Upgrading your PostgreSQL major version
Why a PostgreSQL major version upgrade is not simply a restart, what really has to happen to your data, and how to move to a newer version on Voroa now.
What this covers
PostgreSQL stores data on disk in a format that changes between major versions, which is why moving from one major version to the next is not something a restart can do. The data has to be converted or copied. That means a maintenance window: writes stop, the data is moved to the new version, the application is pointed at it, and writes resume. Minor version updates are different and carry no such cost, since the on-disk format does not change.
An in-place major version upgrade is not available on Voroa today. The practical route is to create a new database and import your data into it, then repoint your service.
The new-database page has a PostgreSQL version field, so on most plans you can pick the version the new database is created on — see choosing the PostgreSQL major version. On some plans the version is chosen for you and the field says so; there the new database will be created on Voroa’s current version for that plan rather than one you select. Either way, check the version you are moving to before you import, because a dump only restores into a version at least as new as the one it came from.