid heavy write operations such as bulk loads when running the Neptune Blue/Green solution, because they can cause replication lag that introduces significant downtime. Ideally, the time between turning off writes to your blue cluster and turning them on for your green cluster is just a few moments.