"For almost two years, many AWS customers have taken advantage of the simplicity, reliability and seamless scalability that Amazon SimpleDB provides; however, many customers have told us that their applications require a relational database," Vice President of Amazon Web Services, Adam Selipsky, said. "That's why we built Amazon RDS, which combines a familiar relational database with automated management and the instant scalability of the AWS cloud."
According to the company, Amazon RDS is based on the ubiquitous MySQL platform and provides cost-effective, resizable capacity while managing time-consuming database administration tasks, allowing users to focus on their applications and business.
"Amazon RDS gives you access to the full capabilities of a familiar MySQL database," stated a company spokesperson. "This means the code, applications, and tools you already use today with your existing MySQL databases work seamlessly with Amazon RDS."
Beyond the familiarity of MySQL, Amazon RDS offers busy website operators the advantage of managed services and flexible backups.
"Amazon RDS automatically patches the database software and backs up your database, storing the backups for a user-defined retention period," the spokesperson added. "You also benefit from the flexibility of being able to scale the compute resources or storage capacity associated with your relational database instance via a single API call."
"I found Amazon RDS to be a very efficient way to deploy MySQL, and a natural fit for cloud-based application deployment," David Tompkins, a senior computer scientist at Adobe Systems' Advanced Technology Labs, offered. "The instance is up and running in minutes, and very sensible defaults are baked in."
"The APIs provide streamlined administration, with an ability to programmatically automate administration functions — which is a key feature in cloud-based applications," Tompkins added. "Most importantly, Amazon RDS provides pain-free scalability — which is typically one of the most time-consuming and expensive aspects of database deployment."
When making decisions about technological and infrastructure investments, cost and ROI also play a key role in the allocation process — and provide Amazon RDS with a strong selling point.
"As with all Amazon Web Services," the spokesperson concluded. "There are no up-front investments required, and you pay only for the resources you use."
