New – Amazon RDS Custom for SQL Server Is Generally Available

On October 26, 2021, we launched Amazon RDS Customized for Oracle, a managed database service for purposes that require customization of the underlying working system and database setting. RDS Customized enables you to entry and customise your database server host and working system, for instance, by making use of particular patches and altering the database software program settings to assist third-party purposes that require privileged entry.

Immediately, I’m comfortable to announce the overall availability of Amazon RDS Customized for SQL Server to assist purposes which have dependencies on particular configurations and third-party purposes that require customizations in company, e-commerce, and content material administration programs, resembling Microsoft SharePoint.

With RDS Customized for SQL Server, you’ll be able to allow options that require elevated privileges like SQL Widespread Language Runtime (CLR), set up particular drivers to allow heterogenous linked servers, or have greater than 100 databases per occasion.

Via the time-saving advantages of a managed service, RDS Customized for SQL Server frees you as much as concentrate on extra business-impacting, strategic actions. Using automating backups and different operational duties allow you to relaxation straightforward, realizing your knowledge is secure and able to be recovered if wanted.

Getting Began with RDS Customized for SQL Server
Get began by making a DB occasion of RDS Customized for SQL Server from an orderable engine model supplied by RDS Customized. You may optionally entry the server host to customise your software program by way of AWS Techniques Supervisor or a distant desktop shopper. Your software connects to the RDS Customized DB occasion endpoint.

Earlier than creating and connecting your custom DB occasion for SQL Server, just remember to meet some conditions, resembling configuring the AWS Identification and Entry Administration (IAM) function and Amazon Digital Personal Cloud  (Amazon VPC). See Organising your setting for Amazon RDS Customized for SQL Server within the Amazon RDS Consumer Information to study extra.

Select Create database within the Databases menu to create your custom DB occasion for SQL Server within the RDS Console. While you select a database creation methodology, choose Customary create. You may set Engine choices to Microsoft SQL Server and select Amazon RDS Customized within the database administration sort.

For Version, select the DB engine version that you just need to use within the decisions of Enterprise, Customary, and Internet with the Model of default SQL Server 2019.

For Settings, enter your favourite distinctive title for the DB occasion identifier and your grasp username and password. By default, the brand new occasion makes use of an routinely generated password for the grasp person.

In DB occasion measurement, select a DB occasion class optimized to every DB engine version.

See Settings for DB cases within the Amazon RDS Consumer Information to study extra in regards to the remaining settings. Select Create database. After creating the DB occasion, the small print for the brand new RDS Customized DB occasion seem on the RDS console.

Alternatively, you’ll be able to create an RDS Customized DB occasion through the use of the create-db-instance command within the AWS Command Line Interface (AWS CLI).

$ aws rds create-db-instance 
	--engine custom-sqlserver-se 
	--engine-version 15.00.4073.23.v1 
	--db-instance-identifier channy-custom-db 
	--db-instance-class db.m5.xlarge 
	--allocated-storage 20 
	--db-subnet-group mydbsubnetgroup 
	--master-username myuser 
	--master-user-password mypassword 
	--backup-retention-period three 
	--no-multi-az 
	--port 8200 
	--kms-key-id mykmskey 
	--custom-iam-instance-profile AWSRDSCustomInstanceProfile

After you create your RDS Customized DB occasion, you’ll be able to connect with it utilizing AWS Techniques Supervisor Session Supervisor or an RDP shopper. Guarantee that the Amazon VPC safety group related together with your DB occasion permits inbound connections on port 3389 for TCP to permit RDP connections.

You want the important thing pair related to the occasion to connect with the custom DB occasion by way of RDP. RDS Customized creates the important thing pair for you. The pair title makes use of the prefix do-not-delete-rds-custom-DBInstanceIdentifier. AWS Secrets and techniques Supervisor shops your non-public key as a secret. Select the key that has the identical title as your key pair and retrieve the key worth to decrypt the password later.

Within the EC2 console, search for the title of your EC2 occasion, after which select the occasion ID related together with your DB occasion ID, for instance, channy-custom-db-*. Choose your custom DB occasion, after which select Join. On the Hook up with occasion web page, select the RDP shopper tab, after which select Get password together with your non-public key as a secret.

While you join an RDP shopper with a downloaded distant desktop file and decrypted password, you’ll be able to log in to the Home windows Server and customise your SQL Server.

You need to use AWS Techniques Supervisor Session Supervisor to start out a session with an occasion in your account. After the session is began, you’ll be able to run PowerShell instructions as you’d for another connection sort. See Hook up with your Home windows occasion within the Amazon EC2 Consumer Information for extra data.

Issues to Know
Listed here are a few issues to bear in mind about managing your DB occasion:

Pausing RDS Customized Automation: RDS Customized for SQL Server routinely offers monitoring and occasion restoration in your RDS Customized DB occasion. If you should customise the occasion, then pause RDS Customized automation for a specified interval. The pause makes certain that your customizations don’t intrude with RDS Customized automation. To pause or resume RDS Customized automation, you’ll be able to set RDS Customized automation mode to Paused with the pause length that you really want (in minutes, default 60 minutes to 1,440 minutes most).

Excessive Availability (HA): To assist replication between RDS Customized for SQL Server cases, you’ll be able to configure HA with At all times On Availability Teams (AGs). We advocate that you just arrange the first DB occasion to synchronously replicate knowledge to the standby cases in numerous Availability Zones (AZs) to be resilient to AZ failures. Furthermore, you’ll be able to migrate knowledge by configuring HA in your on-premises occasion after which failing over or switching over to the RDS Customized standby database.

Customized DB Administration: Identical to Amazon RDS, RDS Customized for SQL Server creates automated backups taking a snapshot of an Amazon RDS DB occasion. Incremental snapshots are used to revive DB cases to a particular cut-off date. Moreover, all modifications and customizations to the underlying working system are routinely logged for audit functions utilizing Techniques Supervisor and AWS CloudTrail. See Troubleshooting an Amazon RDS Customized for DB occasion within the Amazon RDS Consumer Information to study extra.

Out there Now
Amazon RDS Customized for SQL Server is now obtainable within the US East (Ohio), US East (N. Virginia), US West (Oregon), Asia Pacific (Singapore), Asia Pacific (Sydney), Asia Pacific (Tokyo), EU (Frankfurt), EU (Eire), and EU (Stockholm) Areas.

Have a look at the product web page and documentation of Amazon RDS Customized to study extra. Please ship us suggestions both within the AWS discussion board for Amazon RDS or by way of your normal AWS assist contacts.

— Channy