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AWS FAQs > RDS > Flashcards

RDS Flashcards

1
Q

Is Amazon Relational Database Service (Amazon RDS) a managed service?

A

Yes, it’s managed by AWS.

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2
Q

RDS makes it easy to…

A

set up, operate, and scale a relational database in the cloud

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3
Q

RDS provides…

A

cost-efficient and resizable capacity, while managing time-consuming database administration tasks, freeing you up to focus on your applications and business

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4
Q

Amazon RDS supports which DBs?

A

MySQL, MariaDB, Oracle, SQL Server, PostgreSQL

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5
Q

Can RDS automatically back up your database?

A

Yes

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6
Q

Can RDS keep your database software up to date with the latest version?

A

Yes

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7
Q

What does Amazon RDS manage on my behalf?

A

Amazon RDS manages the work involved in setting up a relational database: from provisioning the infrastructure capacity you request to installing the database software.

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8
Q

Once your database is up and running, what does RDS automate?

A

common administrative tasks such as performing backups and patching the software that powers your database

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9
Q

With optional Multi-AZ deployments,

A

Amazon RDS also manages synchronous data replication across Availability Zones with automatic failover.

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10
Q

Does RDS provide native database access?

A

Yes, you interact with the relational database software as you normally would. This means you’re still responsible for managing the database settings that are specific to your application. You’ll need to build the relational schema that best fits your use case and are responsible for any performance tuning to optimize your database for your application’s workflow.

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11
Q

When would I use Amazon RDS vs. Amazon EC2 Relational Database AMIs?

A

Amazon Web Services provides a number of database alternatives for developers. Amazon RDS enables you to run a fully featured relational database while offloading database administration. Using one of our many relational database AMIs on Amazon EC2 allows you to manage your own relational database in the cloud.

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12
Q

What is a database instance (DB instance)?

A

a database environment in the cloud with the compute and storage resources you specify

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13
Q

What can you do w/ DB instances?

A

You can create and delete DB instances, define/refine infrastructure attributes of your DB instance(s), and control access and security via the AWS Management Console, Amazon RDS APIs, and AWS Command Line Interface.

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14
Q

How many DB instances can you run?

A

one or more

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15
Q

T/F: each DB instance can support one or more databases or database schemas, depending on engine type.

A

True

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16
Q

How do I create a DB instance?

A

DB instances are simple to create, using either the AWS Management Console, Amazon RDS APIs, or AWS Command Line Interface. To launch a DB instance using the AWS Management Console, click “RDS,” then the Launch DB Instance button on the Instances tab. From there, you can specify the parameters for your DB instance including DB engine and version, license model, instance type, storage type and amount, and master user credentials.

You also have the ability to change your DB instance’s backup retention policy, preferred backup window, and scheduled maintenance window. Alternatively, you can create your DB instance using the CreateDBInstance API or create-db-instance command.

17
Q

How do I access my running DB instance?

A

Once your DB instance is available, you can retrieve its endpoint via the DB instance description in the AWS Management Console, DescribeDBInstances API or describe-db-instances command. Using this endpoint you can construct the connection string required to connect directly with your DB instance using your favorite database tool or programming language. In order to allow network requests to your running DB instance, you will need to authorize access.

18
Q

How many DB instances can I run with Amazon RDS?

A

By default, customers are allowed to have up to a total of 40 Amazon RDS DB instances. Of those 40, up to 10 can be Oracle or SQL Server DB instances under the “License Included” model. All 40 can be used for Amazon Aurora, MySQL, MariaDB, PostgreSQL and Oracle or SQL Server under the “BYOL” model.

19
Q

How many databases or schemas can I run within a DB instance?

A

RDS for Amazon Aurora: No limit imposed by software
RDS for MySQL: No limit imposed by software
RDS for MariaDB: No limit imposed by software
RDS for Oracle: 1 database per instance; no limit on number of schemas per database imposed by software
RDS for SQL Server: 30 databases per instance
RDS for PostgreSQL: No limit imposed by software

20
Q

How do I import data into an Amazon RDS DB instance?

