AWS : Relational Database Service (RDS) - Basics Part 4

 ==============================================================
How do you maintain my database ? How can I plan for it?

• Any maintenance that causes downtime (typically only a few times per year) will be scheduled in your maintenance window
• Operating system or Amazon RDS software patches are usually performed without restarting databases
• Database engine upgrades require downtime
    • Minor version upgrades — automatic or manually applied (Automatic not applicable in case of SQL Server, always manual)
    • Major version upgrades — manually applied
    • Version deprecations—three-to six-month notification before scheduled upgrades
• View upcoming maintenanceevents in your AWS Personal Health Dashboard

==============================================================
How am I charged for Amazon RDS ?

• Database instance (instance hours)
    • Combination of Region + instance type + database engine + license (optional)
• Database storage (GB-mo)
    • Can be either provisioned (Amazon EBS) or consumed (Amazon Aurora)
    • Provisioned IOPS (IOPS-Mo) for IO1 storage type
    • Database I/O requests (IOs) for Amazon Aurora and Amazon EBS magnetic-storage types
• Backup storage (GB-mo
    • Size of backups and snapshots stored in Amazon S3
    • No charge for backup storage up to 100% of total database storage
• Data transfer (GB-mo)
    • Uses AWS regional data-transfer pricing

==============================================================
How can I save money on my database?

• Amazon RDS Reserved Instances (RIs) provide a discount over on-demand prices
• Region, instance family, and engine of on-demand usage must match to apply benefit
• Amazon RDS RIs offer size flexibility for open-source and Oracle BYOL engines
• By default, RIs are shared between allaccounts in consolidated billing
• Use the RI utilization report to determinehow your RIs are being used
    • Support for RI coverage reportcoming soon

==============================================================
Can I stop my database when it’s not in use?

• Stop and start a running database instance from the console or AWS CLI
• Available for single-AZ DB instances
• While instance is stopped, you only pay for storage
• Backup retention window is maintained while stopped
• Instances are restarted after 7 days
    • Pending maintenance operations are applied
    • Instances can be stopped again if desired

==============================================================