# Outdated Aurora Versions Triggering Extended Support Charges

Canonical: https://www.pointfive.co/efficiency-hub/inefficiencies/outdated-aurora-versions-triggering-extended-support-charges

[Cloud Efficiency Hub](https://www.pointfive.co/efficiency-hub) 

# Outdated Aurora Versions Triggering Extended Support Charges

## Explanation

Customers often delay upgrading Aurora clusters due to compatibility concerns or operational overhead. However, when older versions such as MySQL 5.7 or PostgreSQL 11 move into Extended Support, AWS applies automatic surcharges to ensure continued patching. These charges affect all clusters regardless of usage, creating unnecessary cost exposure across both production and non-production environments. For large Aurora fleets, the incremental expense can become significant if upgrades are not proactively managed.

## Relevant Billing Model

Aurora Extended Support adds a per-vCPU, per-hour charge for clusters running outdated MySQL or PostgreSQL engine versions beyond their community lifecycle. The surcharge applies in addition to normal Aurora instance costs and is incurred even when clusters are idle.

## Detection

- Inventory all Aurora clusters and identify the engine type and major version in use

- Compare active versions with AWS lifecycle policies to determine if they are under Extended Support

- Analyze billing data for "RDS Extended Support" charges tied to Aurora clusters

- Review development, staging, or idle Aurora environments for avoidable Extended Support spend

## Remediation

- Upgrade Aurora clusters to currently supported major versions to avoid Extended Support charges

- Test upgrades in lower environments to validate application compatibility before production cutovers

- Decommission unused or non-critical Aurora clusters rather than paying ongoing surcharges

- Adopt governance practices that monitor version lifecycle timelines and plan upgrades before end of life

## Relevant Documentation

Amazon Aurora Engine Versions | Amazon RDS Extended Support

[Submit Feedback](https://hub.pointfive.co/inefficiencies/outdated-aurora-versions-triggering-extended-support-charges)

## At a glance

Reference

CER-0236

Cloud provider

AWS

Service

AWS Aurora

Category

[Databases](https://www.pointfive.co/efficiency-hub/service-category/databases)

Inefficiency type

Outdated Engine Version

## Contributed by

- Dhara Kansagara 

### Dhara Kansagara

Cloud FinOps Lead Associate @ BetaNXT

[LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/kansagaradhara/)

---
Source: the public page above. Product screenshots and illustrative interfaces are examples, not live customer data.