Amazon Aurora : Get the power of Amazon Web Services behind your business with Amazon Aurora


Those whose businesses already use a relational database management system like MySQL or PostgreSQL will be familiar with its many advantages. Both are well-known for their reliability, availability, scalability, and speed.

However, what should you do if your company is considering moving to Amazon Web Services? Without proper expertise and skills, such migration can be challenging. 

It's where Amazon Aurora comes into play! Amazon Aurora is a MySQL and PostgreSQL-compatible cloud relational database service. It simplifies database installation, backups, patches, and hardware provisioning.

It is as fast and reliable as MySQL and PostgreSQL but simpler and more affordable. Let’s discuss all about Amazon Aurora. 

What is Amazon Aurora and How Does It Compare to Other Database Options?

With MySQL and PostgreSQL compatibility, Amazon Aurora is a relational database that was created specifically for use in the cloud. It combines the strength and dependability of conventional enterprise databases with the simplicity and low cost of open source databases.

In comparison to other database services on the market, Amazon Aurora stands out as a superior option due to its extensive set of features, long-term viability, and rock-solid dependability. So far, its performance has been shown to be superior to that of MySQL and PostgreSQL.

What Features Does Amazon Aurora Include That Make It a Desirable Choice?

The following are the best features of Amazon Aurora: 

  1. 1

    Completely Managed 

    AWS RDS manages AWS Aurora ultimately. You no longer have to take care of your database's software patching, hardware provisioning, installation, configuration, and backups.

    Aurora will keep an eye on your database and continuously back it up to Amazon S3 so that you can restore it to a certain time.

    Many tools on Amazon can help you keep an eye on your database's activity and find performance problems before they get too bad.

  2. 2

    Compatibility with PostgreSQL & MySQL 

    Amazon Aurora’s database engine is highly-compatible with MySQL and PostgreSQL version 9.6 & 10.  The best part is that it updates regularly to work with the update versions of these databases.

    You can easily move Amazon Aurora data by using the import/export tools built into MySQL and PostgreSQL.

    That means you can start using Amazon Aurora with peace of mind as it will not require modifications to your existing application, database, or tool setup. 

  3. 3

    Better Performance & Scalability 

    Amazon Aurora can process five times as many requests as standard MySQL and three times as many as PostgreSQL.

    In either case, you can use Aurora Serverless to automatically adjust the size of your database deployment to meet your needs, or you can change the size of your deployment yourself. 

    It can increase read performance and throughput by adding up to 15 low-latency read replicas spread over 3 Availability Zones.

    Instances of the Amazon Aurora database can automatically have their storage capacity extended by 128TB.

Examples of How Amazon Aurora Can be Used in Business Applications?

Let’s discuss the examples of how you can use Amazon Aurora in business applications:

Software as a Service (SaaS) Applications

Amazon Aurora's managed database services include all of the features that allow SaaS companies to focus on developing cutting-edge software rather than on database maintenance.

 

In software as a service (SaaS) environments, multi-tenant architectures need to be fast, reliable, and flexible when it comes to scaling instances and user storage.

Web & Mobile Gaming

Amazon Aurora can handle even the most resource-intensive business applications and still have room to expand. Amazon Aurora is a great fit for the sporadic needs of these programs because there are no licensing restrictions.


Also, for massively multiplayer online and mobile games to work well, they need a database that can store a lot of data and is always available.

Enterprise Applications

If your business application needs access to a relational database, Amazon Aurora is your best choice. Amazon Aurora can improve database availability and reliability at a 90% cost savings compared to commercial databases.

 

Using Amazon Aurora's fully managed service, users can save time on administrative tasks like provisioning, patching, backup, failure detection, recovery, and repair.

What are the Key Benefits of Using Amazon Aurora?

Let’s discuss the key benefits that you can reap by using Amazon Aurora.

  • Easy to Use

    Amazon Aurora setup is simple. Use the Amazon RDS Management Console, a single API call, or the command line interface to quickly and easily create a new Amazon Aurora DB Instance. Amazon Aurora DB Instances are pre-configured for your chosen class. Launch a DB Instance and connect your application in minutes without configuration. Database parameter groups allow fine-tuning.

  • Cost-Effective 

    With Amazon Aurora, there is no need to make any long-term commitments because you only pay for the time that your instances are active. An Amazon Aurora DB Instance can be quickly and easily deleted when it is no longer needed.

  • High Data Security 

    The databases you create with Amazon Aurora have access to multiple layers of security. In addition to securing networks with Amazon Virtual Private Cloud (VPC), Amazon Key Management Service (KMS) encrypts data at rest, and SSL encrypts data in transit.

