RDS ≠ Aurora: The costly mistakes companies make when switching from Amazon RDS to Aurora

When migrating from Amazon RDS to Aurora, many companies make the costly mistake of assuming they behave the same way in terms of I/O and storage allocation.

However, the way RDS and Aurora handle storage and I/O is totally different, which can lead to a much higher cloud bill if not properly understood.

With RDS, you pay for the allocated storage capacity, regardless of how much you actually use. The I/O performance is linked to the storage size you allocate, so to get more I/O you need to provision storage you may not need for your data.

In contrast, with Amazon Aurora:

➡ You only pay for the actual storage you use, not allocated capacity. Aurora's storage automatically grows and shrinks in reaction your needs.

➡ I/O is dependant on the workload you run and is not limited in the same way as RDS allowing you to run at full speed without I/O throttling.

➡ By default, I/O is billed per 1 million operations on Aurora whereas on RDS it's included in the storage price.

So, if you migrate from RDS to Aurora and you may end up with significantly higher I/O, leading to much bigger bills.

In addition, RDS I/O does not directly translate to Aurora I/O, so even if you take your RDS I/O metrics and plug them into the AWS Cost Calculator for Aurora you may still find your actual bills are significantly higher!

This is why I/O optimization is so important with Aurora.

This clip comes from episode 15 of Cloud Masters, where we had two AWS database specialists cover Aurora I/O optimization, moving from RDS, and design principles for Aurora databases.

Watch the full episode here:    • Amazon Aurora Deep Dive: Design, migr...  

Need personalized help with your Amazon RDS/Aurora, or with your cloud infrastructure more generally? Let's talk about how DoiT can help your team optimize performance, reduce costs, and accelerate your cloud journey. Reach out here: https://www.doit.com/contact/

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