## Migrate Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL: Durable job state

Move PostgreSQL data from Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL to Ample, one component at a time. 
Destination verified on Ample: a jobs table with a state and attempts counter, processing inside a row-locked transaction, and a second run that is a no-op (job=done attempts=1 idempotent=true).

### Source procedure:
- Take a logical backup with `pg_dump -Fc` from a network location that can reach the instance.

**Not migrated automatically:** Multi-AZ failover, read replicas, IAM authentication, PITR and Performance Insights have no equivalent on the managed database.

### Cutover:
- Freeze writes at the source with the user's go-ahead,
- Take the final dump,
- Restore,
- Validate,
- Redeploy with the managed DATABASE_URL, keep RDS until confirmed.

### Rollback:
- Keep the source untouched until you confirm;
- Nothing at the source is changed or deleted by this guide.

### Prerequisites
- Authorized access to the Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL source and its export tooling
- An inventory of every component in scope and out of scope
- A validated backup or copy before any cutover
- An Ample account token with servers:write, databases:read

### Workflow Steps
1. **Inventory the source**  
   - List what Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL provides beyond the component you are moving.  
   Out of scope here: Multi-AZ failover, read replicas, IAM authentication, PITR and Performance Insights have no equivalent on the managed database.

2. **Source step 1**  
   - Take a logical backup with `pg_dump -Fc` from a network location that can reach the instance

3. **Source step 2**  
   - Check the engine major version, extensions and parameter-group settings the app depends on

4. **Source step 3**  
   - Restore into a scratch managed database first and compare row counts

5. **Provision and restore**  
   - Deploy the app once so a managed PostgreSQL 16 database exists (or create one with `ample database create --engine postgres`), then restore the dump with pg_restore using its connection string; keep migrations idempotent.
   ```shell
   ample database create --name  --engine postgres
   ```

6. **Validate before cutover**  
   - Run the app's own checks and, for data, compare counts and checksums; the example checks are the pattern self-tests (/p/durable-job-state).

7. **Cut over**  
   - Freeze writes at the source with the user's go-ahead, take the final dump, restore, validate, redeploy with the managed DATABASE_URL, keep RDS until confirmed.

8. **Rollback**  
   - Point DNS or configuration back to the source. The source was never modified; deletion is a separate, user-executed step after validation.

### Success Checks
- **Destination app responds on its public URL**  
   - HTTP GET `/` should expect `ample canary express patterns`
- **Durable-job-state check from the destination example**  
   - HTTP GET `/p/durable-job-state` should see the pattern fixture checks
- **Data or object counts and checksums match the source**  
   - Manual operator comparison before cutover.

### Limitations
- Documentation only: nothing is executed automatically and no execution binding is offered.
- The source-side procedure is documented from Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL's standard tooling and was not executed in this catalog's evidence; the destination side was verified with the pattern fixture.
- No full source-product parity is claimed: Multi-AZ failover, read replicas, IAM authentication, PITR and Performance Insights have no equivalent on the managed database.
- Verified on the node-22 template at s-1vcpu-1gb; region, compliance and request-duration limits are unknown.
- Managed PostgreSQL 16 only; extensions, connection limits and backup or restore procedures on the managed side are not verified beyond the pattern checks.

### Cost Estimate
- **Currency:** USD 
- **Monthly Amount:** 10.0 
- **Basis:** Size prices from pricing.toml (loaded by the API) at build revision 1ac5595375130d45290090e82ed0f554ccd45405-dirty
  - **Components:**
    - app server: size s-1vcpu-1gb, quantity 1.0, monthly amount 5.0
    - managed PostgreSQL database: size s-1vcpu-1gb, quantity 1.0, monthly amount 5.0
- **Note:** Destination always-on monthly price of the tested sizes; apps auto-pause when idle. Source costs are unknown to Ample.

### Example
- **Express pattern fixture (destination):** Verified destination basis: durable job state.

### Evidence Summary
- **Kind:** canary_run 
- **Summary:** Destination side verified: the Express pattern fixture deployed on Ample (npm install, npm run build --if-present, npm run start on the node-22 template) and its checks passed (a jobs table with a state and attempts counter, processing inside a row-locked transaction, and a second run that is a no-op (job=done attempts=1 idempotent=true)). The source-side export from Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL is documented from the vendor's standard tooling and was not executed by this catalog's evidence.

### Last Verified At
2026-09-21T02:34:39Z

### Next Actions
- **[Browse the catalog index](https://api.ample.computer/v1/catalog)**
- **[Search published recipes by intent, stack and constraints](https://api.ample.computer/v1/catalog/search)**
- **[Prepare a side-effect-free deployment plan for an authorized project](https://api.ample.computer/v1/catalog/plan)**
- **[Read the existing agent authentication setup](https://mcp/setup)**
- **[Browse Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL](https://api.ample.computer/v1/catalog/nodes/migration%3Aamazon-rds-for-postgresql)**
- **[Browse Durable job state](https://api.ample.computer/v1/catalog/nodes/pattern%3Adurable-job-state)**
- **[Browse Migrate Postgres](https://api.ample.computer/v1/catalog/nodes/intent%3Amigrate-postgres)**