43 Seconds with Zero Disruption: How LucidPoint Delivered a Hitless Database Migration
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Client: A leading provider of clinical communication and collaboration solutions
The Challenge
A leading healthcare communications provider faced a high-stakes challenge. The entire architecture for one of its core services depended on a central database running on self-managed virtual machines. This single database was the linchpin for everything: user authentication, messaging, telephony, and scheduling integrations.
To reduce operational overhead and improve reliability, the client needed to migrate this critical asset to a fully managed database service in AWS. Given its central role, the migration had to be executed with virtually zero downtime and "absolute minimum impact". A predictable, automated, and relentlessly tested process was not just a preference—it was a requirement .
Our Solution
The client partnered with LucidPoint to engineer and execute this complex, high-visibility migration. Our approach was built on precision, automation, and adapting to challenges discovered during testing.
Robust Infrastructure as Code:
We began by building a repeatable deployment mechanism using modern, community-supported Terraform modules. This allowed us to provision identical, source-controlled database infrastructure across all four of the client's environments, from development to production.
Pivoting Based on Evidence:
Our initial plan included migrating from their existing connection pooler (PgBouncer) to a managed AWS proxy service. However, our extensive load testing uncovered critical issues with this approach, including unexplained latency spikes and the lack of a "pause/resume" feature. We determined this feature was "crucial" for a hitless migration. We quickly pivoted, reinforcing the existing PgBouncer solution while planning for its future modernization.
Automation to Eliminate Risk:
To eliminate the potential for user error, LucidPoint developed a custom, reliable migration script. This script automated the entire cutover sequence: pausing connections, reconfiguring the pooler, verifying the state, and resuming connections, all with confirmation steps to ensure a safe procedure.
Proactive Real-Time Monitoring:
We developed an additional script to poll the connection pooler's status in real-time. This tool proved invaluable. During the live production migration, it correctly identified that one of the daemons had not paused correctly —an issue with an older software version. This allowed us to halt and restart the pause command, a process that was "entirely transparent to the customer" but averted a "deleterious impact".
The Result:
The entire production database migration was completed in just 43 seconds.
The client’s team, who monitored the event, described the migration as "the non-event they hoped for". By successfully moving their most critical database to a managed service, the client reduced operational burden, improved their security posture, and immediately began identifying application improvements using new database insights tools. LucidPoint delivered a fully documented and source-controlled solution that modernized a mission-critical asset with virtually zero disruption.
