1Why RDS over EC2?
Running a database on EC2 means you are responsible for backups, high availability, OS patches, database engine upgrades, and failover scripts. RDS handles all of this out-of-the-box.
2Step-by-Step Breakdown
What is RDS?. A managed service that makes it easy to set up, operate, and scale a relational database in the cloud.
Managed vs EC2. Instead of installing MySQL on an EC2 instance, RDS manages OS patching, backups, and failovers for you.
Automated Backups. RDS automatically backs up your database daily and captures transaction logs, allowing point-in-time recovery.
Maintenance Windows. You define a weekly window where AWS can perform mandatory updates and OS patching.
Knowledge Check. Can you SSH into an RDS instance to tune the operating system?
- →Yes
- →No, it's a managed service
DB Parameter Groups. Since you can't access the database config file directly, you use Parameter Groups to tune database variables.
Storage Types. RDS supports General Purpose SSD (gp2/gp3) and Provisioned IOPS (io1) for high-performance workloads.
Security Groups. RDS instances are protected by Security Groups. You typically allow inbound traffic on port 3306 or 5432 ONLY from your Application Security Group.
IAM Authentication. You can authenticate to MySQL/PostgreSQL using AWS IAM credentials instead of standard database passwords.
Summary. RDS offloads database administration tasks so you can focus on your application.
