[[_operator-upgrade-strategy]]
=== Upgrade strategy

You can configure how the operator performs {project_name} upgrades. You can choose from the following upgrade strategies.

* `recreate`: This is the default strategy. The operator removes all {project_name} replicas, optionally creates a backup
  and then creates the replicas based on a newer {project_name} image. This strategy is suitable for major upgrades as
  a single {project_name} version is accessing the underlying database. The downside is {project_name} needs to be shut
  down during the upgrade.
* `rolling`: The operator removes one replica at a time and creates it again based on a newer {project_name} image. This
  ensures a zero-downtime upgrade but is more suitable for minor version upgrades that do not require database migration
  since the database is accessed by multiple {project_name} versions concurrently. Automatic backups are not supported
  with this strategy.

.Example YAML file for a Keycloak custom resource
```yaml
apiVersion: keycloak.org/v1alpha1
kind: Keycloak
metadata:
  name: example-keycloak
  labels:
ifeval::[{project_community}==true]
   app: keycloak
endif::[]
ifeval::[{project_product}==true]
   app: sso
endif::[]
spec:
  instances: 2
  migration:
    strategy: recreate
    backups:
      enabled: True
  externalAccess:
    enabled: True
```

ifeval::[{project_community}==true]
.Additional Resources

* For more information on rolling updates, see the https://kubernetes.io/docs/tutorials/stateful-application/basic-stateful-set/#rolling-update[Updating StatefulSets manual].
endif::[]