Changing the data store format when migrating to an AuraDB Instance

If you are moving from an on-premises offering (Neo4j Community or Enterprise) to AuraDB you may need to change the store format. For large databases, it is better to do this before migrating from on-premises to an AuraDB Instance. 

To check the store format of your database, use the command below:

./neo4j-admin store-info ../data/databases/movies

You should get something like the following returned:

Database name: movies
Database in use: false
Store format version: SF4.3.0
Store format introduced in: 4.3.0
Last committed transaction id:18
Store needs recovery: false

If the store format is not AF4.3.0, as in the above, you will need to migrate the store format. This is done by taking a dump of the database and then copying it to the new store format.

1. Take a backup by running the following command: 

   ./neo4j-admin backup --backup-dir=path/to/backup-dir --database=<DB NAME> --from=hostname:6362

   You will see output like the following:

   ./neo4j-admin backup --backup-dir=/Users/aj/backups --database=movies --from=localhost:6362
   Selecting JVM - Version:11.0.9+7-LTS, Name:Java HotSpot(TM) 64-Bit Server VM, Vendor:Oracle Corporation
   2022-04-27 20:42:14.372+0000 INFO [c.n.b.v.BackupOutputMonitor] Start receiving transactions from 20
   2022-04-27 20:42:14.496+0000 INFO [c.n.b.v.BackupOutputMonitor] Finish receiving transactions at 20, took 121ms
   2022-04-27 20:42:14.498+0000 INFO [c.n.b.v.BackupOutputMonitor] Start recovering store
   2022-04-27 20:42:14.531+0000 INFO [c.n.b.v.BackupOutputMonitor] Finish recovering store, took 32ms
   Index structure consistency check
   .................... 10%
   .................... 20%
   .................... 30%
   .................... 40%
   .................... 50%
   .................... 60%
   .................... 70%
   .................... 80%
   .................... 90%
   .................... 100%
   Consistency check
   .................... 10%
   .................... 20%
   .................... 30%
   .................... 40%
   .................... 50%
   .................... 60%
   .................... 70%
   .................... 80%
   .................... 90%
   .................... 100%
   2022-04-27 20:42:15.992+0000 INFO [c.n.b.v.BackupOutputMonitor] Finished, took 2s 519ms
   Backup complete successful.

2. Verify the consistency of the backup. 

   ./neo4j-admin check-consistency --backup=/Users/aj/backup/movies

   You will get output like the following:

   ./neo4j-admin check-consistency --backup=/Users/aj/backup/movies
   
   Selecting JVM - Version:11.0.9+7-LTS, Name:Java HotSpot(TM) 64-Bit Server VM, Vendor:Oracle Corporation
   2022-04-27 20:54:19.660+0000 WARN [o.n.i.p.PageCache] The dbms.memory.pagecache.size setting has not been configured. It is recommended that this setting is always explicitly configured, to ensure the system has a balanced configuration. Until then, a computed heuristic value of 6442450944 bytes will be used instead. Run `neo4j-admin memrec` for memory configuration suggestions.
   2022-04-27 20:54:19.721+0000 INFO [o.n.k.i.s.f.RecordFormatSelector] Selected RecordFormat:PageAlignedV4_3[AF4.3.0] record format from store /Users/aj/backup/movies
   2022-04-27 20:54:19.721+0000 INFO [o.n.k.i.s.f.RecordFormatSelector] Format not configured for store /Users/aj/backup/movies. Selected format from the store files: RecordFormat:PageAlignedV4_3[AF4.3.0]
   Index structure consistency check
   .................... 10%
   .................... 20%
   .................... 30%
   .................... 40%
   .................... 50%
   .................... 60%
   .................... 70%
   .................... 80%
   .................... 90%
   .................... 100%
   Consistency check
   .................... 10%
   .................... 20%
   .................... 30%
   .................... 40%
   .................... 50%
   .................... 60%
   .................... 70%
   .................... 80%
   .................... 90%
   .................... 100%

3. Run the neo4j-admin copy command:

   neo4j-admin copy --from-path=/Users/aj/backup/movies --to-database=movies1 --to-format=aligned

This will copy the backup to a new database with the correct format.

Now when you run the command ./neo4j-admin store-info...you'll see that the format has changed. 

Database name: movies1
Database in use: false
Store format version: AF4.3.0
Store format introduced in: 4.3.0
Last committed transaction id:4
Store needs recovery: false