We are passionate about open-source databases and believe in sharing knowledge to empower the community. Through our blogs, webinars, and podcasts, we strive to bridge the gap between theory and real-world database challenges. As part of this mission, we recently hosted Mydbops MyWebinar 41: AWS MySQL Showdown – RDS vs. Aurora vs. Serverless, a deep dive into AWS MySQL services, helping DBAs, developers, and architects make informed decisions.

Why This Webinar?

With cloud adoption on the rise, choosing the right AWS MySQL service—RDS, Aurora, or Serverless—can be challenging. Performance, availability, cost, and architecture vary significantly across these options, and selecting the best fit requires understanding their nuances. To address these concerns, our expert at Mydbops, led an insightful session breaking down the differences.

Key Takeaways from the Webinar

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1. Understanding the AWS MySQL Landscape

AWS offers multiple MySQL-based solutions tailored for different workloads:

• RDS MySQL: Traditional managed MySQL with Single-AZ, Multi-AZ, and Multi-AZ Cluster options.
• Aurora MySQL: High-performance, cloud-native MySQL with shared storage and faster failover.
• Aurora Serverless: Auto-scaling MySQL that adjusts compute power based on demand.

2. Storage & Architecture: How They Differ

Each AWS MySQL service has a unique storage and replication mechanism:

• RDS MySQL: SSD-backed storage with fixed sizes and read replicas for scaling.
• Aurora MySQL: Shared storage replicated six times across three AZs, supporting up to 15 read replicas.
• Aurora Serverless: Automatic storage scaling up to 128 TiB, maintaining six copies for durability.

3. High Availability & Failover: Minimizing Downtime

• RDS MySQL Multi-AZ failover takes 60-120 seconds, while Multi-AZ Cluster reduces it to 35-50 seconds.
• Aurora MySQL offers even faster failover (~30s), automatically promoting a new primary.
• Aurora Serverless provisions a new instance on failure, ensuring minimal disruption.

4. Performance Insights: Which One is Faster?

• Aurora MySQL provides 200,000 write IOPS and 15 replicas for high read throughput.
• Multi-AZ RDS Cluster improves write performance and reduces latency.
• Aurora Serverless dynamically scales compute power, making it ideal for unpredictable workloads.

5. Cost-Benefit Analysis: Optimizing Your Cloud Spend

• RDS MySQL: On-Demand & Reserved Instances for predictable pricing.
• Aurora MySQL: Standard & I/O-Optimized pricing, best for I/O-heavy applications.
• Aurora Serverless: Pay-per-use model, reducing costs for variable workloads.

Watch the Recording & Access the Slides

If you missed the live session, don’t worry! We’ve got you covered:

Watch the Recording

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Download the Slides

Join the Discussion

The webinar saw an engaging discussion where attendees shared practical concerns. Here are some from the insightful chat:

Aakash asked: "What workloads is Aurora Serverless suitable for? Can we limit scaling to prevent high query spikes?"
Our response: Aurora Serverless is ideal for event-driven apps, development/testing environments, and workloads with seasonal spikes. To control scaling and costs, you can set min/max ACUs and use auto-pause to reduce idle costs.

‍Stallsloyalty asked: "How much storage can we expand in Aurora Serverless?"
Our response: Aurora storage automatically scales up to 128 TiB, ensuring high availability and durability.

As an Amazon RDS & Public Sector Partner, Mydbops specializes in helping businesses optimize database performance and scalability on AWS. If you’re looking for expert guidance on your AWS MySQL setup, reach out to us for a free consultation.

Looking Ahead

Our commitment to knowledge-sharing continues! Stay connected with us for future webinars, blogs, and podcasts covering MySQL, PostgreSQL, MongoDB, and TiDB.

Follow us on LinkedIn, Youtube, Twitter, and Meetup for updates!

‍For any database-related discussions, reach out for a free consultation

Thank you for being part of our growing open-source community.

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