AWS RDS

Amazon RDS makes it easy to set up, operate, and scale relational databases in the cloud.

Supported Engines

Key Concepts

DB Instances

The basic building block - an isolated database environment in the cloud.

Instance Classes

Storage Types

Multi-AZ Deployments

High availability with automatic failover:

Benefits:

• Automatic failover
• No data loss
• Increased durability
• Maintenance without downtime

Read Replicas

Scale read-heavy workloads:

Features:

• Up to 5 read replicas per DB
• Cross-region replication
• Can be promoted to standalone DB

Parameter Groups

Customize database configuration:

aws rds create-db-parameter-group \
  --db-parameter-group-name my-params \
  --db-parameter-group-family mysql8.0 \
  --description "Custom MySQL parameters"

Common Parameters:

• max_connections - Maximum concurrent connections
• innodb_buffer_pool_size - Memory for caching
• slow_query_log - Enable slow query logging

Security

Encryption at Rest

aws rds create-db-instance \
  --db-instance-identifier mydb \
  --storage-encrypted \
  --kms-key-id alias/my-key

Network Security

1. VPC - Run in isolated network
2. Security Groups - Control access
3. Subnet Groups - Define subnets

Authentication

• Password - Traditional username/password
• IAM - Database authentication with IAM
• Kerberos - Active Directory integration

# Enable IAM authentication
aws rds modify-db-instance \
  --db-instance-identifier mydb \
  --enable-iam-database-authentication

Backups

Automated Backups

aws rds modify-db-instance \
  --db-instance-identifier mydb \
  --backup-retention-period 7 \
  --preferred-backup-window "03:00-04:00"

Manual Snapshots

aws rds create-db-snapshot \
  --db-instance-identifier mydb \
  --db-snapshot-identifier mydb-snapshot

Point-in-Time Recovery

Restore to any second within retention period:

aws rds restore-db-instance-to-point-in-time \
  --source-db-instance-identifier mydb \
  --target-db-instance-identifier mydb-restored \
  --restore-time 2024-01-15T10:30:00Z

Monitoring

CloudWatch Metrics

Enhanced Monitoring

Real-time OS metrics:

aws rds modify-db-instance \
  --db-instance-identifier mydb \
  --monitoring-interval 60 \
  --monitoring-role-arn arn:aws:iam::123456789012:role/rds-monitoring-role

Performance Insights

Analyze database load:

aws rds modify-db-instance \
  --db-instance-identifier mydb \
  --enable-performance-insights \
  --performance-insights-retention-period 7

Best Practices

Performance

1. Choose appropriate instance class
2. Use provisioned IOPS for consistent performance
3. Enable read replicas for read-heavy workloads
4. Optimize queries and indexes

Security

1. Use VPC and security groups
2. Enable encryption at rest
3. Use SSL/TLS for connections
4. Rotate credentials regularly

Cost Optimization

1. Use Reserved Instances for predictable workloads
2. Right-size instances based on metrics
3. Delete unused snapshots
4. Use Aurora Serverless for variable workloads

Next Steps