Amazon RDS and Managed Cloud Databases Cheat Sheet

Back to DatabasesUpdated 2026-05-15

Amazon RDS (Relational Database Service) is AWS's fully managed database platform supporting six engines: MySQL, PostgreSQL, MariaDB, Oracle, SQL Server, and Aurora. RDS eliminates database administration overhead by automating provisioning, patching, backups, replication, and failover, while providing enterprise features like Multi-AZ deployments for high availability, read replicas for horizontal scaling, and point-in-time recovery for disaster protection. The critical architectural insight: RDS separates compute (instance) from storage (EBS volumes that auto-scale to 64 TB), enabling independent scaling and supporting both provisioned instances for predictable workloads and Aurora Serverless v2 that auto-scales from 0.5 to 128 ACUs for variable demand—though choosing the right deployment model, storage type, and capacity planning directly impacts both performance and monthly costs by 40-70%.

What This Cheat Sheet Covers

This topic spans 17 focused tables and 79 indexed concepts. Below is a complete table-by-table outline of this topic, spanning foundational concepts through advanced details.

Table 1: Database Engine OptionsTable 2: High Availability and ReplicationTable 3: Connection Management and ProxyingTable 4: Storage Types and ScalingTable 5: Backup and RecoveryTable 6: Monitoring and PerformanceTable 7: Security and EncryptionTable 8: Scalability and Instance ManagementTable 9: Aurora-Specific FeaturesTable 10: Deployment and Infrastructure as CodeTable 11: Configuration and Parameter ManagementTable 12: Maintenance and LifecycleTable 13: Cost OptimizationTable 14: Event Notifications and AutomationTable 15: Subnet Groups and Network ConfigurationTable 16: Aurora Serverless v1 vs v2Table 17: Licensing Models

Table 1: Database Engine Options

Engine	Example	Description
Aurora MySQL	`aws rds create-db-cluster --engine aurora-mysql` `--engine-version 8.0.mysql_aurora.3.05.2`	AWS-designed engine with 5x MySQL throughput and distributed storage that auto-replicates data 6 ways across 3 AZs; supports up to 15 read replicas and global databases
Aurora PostgreSQL	`aws rds create-db-cluster --engine aurora-postgresql` `--engine-version 15.4`	AWS-designed engine with 3x PostgreSQL throughput and PostGIS extension support; compatible with standard PostgreSQL client tools and extensions
MySQL	`aws rds create-db-instance --engine mysql` `--engine-version 8.0.35`	Community MySQL on RDS with automated backups and up to 5 read replicas; license-included pricing and InnoDB as default storage engine
PostgreSQL	`aws rds create-db-instance --engine postgres` `--engine-version 16.1`	Open-source PostgreSQL with advanced features like JSONB, CTEs, and materialized views; supports logical replication and 40+ extensions

Table 1: Database Engine Options

Engine	Example	Description
Aurora MySQL	`aws rds create-db-cluster --engine aurora-mysql` `--engine-version 8.0.mysql_aurora.3.05.2`	AWS-designed engine with 5x MySQL throughput and distributed storage that auto-replicates data 6 ways across 3 AZs; supports up to 15 read replicas and global databases
Aurora PostgreSQL	`aws rds create-db-cluster --engine aurora-postgresql` `--engine-version 15.4`	AWS-designed engine with 3x PostgreSQL throughput and PostGIS extension support; compatible with standard PostgreSQL client tools and extensions
MySQL	`aws rds create-db-instance --engine mysql` `--engine-version 8.0.35`	Community MySQL on RDS with automated backups and up to 5 read replicas; license-included pricing and InnoDB as default storage engine
PostgreSQL	`aws rds create-db-instance --engine postgres` `--engine-version 16.1`	Open-source PostgreSQL with advanced features like JSONB, CTEs, and materialized views; supports logical replication and 40+ extensions