The `gitlab-ctl promote-to-primary-node` command cannot be used in conjunction with
an external PostgreSQL database, as it can only perform changes on a **secondary**
node with GitLab and the database on the same machine. As a result, a manual process is
required. For example, PostgreSQL databases hosted on Amazon RDS:
required:
1. Promote the replica database associated with the **secondary** site. This will
set the database to read-write:
- Amazon RDS - [Promoting a Read Replica to Be a Standalone DB Instance](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonRDS/latest/UserGuide/USER_ReadRepl.html#USER_ReadRepl.Promote)
- Azure Database for PostgreSQL - [Stop replication](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/postgresql/howto-read-replicas-portal#stop-replication)
1. Edit `/etc/gitlab/gitlab.rb` on every node in the **secondary** site to
reflect its new status as **primary** by removing any lines that enabled the