    Amazon Aurora instances, along with the underlying storage, automated backups, snapshots, and replicas within the same cluster, are all encrypted.

  • Availability & Durability 

    When it comes to cloud-based storage, AWS Aurora has you covered with its fault-tolerant and self-healing capabilities. It has an excellent availability rate of 99.99%. The cloud's storage system makes six copies of all data and distributes them across three "Availability Zones".

    To ensure data integrity and protect against the loss of data due to storage failure, AWS Aurora performs backups at regular intervals.

  • Unparalleled Scalability 

    No database can beat Amazon Aurora in scalability. You can scale it up or down based on the requirements and needs of your application.

    And the most amazing part about it is that it can work automatically about handling your data during peak times and will provide you with the most suitable service.

Are There Any Potential Downsides to Using Amazon Aurora?

No doubt, Amazon Aurora offers a remarkable database service, but it also has some limitations. Let’s find out some potential downsides you should consider before using Amazon Aurora. 

  • Failure to Provide Premium Consulting 

    No matter how perfect the services are but without proper instructions on how to use them can be quite disturbing. We all need instructions and guidance to use specific services.

    But unfortunately, Amazon Aurora doesn’t provide premium consulting. You'll either have to teach yourself or pay for some sort of expert guidance. 

  • Additional Cost on Data Transfer 

    When transferring data within the Amazon cloud using AWS Aurora, there is no cost; however, there may be a fee associated with transferring data to another service.

  • No Free Version 

    In recent years, it has become common practice for any service to offer a freemium or trial version. Businesses offer them so customers can try a service before committing to a paid subscription.

    But AWS Aurora doesn't give you this choice. Instead, you have to start with the more expensive premium version.

How to Migrate Your Database to Amazon Aurora?

There are 3 ways to migrate your database to Amazon Aurora. 

  1. 1

    Migrate Existing Data

    A "full load" creates tables in the target database, automatically defines metadata, and fills those tables with data from the source database.

    Multiple tables are loaded at once to save time. AWS DMS creates tables during homogeneous migrations but not secondary indexes. 

  2. 2

    Replicating Ongoing Changes While Migrating Existing Data

    This method also performs a full load, but it logs source database updates so they can be applied to the replication instance later.

    After the transfer, the saved changes will be applied to the destination database.

    Additionally, the target database is updated to reflect source database changes. This method is ideal for database migrations with limited downtime.

  3. 3

    Only Replicating Modified Data

    Choosing this approach to migrate the database to Amazon Aurora will help you read the changes from the recovery file of the source database.

    It will modify the target database and apply the latest data. The best part of this method is that it will store the replication instance in case the target database is unavailable until it becomes available again.

The Future of Amazon Aurora in Today’s Market

Amazon Aurora is a relational database engine made by Amazon Web Services (AWS). It works well with relational database management systems like MySQL and PostgreSQL.

Today, businesses that wish to host their database in the cloud have a very scalable and trustworthy choice in this service. Aurora is a strong competitor because AWS always adds new features and makes it run faster.

With the beginning of serverless computing, many businesses are considering using a service like Amazon Aurora to handle their database management needs.

As more companies move to a multi-cloud strategy, Amazon Aurora will continue to work with other AWS services to offer a complete solution for processing and analyzing data.

Aurora's ability to handle high transaction volumes and provide automatic failover and backups make it a good choice for businesses that want a cloud-based database solution. As more companies move their infrastructure to the cloud, demand for Aurora is likely to keep going up.

FAQ

What is the pricing of Aurora?

Aurora, a typical corporate relational database, is offered on a pay-as-you-go basis. Aurora Serverless V2 costs $350 per month. For each auto-scale occurrence, expect to pay at least $0.0005.

Is Aurora better than Oracle?

Aurora gives applications that need a high level of performance a high level of scalability, availability, and security. Oracle offers a range of advanced features like data warehousing, security, and in-memory databases. 

The majority of users prefer Amazon Aurora over Oracle Database because it better meets their needs. 

Is Aurora faster than SQL Server?

Yes! Amazon Aurora is 5X faster than MySQL & 3X faster than PostgreSQL. 

Which is faster, Aurora or DynamoDB?

Amazon Aurora is three times faster than a standard PostgreSQL database and five times faster than a standard mySQL database. It provides the security, availability, and reliability of a commercial database at 1/10th the cost.

Is Aurora a reliable website?

Yes! Aurora is designed to be reliable, durable, and fault tolerant.  

You can architect your Aurora DB cluster to improve availability, such as adding Aurora Replicas and placing them in different Availability Zones, and Aurora also includes several automated features that make it a reliable database solution.

About the author

Youssef

Youssef is a Senior Cloud Consultant & Founder of ITCertificate.org

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