Amazon RDS
Installing PostgreSQL using Amazon RDS
Time requirement: 10 mins
Create (free) AWS Account
AWS Provides “free tier” content for demo/student/develoment use linked here
While a credit card is required, no payments needed until generous “free tier” credits exhausted:
Hardware type: db.t4g.micro = $0.0160/hour
Storage: $0.08/GB-month (gp3) - SSD Storage
Alternatives to default PostgreSQL engine:
Postgres/Aurora provides 6x replication for storage, increasing performance/reliability
Amazon Redshift provides column-based queries for warehousing/DSS support
Deploy Postgres-17 install and expose ports
- Identify your closest “region” and select default will most likley be “United States (N. Virginia)” I choose “United States (Oregon)” because of hydropower & renewables
- Create VPN (virtual network) using “VPC and more” option leave all default options selected. No physical hardware chosen, so no cost incurred
- Navigate to Aurora and RDS to create database
- Click Create database
- Choose PostgreSQL > Engine Version > Free tier
- Enter Master password
- Select defaults except Virtual Private Cloud (VPC): use drop-down to select “project-vpc” or newly created option
- Public access: YES
- Under “Additional configuration” tab: enter Initial database name: “demo” (or any other value)
- At bottom: Create database
Database will take several minutes to deploy, and will provide an “endpoint” or DNS name
You will still need to whitelist your IP address(es) under VPC security groups
- Select the security group associated with your newly created VPC most likely the last, or longest-named group ID
- Edit inbound rules to add Postgres port 5432
- Click “Add Rule” > Type > PostgreSQL > Source: My IP Optionally add description for todays date, as your IP may change or add a CIDR range, allowing your (/20) network access
Connection and further maintenance
In my example, I was provided the endpoint used to connect as:
psql -h database-1.cvf3het7fmyg.us-west-1.rds.amazonaws.com -U postgres -d demo
Additional Customization
Under Parameter groups, the default:postgres17 file can be updated to meet DevOps needs
It’s always recommended to have a parameter group per database for compatibility/customization.
Cleanup RDS resources
Using RDS console, select demo database and use “Actions” > Delete
- disable “Create final snapshot” (no backup is required after deletion)
- disable “Retain automated backups”
Deletion may take several minutes. Be sure to review Snapshots and Backups to avoid charges.
Amazon charges per minute instance is available, not startup/shutdown time
but you ARE charged for storage, which includes separate rate for backup/snapshots.