AWS Database Blog

Category: Advanced (300)

SQL to NoSQL: Modernizing data access layer with Amazon DynamoDB

The transition from SQL-based access patterns to a DynamoDB API-driven approach presents opportunities to optimize how your application interacts with its data layer. This final part of our series focuses on implementing an effective abstraction layer and handling various data access patterns in DynamoDB.

SQL to NoSQL: Modeling data in Amazon DynamoDB

In this post, we explore strategies for designing DynamoDB data models, including entity identification, table design decisions, and relationship modeling approaches. We examine practical scenarios comparing different modeling strategies, helping you make informed decisions for your specific use case.

AWS DMS validation: A custom serverless architecture

AWS DMS customers might choose not to use the data validation feature provided by the AWS DMS service due to the time it takes to complete validation after a load, a large dataset transfer or a data reload, where business requires rapid availability of data in the target environment. As a result, you might opt to perform validation manually or use a single pass full load only validation, which requires additional effort and time. In this post, we walk you through how to build a custom AWS DMS data validation solution with AWS serverless services.

Fluent Commerce’s approach to near-zero downtime Amazon Aurora PostgreSQL upgrade at 32 TB scale using snapshots and AWS DMS ongoing replication

Fluent Commerce, an omnichannel commerce platform, offers order management solutions that enable businesses to deliver seamless shopping experiences across various channels. Fluent uses Amazon Aurora PostgreSQL-Compatible Edition as its high-performance OLTP database engine to process their customers’ intricate search queries efficiently. Fluent Commerce strategically combined AWS-based upgrade approaches—including snapshot restores and AWS DMS ongoing replication—to seamlessly upgrade their 32 TB Aurora PostgreSQL databases with minimal downtime. In this post, we explore a pragmatic and cost-effective approach to achieve near-zero downtime during database upgrades. We explore the method of using the snapshot and restore method followed by continuous replication using AWS DMS.

Accelerate SQL Server to Amazon Aurora migrations with a customizable solution

Migrating from SQL Server to Amazon Aurora can significantly reduce database licensing costs and modernize your data infrastructure. To accelerate your migration journey, we have developed a migration solution that offers ease and flexibility. You can use this migration accelerator to achieve fast data migration and minimum downtime while customizing it to meet your specific business requirements. In this post, we showcase the core features of the migration accelerator, demonstrated through a complex use case of consolidating 32 SQL Server databases into a single Amazon Aurora instance with near-zero downtime, while addressing technical debt through refactoring.

Restore an Amazon RDS Custom for SQL Server instance using a backup from AWS Backup

AWS Backup supports the creation of on-demand backups of RDS Custom for SQL Server instances. However, the restoration of RDS Custom for SQL Server instances through AWS Backup is not natively supported at the time of writing this post. Nonetheless, this post presents a workaround solution that enables the successful restoration of RDS Custom for SQL Server instances using AWS Backup-created backups.

Building a job search engine with PostgreSQL’s advanced search features

In today’s employment landscape, job search platforms play a crucial role in connecting employers with potential candidates. Behind these platforms lie complex search engines that must process and analyze vast amounts of structured and unstructured data to deliver relevant results. This post explores how to use PostgreSQL’s search features to build an effective job search engine. We examine each search capability in detail, discuss how they can be combined in PostgreSQL, and offer strategies for optimizing performance as your search engine scales.

Migrate a self-managed MySQL database to Amazon Aurora MySQL using AWS DMS homogeneous data migrations

In this post, we provide a comprehensive, step-by-step guide for migrating an on-premises self-managed encrypted MySQL database to Amazon Aurora MySQL using AWS DMS homogeneous data migrations over a private network. We show a complete end-to-end example of setting up and executing an AWS DMS homogeneous migration, consolidating all necessary configuration steps and best practices.

Things to consider when choosing between Oracle TDE and AWS KMS for encryption of data at rest for Amazon RDS for Oracle

For encrypting data at rest, Amazon RDS for Oracle offers two choices: AWS KMS and Oracle TDE. Although both AWS KMS and Oracle TDE provide encryption at rest capabilities, there are various factors to consider when choosing between them, such as licensing, edition dependency, encryption granularity, and feature restrictions. In this post, we provide guidance on choosing between the AWS KMS and Oracle TDE options for encrypting data at rest in RDS for Oracle, focusing on these key aspects.

Implement a rollback strategy for Amazon Aurora PostgreSQL upgrades using Amazon RDS Blue/Green deployments

Amazon Aurora PostgreSQL-Compatible Edition supports managed blue/green deployments to help reduce downtime and minimize risk during updates. Even with thorough planning and testing in non-production environments, unexpected issues can emerge after a version upgrade. In these cases, having a rollback plan is essential to quickly restore service stability. While the managed Blue/Green deployment feature doesn’t currently include built-in rollback functionality, you can implement alternative solutions for version management. In this post, we show how you can manually set up a rollback cluster using self-managed logical replication to maintain synchronization with the newer version after an Amazon RDS Blue/Green deployment switchover.