Upgrade OpenSearch to Avoid Extended Support Charges

Overview

AWS charges additional Extended Support fees for OpenSearch domains running end-of-life (EOL) versions. These charges can add 50-100% to your regular OpenSearch costs and increase over time.

Why This Matters

• High cost: Extended support can double your OpenSearch bill
• Escalating fees: Charges increase the longer you stay on old versions
• Security risk: EOL versions no longer receive security patches
• Performance: Newer versions offer better performance and features

Common EOL Versions with Extended Support

• OpenSearch 1.0 - 1.2 (early 1.x versions)
• Legacy Elasticsearch 7.10 versions migrated to OpenSearch

Recommendation

Upgrade to the latest supported OpenSearch version (2.x or later).

Implementation Steps

Option 1: In-Place Upgrade (Recommended)

1. Review compatibility: Check application compatibility with target version
2. Backup domain: Create manual snapshot before upgrade
3. Upgrade domain: Use AWS Console or CLI to perform rolling upgrade
4. Test thoroughly: Validate all queries and integrations work
5. Monitor performance: Watch cluster health and query latency

Option 2: Blue/Green Deployment

1. Create new domain with target version
2. Reindex data from old domain
3. Update application endpoints
4. Monitor and validate
5. Delete old domain

Cost Impact

Eliminates 100% of extended support charges immediately upon upgrade. For a typical domain, this can save $500-$5,000/month depending on cluster size.

Additional Benefits

• Latest security patches
• Improved performance and efficiency
• Access to new features (OpenSearch 2.x includes significant improvements)
• Better AWS support
• Lower operational risk

Version Compatibility

OpenSearch maintains strong backward compatibility:

• Most applications work without code changes
• Query syntax largely unchanged from Elasticsearch 7.10
• Plugin compatibility improved in 2.x