Rails: Best way to make changes to a production database

Question

I need to make changes to an in-use production database. Just adding a few columns. I\'ve made the changes to the dev database with migrations. What is the best way to update

Answer 1

I always follow this procedure:

• Dump prod database with mysqldump command
• Populate dev / test database with dump using mysql command
• Run migrations in dev / test
• Check migration worked
• Dump prod database with mysqldump command (as it may have changed) keeping backup on server
• Run migrations on prod (using capristano)
• Test migration has worked on prod
• Drink beer (while watching error logs)