A

There are a number of simple ways to import data into Amazon RDS, such as with the mysqldump or mysqlimport utilities for MySQL; Data Pump, import/export or SQL Loader for Oracle; Import/Export wizard, full backup files (.bak files) or Bulk Copy Program (BCP) for SQL Server; or pg_dump for PostgreSQL

In addition, AWS Database Migration Service can help you migrate databases to AWS easily and securely.

21
Q

What is a maintenance window? Will my DB instance be available during maintenance events?

A

The Amazon RDS maintenance window is your opportunity to control when DB instance modifications (such as scaling DB instance class) and software patching occur, in the event they are requested or required. If a maintenance event is scheduled for a given week, it will be initiated and completed at some point during the maintenance window you identify. Maintenance windows are 30 minutes in duration.
The only maintenance events that require Amazon RDS to take your DB instance offline are scale compute operations (which generally take only a few minutes from start-to-finish) or required software patching. Required patching is automatically scheduled only for patches that are security and durability related. Such patching occurs infrequently (typically once every few months) and should seldom require more than a fraction of your maintenance window. If you do not specify a preferred weekly maintenance window when creating your DB instance, a 30 minute default value is assigned. If you wish to modify when maintenance is performed on your behalf, you can do so by modifying your DB instance in the AWS Management Console, the ModifyDBInstance API or the modify-db-instance command. Each of your DB instances can have different preferred maintenance windows, if you so choose.

Running your DB instance as a Multi-AZ deployment can further reduce the impact of a maintenance event.

22
Q

What should I do if my queries seem to be running slow?

A

For production databases we encourage you to enable Enhanced Monitoring, which provides access to over 50 CPU, memory, file system, and disk I/O metrics. You can enable these features on a per-instance basis and you can choose the granularity (all the way down to 1 second). High levels of CPU utilization can reduce query performance and in this case you may want to consider scaling your DB instance class.

If you are using RDS for MySQL or MariaDB, you can access the slow query logs for your database to determine if there are slow-running SQL queries and, if so, the performance characteristics of each. You could set the “slow_query_log” DB Parameter and query the mysql.slow_log table to review the slow-running SQL queries.

If you are using RDS for Oracle, you can use the Oracle trace file data to identify slow queries.

If you are using RDS for SQL Server, you can use the client side SQL Server traces to identify slow queries.

23
Q

How do I specify which supported DB engine version I would like my DB instance to run?

A

You can specify any currently supported version (major and minor) when creating a new DB instance via the Launch DB Instance operation in the AWS Management Console or the CreateDBInstance API. Please note that not every database engine version is available in every AWS region.

24
Q

To manually upgrade a database instance to a supported engine version,

A

use the Modify DB Instance command on the AWS Management Console or the ModifyDBInstance API and set the DB Engine Version parameter to the desired version. By default, the upgrade will be applied or during your next maintenance window. You can also choose to upgrade immediately by selecting the Apply Immediately option in the console API.

25
Q

Can I test my DB instance with a new version before upgrading?

A

Yes. You can do so by creating a DB snapshot of your existing DB instance, restoring from the DB snapshot to create a new DB instance, and then initiating a version upgrade for the new DB instance. You can then experiment safely on the upgraded copy of your DB instance before deciding whether or not to upgrade your original DB instance.

26
Q

What happens when an RDS DB engine version is deprecated?

A

When a minor version of a database engine is deprecated in Amazon RDS, we schedule automatic upgrades for instances with the Auto Minor Version Upgrade setting to occur at least 30 days after announcing the deprecation on the forum and sending e-mail notifications to customers. We will also disable the creation of new instances with this version. After a minimum 3 month grace period after announcement, all instances still running the deprecated minor version will be scheduled for automatic upgrade to a supported minor version during the specified maintenance window.

When a major version of database engine is deprecated in Amazon RDS, we will provide a minimum three-month grace period after the announcement of a deprecation for you to initiate an upgrade to a supported major version. At the end of this grace period, an automatic upgrade will be applied to any un-upgraded instances during their scheduled maintenance windows.

Once a major or minor database engine version is no longer supported in Amazon RDS, any DB instance restored from a DB snapshot created with the unsupported version will automatically and immediately be upgraded to a currently supported version.

27
Q

How will I be charged and billed for my use of Amazon RDS?

A 
DB instance hours
Storage 
I/O requests per month 
Provisioned IOPS per month
Backup Storage 
Data transfer

AWS FAQs (7 decks)

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