Level 2 · Systems

Managed relational databases

The database is the part you least want to run yourself and the part hardest to move later. Multi-AZ and read replicas look similar in the console and solve completely different problems.

45 minRDS0% completeAssumes you have done: The network your resources live in

Chapters

How RDS keeps databases onlineHigh availability is not performance, and understanding how RDS replicates data and manages DNS failover is critical for designing resilient database tiers.14 minFoundationsUnder the hood
Why read replicas are not failover targetsReplicating data asynchronously allows you to scale read workloads, but read replicas cannot protect your application from a database write failure.14 minFoundationsUnder the hood

The path

When & whyWhen to reach for RDSYou need a fully managed relational SQL database that handles replication, backups, and minor engine updates.
ExperimentFailure domain experimentTake one zone offline and inspect remaining capacity.