Running Databases on EC2

When to do it:

  • You have to run a database or database version that AWS don't support.

  • You have access to the operating system of the database.

  • You have to configure some advanced database settings which aren't available with managed databases.

  • You need a specific OS and Database combination.

Disadvantages:

  • You have to manage EC2 and the Database host, which is just increased admin overhead.

  • You have to backup manually.

  • EC2 is only in one Availability Zone, so it is not very highly available.

  • You are missing out on features from pre-existing AWS database services.

  • There is no seamless scaling.

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