AWS Database Blog

A walkthrough of the Amazon DynamoDB Accelerator console – Part 2

Amazon DynamoDB provides scalability and performance where response times are measured in single-digit milliseconds. For use cases requiring response times in microseconds, DynamoDB Accelerator (DAX) is the service that helps deliver that. DAX is a managed cache that is API compatible with DynamoDB  providing fast in-memory performance for demanding applications like real-time gaming, bidding, weather […]

How to work with Cluster Mode on Amazon ElastiCache for Redis

In this post, I will describe how you can leverage ElastiCache for Redis with cluster mode enabled to enhance reliability and availability with little change to your existing workload. Cluster Mode comes with the primary benefit of horizontal scaling up and down of your Redis cluster, with almost zero impact on the performance of the cluster, as I will demonstrate later. If you have ever encountered a Redis cluster that is over or under-provisioned or just want to better understand its inner workings, please read on.

Manage databases through custom skills with Amazon Alexa and AWS Systems Manager

Over the years, customers have used Amazon Alexa voice commands to order supplies, listen to music, support meetings, manage home devices, and get weather and news updates. But what about AWS resource management? AWS managed and fully managed services already reduces your administrative tasks, letting you focus your resources on applications. Now, voice interaction can […]

Automated query caching into Amazon ElastiCache for Amazon RDS, Amazon Aurora and Amazon Redshift

This is a guest blog post by Erik Brandsberg, CTO at Heimdall Data, in partnership with AWS Technical Evangelist Darin Briskman. Heimdall Data is an AWS Advanced Technology partner who in their own words “offers a database proxy on the AWS Marketplace that supports SQL query caching into Amazon ElastiCache for Redis without code changes. […]

Store SQL Server backups in Amazon S3 using AWS Storage Gateway

Customers like Alkami and Acadian Asset Management use AWS Storage Gateway to back up their Microsoft SQL Server databases directly to Amazon S3, reducing their on-premises storage footprint and leveraging S3 for durable, scalable, and cost-effective storage. Storage Gateway is a hybrid cloud storage service providing on-premises applications with access to virtually unlimited cloud storage. […]

Best storage practices for running production workloads on hosted databases with Amazon RDS or Amazon EC2

October 2023: This post was reviewed and updated for accuracy. AWS offers multiple options to host your databases serving OLTP workloads – host your own managed database on Amazon EC2 instances or use Amazon RDS managed by AWS. RDS manages high availability, automated backups, database upgrades, OS patches, security, and read replica. RDS also offers […]

Deliver Amazon RDS Performance Insights counter metrics to a third-party Application Performance Monitoring service provider using Amazon CloudWatch Metrics Stream

This blog post was last reviewed or updated May, 2023. The updated version shown below is based on working backwards from a customer need to use RDS Performance Insights metrics in their APM tool for database observability. Amazon RDS Performance Insights is a feature that monitors Amazon Relational Database Service (Amazon RDS) database instances so […]

Use the Data API to interact with an Amazon Aurora Serverless MySQL database

Amazon Aurora Serverless is an on-demand, automatically scaling configuration for Amazon Aurora (MySQL-compatible edition). The database automatically starts up, shuts down, and scales capacity based on your application’s needs. It enables you to run your database in the cloud without managing any database instances. It’s a simple, cost-effective option for infrequent, intermittent, or unpredictable workloads. Recently, AWS announced […]

Select the right encryption options for Amazon RDS and Amazon Aurora database engines

Customers are increasingly choosing to encrypt their AWS Cloud databases and data stores by default. This trend is only gaining speed with the evolving meaning of sensitive data (personally identifiable information [PII], etc.) within various regulatory frameworks. Customers also ask AWS for guidance on how to best adopt the latest database encryption options, while maintaining […]