Databases on AWS

Definition: AWS runs databases for you so you do not manage servers, backups, or patching. The two you will meet most are RDS (relational/SQL) and DynamoDB (NoSQL).

Amazon RDS — managed SQL databases

RDS runs familiar SQL engines — MySQL, PostgreSQL, MariaDB, SQL Server, Oracle — and handles backups, updates, and scaling. If you know SQL, you can use RDS straight away. Great for structured data and traditional applications.

Amazon DynamoDB — managed NoSQL

DynamoDB is a key-value and document database built for massive scale and single-digit-millisecond speed. It has no fixed schema and scales effortlessly — ideal for high-traffic apps, gaming, and IoT.

Which one?

• RDS — structured data, complex queries, you want SQL
• DynamoDB — huge scale, simple lookups, flexible data, very fast

💡 Takeaway: managed databases let you focus on your app instead of database administration — a big reason teams choose the cloud.