Amazon Neptune parameter groups - Amazon Neptune
Editing a Parameter GroupCreating a parameter group
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Amazon Neptune parameter groups

You manage your database configuration in Amazon Neptune by using parameters in a parameter group. Parameter groups act as a container for engine configuration values that are applied to one or more DB instances.

There are two types of parameter group, namely DB cluster parameter groups and DB parameter groups:

  • DB parameter groups apply at the instance level and generally are associated with settings for the Neptune graph engine, such as the neptune_query_timeout parameter.

  • DB cluster parameter groups apply to every instance in the cluster and generally have broader settings. Every Neptune cluster is associated with a DB cluster parameter group. Every DB instance within that cluster inherits the engine configuration values contained in the DB cluster parameter group.

Any configuration values that you modify in the DB cluster parameter group override default values in the DB parameter group. If you edit the corresponding values in the DB parameter group, those values override the settings in the DB cluster parameter group.

A default DB parameter group is used if you create a DB instance without specifying a custom DB parameter group. You can't modify the parameter settings of the default DB parameter group. Instead, to change the default parameter settings you must create a new DB parameter group. Not all DB engine parameters can be changed in a DB parameter group that you create.

Parameter groups are created in families that are compatible with different Neptune engine versions. The default parameter group family is neptune1, which is compatible with all engine versions prior to 1.2.0.0. Starting with Release: 1.2.0.0 (2022-07-21), the neptune1.2 parameter group family must be used instead. That means that when you upgrade to 1.2.0.0 or higher, you must first recreate all your custom parameter groups in the neptune1.2 family so that you can attach them when you upgrade.

Some Neptune parameters are static, and others are dynamic. The differences are as follows:

Static parameters

  • A static parameter is one that takes effect only after a DB instance is rebooted. In other words, when you change a static parameter and save the instance DB parameter group, you must manually reboot the DB instance for the parameter change to take effect. Currently, all the Neptune instance-level parameters (in a DB parameter group rather than a DB cluster parameter group) are static.

  • When you change a cluster-level static parameter and save the DB cluster parameter group, the parameter change takes effect after you manually reboot every DB instance in the cluster.

Dynamic parameters

  • A dynamic parameter is one that takes effect almost immediately after the parameter is updated in its parameter group. In other words, there is no need to reboot a DB instance after updating a dynamic parameter for the parameter change to take effect.

  • Expect some minor delay for a dynamic cluster parameter change to be applied across all DB instances.

  • An updated dynamic parameter value is not applied to currently running requests, but only to ones submitted after the change took place.

  • When you change a dynamic cluster-level parameter, by default the parameter change is applied to your DB cluster immediately, without requiring any reboot. To defer the parameter change until after the DB instances in the cluster are rebooted, you can use the Amazon CLI to set the ApplyMethod to pending-reboot for the parameter change.

Currently all parameters are static except for the following new cluster parameters:

  • neptune_enable_slow_query_log   (cluster-level)

  • neptune_slow_query_log_threshold   (cluster-level)

Here are some important points you should know about working with parameters in a DB parameter group:

  • Improperly setting parameters in a DB parameter group can have unintended adverse effects, including degraded performance and system instability. Always exercise caution when modifying database parameters, and back up your data before modifying a DB parameter group. Try out your parameter group setting changes on a test DB instance before applying those changes to a production DB instance.

  • When you change the DB parameter group associated with a DB instance, you must manually reboot the instance before the new DB parameter group is used by the DB instance.

    Note

    Before Release: 1.2.0.0 (2022-07-21), all the read-replica instances in a DB cluster were automatically rebooted whenever the primary (writer) instance restarted.

    From Release: 1.2.0.0 (2022-07-21) going forwards, restarting the primary instance does not cause any of the replica instances to restart. This means that if you are changing a cluster-level parameter, you must restart each instance separately to pick up the parameter change.

Editing a DB Cluster Parameter Group or DB Parameter Group

  1. Sign in to the Amazon Management Console, and open the Amazon Neptune console at https://console.aws.amazon.com/neptune/home.

  2. Choose Parameter groups in the navigation pane.

  3. Choose the Name link for the DB parameter group that you want to edit.

    (Optional) Choose Create parameter group to create a new cluster parameter group and create the new group. Then choose the Name of the new parameter group.

    Important

    This step is required if you only have the default DB cluster parameter group because the default DB cluster parameter group can't be modified.

  4. Search for the parameter and click on the Value field next to the Name column.

  5. Enter the allowed value and choose the check beside the value field.

  6. Choose Save changes.

  7. Reboot every DB instance in the Neptune cluster if you are changing a DB cluster parameter, or one or more specific instances if you are changing a DB instance parameter.

Creating a DB parameter group or DB cluster parameter group

You can easily use the Neptune console to create a new parameter group:

  1. Sign in to the Amazon Management Console, and open the Amazon Neptune console at https://console.aws.amazon.com/neptune/home.

  2. Choose Parameter groups in the left navigation pane.

  3. Choose Create DB parameter group.

    The Create DB parameter group page appears.

  4. In the Parameter group family list, choose neptune1 or, if you are targeting engine version 1.2.0.0 or higher, choose neptune1.2.

  5. In the Type list, choose DB Parameter Group or DB Cluster Parameter Group.

  6. In the Group name box, type the name of the new DB parameter group.

  7. In the Description box, type a description for the new DB parameter group.

  8. Choose Create.

You can also create a new parameter group using the Amazon CLI:

aws neptune create-db-parameter-group \
  --db-parameter-group-name (a name for the new DB parameter group) \
  --db-parameter-group-family (either neptune1 or neptune1.2, depending on the engine version) \
  --description (a description for the new DB parameter group)