Amazon Aurora with PostgreSQL Compatibility Supports Auto Scaling Replicas

Posted on: Aug 16, 2018

Amazon Aurora Auto Scaling automatically adds and removes Aurora Replicas in response to changes in performance metrics that you specify. This feature is now available in the PostgreSQL-compatible edition of Aurora.

Aurora Replicas share the same underlying storage volume as the primary instance and are well suited for read scaling. With Aurora Auto Scaling, you can specify a desired value for predefined metrics of your Aurora Replicas, such as average CPU utilization or average active connections. You can also create a custom metric for Aurora Replicas for use with Auto Scaling.

Aurora Auto Scaling adjusts the number of Aurora Replicas to keep the selected metric closest to the value you specified. For example, an increase in traffic could cause the average CPU utilization of your Aurora Replicas to go up and beyond your specified value. New Aurora Replicas would then be automatically added to support this increased traffic. Similarly, when CPU utilization goes below your set value, Aurora Replicas are terminated so you don't pay for unused instances.

Aurora Auto Scaling works with Amazon CloudWatch to continuously monitor performance metrics of your Aurora Replicas. You can create an Aurora Auto Scaling policy for any of your existing or new Aurora database clusters. To get started, visit the Amazon RDS Management Console and create an Aurora Auto Scaling policy with just a few clicks. Alternatively, download the latest CLI or SDKs to create policies programmatically. Refer to the documentation for more information.

There is no additional cost to use Aurora Auto Scaling beyond what you already pay for Aurora and CloudWatch alarms. See Amazon Aurora Pricing for regional availability.