Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS)

Amazon RDS is an abbreviation for Amazon Relational Database Service. Amazon RDS offers low-cost relational databases in the cloud that are simple to use.

Amazon RDS is a cloud-based relational database service that makes managing and scaling your databases more accessible. Amazon RDS helps automate most of those time-consuming tasks associated with database management, such as backups and patching.

RDS makes it easier to deploy and manage relational databases in the cloud. A cloud administrator uses Amazon RDS to set up, operate, manage, and scale a relational instance of a cloud database. Amazon RDS is not a database in and of itself; instead, it is a service for managing relational databases.

But, before we go any further, let’s go over the topics we’ll be covering in this blog:

1. Working of Amazon RDS
2. Benefits of RDS
3. Drawbacks of RDS
4. Pricing of RDS
5. RDS database engines
6. RDS use cases

Working of Amazon RDS

You can use databases to store large amounts of data that applications can use to perform various functions. Tables allow a user to store data in a relational database. It is referred to as relational because it organizes data points based on predefined relationships.

RDS is managed by cloud administrators using the AWS Management Console, Amazon RDS API calls, or the AWS Command Line Interface. You can use these interfaces to deploy database instances to which users can apply custom settings.

Amazon offers a variety of instance types with varying resources such as CPU, memory, storage options, and networking capabilities. Each type is accessible in various sizes to accommodate various workloads. Using AWS Identity and Access Management, RDS users can define and set permissions to access RDS databases.

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Benefits of Amazon RDS

There are many benefits of RDS. Some of those benefits are:

Flexible

There are various RDS pricing models available, such as on-demand and reserved instances. So, whatever your specific requirements are, there is sufficient flexibility to meet your use case.

Secure

In terms of security and running an on-premises or hybrid solution, RDS can also be run in the Amazon Virtual Cloud and is encrypted in transit and at rest.

Adaptable

RDS databases can be scaled at the touch of a button and are highly available, with the option of replicating data to an instance in a different zone – so you’re covered if a server fails.

Simple administration

It is simple to set up an RDS database. RDS’s infrastructure is automatically provisioned as a cloud-based service, so you don’t have to set up the database software. On the other hand, RDS is available with on-premises and hybrid solutions. Once your RDS database is up and running, you can forget about admin tasks like software patching and backups because AWS will handle everything for you.

A market leader

RDS is a popular database, with prestigious companies such as Netflix, Expedia, and global consumer goods brand Unilever as customers. AWS was the first company to bring cloud computing into the spotlight, and they are still the industry’s go-to source for innovation.

Drawbacks of Amazon RDS

Some of the drawbacks of RDS are:

Shutdown

Some updates, patches, and scaling procedures necessitate the shutdown of systems, and the timing of these procedures varies. Scaling computing resources typically necessitates a few minutes of downtime.

Inadequate root access

Because RDS is a managed service, users will not have root privileges to it. Specific RDS procedures are only available to those with advanced ownership.

Pricing of Amazon RDS

Amazon RDS is a pay-as-you-go service. The following criteria are used to determine the bill:

1. Instance class
2. Time on the clock
3. Storage
4. I/O requests per month
5. Backup storage

Important points:

• You have to pay by the type of DB instance used.
• The instance-hour, equivalent to a single instance running per hour, is used to calculate the price.
• You have to pay per GB based on the storage capacity plan selected.
• The total number of storage I/O requests made in a billing cycle is also included in the billing structure.
• There are no additional fees for backup storage of up to 100% of the database. This service is only available to active DB instances.

Amazon RDS database engines

Amazon RDS’s initial release in October 2009 supported only MySQL databases. RDS has had several subsequent releases. Amazon RDS supports the following database engines:

• Amazon Aurora: This is Amazon’s proprietary RDBMS. Amazon Aurora is a relational database compatible with MYSQL and Postgre SQL and is reasonably priced.
• PostgreSQL: This supports versions 9 to 11. You can also configure it as a multi-A-Z deployment with read replicas.
• MySQL: MySQL is the most popular open-source relational database in the world. Because RDS for MYSQL supports all versions of MYSQL, users can use the same code written on local MYSQL instances.
• MariaDB: Amazon RDS supports all MariaDB server versions. This simplifies the use of existing code, applications, and tools with Amazon RDS.
• Oracle: RDS works with Oracle versions 11g and 12c. You have the option of using the Oracle license provided by AWS or bringing your own. The cost of using these two versions differs.
• Microsoft SQL Server: Amazon RDS is compatible with versions from 2012 to 2019. AWS also supports several editions, including Enterprise, Standard, Web, and Express.

Amazon RDS use cases

Some possible use cases of Amazon RDS are:

1. Online shopping: These programs manage large databases that keep track of inventories, transactions, and pricing.
2. Streaming software: Applications such as Netflix take advantage of RDS’s storage scalability and Amazon RDS’s availability, allowing them to handle high demand on a daily basis.
3. Mobile and online gaming: RDS assists developers who need to update these applications as well as users who require continuous high availability.

Conclusion

Because Amazon RDS uses SSDs to improve IO throughput across all of its database services, it is among the essential services provided by the AWS platform. In this article, we have covered various topics such as working of Amazon RDS, its benefits and drawbacks, RDS database engines, use cases of Amazon RDS, and many more. But, if you want to learn more about AWS services, you can refer to these blogs:

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