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Connect to an Amazon RDS MariaDB Database

Amazon RDS currently supports a number of database engines, including MariaDB. Amazon Relational Database Service makes it easy to configure, operate, and scale MariaDB server deployments in the cloud.

With Amazon RDS, you can quickly deploy MariaDB cloud databases that are easy to manage and scale. Amazon RDS for MariaDB attracts users with enhanced performance, simplified security, and high availability.

This guide is intended for developers, database administrators, and IT professionals who need to establish a secure and reliable connection to an Amazon RDS MariaDB database. We're going to show how to significantly simplify the connection process to an Amazon RDS MariaDB database using dbForge Studio for MySQL. The tool supports secure SSL connections, helps manage authentication settings, and offers built-in features to test and troubleshoot connectivity. Once connected, dbForge Studio for MySQL allows users to efficiently explore database objects, execute queries, manage user accounts, and perform other administrative tasks.

What is Amazon RDS MariaDB?

Amazon RDS is a cloud service that simplifies the setup, management, and scaling of relational databases such as MariaDB. Unlike self-managed MariaDB servers, which require you to manage hardware provisioning, software installation, backups, and maintenance, Amazon RDS automates these processes so you can focus on developing your applications.

Amazon RDS offers several key benefits for administering your MariaDB servers. It provides automated backups, built-in high availability with Multi-AZ deployments, scalability of compute and storage, and enhanced security features such as encryption and network isolation. Additionally, Amazon RDS integrates with AWS monitoring and management tools to maintain optimal performance and reliability. This minimizes downtime and accelerates time-to-market for your database-powered applications.

Best practices for managing MariaDB on Amazon RDS

We've collected several recommendations for managing MariaDB on Amazon RDS that are basic but very important.

  • Configure automated backups with an appropriate retention period and regularly test your restore process.
  • Monitor performance using CloudWatch and Performance Insights. Pay attention to CPU, memory, storage, and query execution.
  • Enable Multi-AZ deployment for high availability and automatic failover.
  • Start by selecting an instance type that matches your workload requirements. You can use smaller instances for development and larger, performance-optimized ones for production.
  • Establish SSL connections and IAM authentication to secure your database.
  • Enable autoscaling and archive unused data to avoid capacity issues.

How to deploy a MariaDB database instance on Amazon RDS


Step 1. Open the Amazon RDS console

To begin, sign in to the AWS Management Console. You will see the window as shown in the screenshot.

Next, find RDS under Database and click it to open the Amazon RDS Console, which provides access to the Amazon Relational Database Service.

Amazon RDS Console

Step 2. Create an Amazon
MariaDB instance

In this step, you will need to choose a database creation method, engine type, and version.

Note
When selecting the Standard database creation method, you will have the opportunity to configure database options, including advanced settings.

Next, choose the MariaDB engine and select its version in the drop-down list. In this example, we'll select version 10.2.21 for our AWS MariaDB instance.

Creating AWS MariaDB

Step 3. Select a template

Now, select a sample template for your future MariaDB instance on Amazon RDS.

Depending on your production needs, select Production, Dev/Test, or Free tier.

Under the AWS Free Tier offer, you receive 750 hours of RDS usage, 20 GB of storage, 10 million I/Os and 20 GB for backups per month.

Select MariaDB on AWS template

Step 4.1. Provide settings for your MariaDB on AWS

In this step, specify the instance settings that meet
your requirements.

First, create a DB instance identifier and provide your master username and password, which you will use later when connecting to Amazon RDS via dbForge Studio for MySQL.

AWS MariaDB settings

Step 4.2. Continue configuring your MariaDB instance

Next, define your future Amazon MariaDB instance size and storage options.

Choose a DB instance class, storage type, and allocated storage that best suit your needs.

Note
You can scale up the allocated storage to a maximum of 16 TB with Amazon RDS for MariaDB.
Continue configuring AWS MariaDB

Step 4.3. Specify connectivity options

You are now in the Connectivity section, where you can provide all the necessary connectivity configurations for your MariaDB instance on AWS RDS.

Note
You cannot change Virtual Private Cloud after the database is created.
AWS MariaDB settings

Step 5. Specify advanced settings for your MariaDB on AWS

On Additional configuration, you can provide extra information that AWS RDS needs to launch your MariaDB DB instance.

In the Maintenance section, we recommend selecting Enable auto minor version upgrade to receive automatic updates when they become available.

Note
If the Enable deletion protection option is enabled, you won't be able to delete the created database.
MariaDB on AWS. Advanced settings

Step 6. Start the MariaDB instance
on AWS

Once all the settings are configured, click Launch
DB Instance.

After the instance process is complete (which may take some time), you can see the status and other configuration details in the corresponding window, as shown in the screenshot.

To see the details of your MariaDB instance, simply click the DB instance name.

Review the details and click Create database.

View the created AWS MariaDB database

Step 7. View MariaDB instance details

The dashboard (as shown in the screenshot) provides information about recent events, including memory and CPU utilization, DB connections, and more.

Switch between the tabs to find the information you need.

If the instance status is Available, that means the database instance has been deployed and you can use dbForge Studio for MySQL to connect to Amazon RDS.

View MariaDB instance details

Using dbForge Studio for MySQL to connect to Amazon RDS MariaDB database instance

Connect to an Amazon RDS
MariaDB database

dbForge Studio for MySQL, which is tailored to suit the specific needs of SQL developers, allows connecting to an Amazon RDS MariaDB instance quickly and easily.

1. In Database Explorer, click New Connection. Alternatively, you can select Database > New Connection.

2. In the Database Connection Properties window, specify the connection type, enter the host name, port, username, and password.

3. To verify the connection to AWS RDS MariaDB, click Test Connection.

4. To establish the connection, click Connect.

Use dbForge Studio for MySQL to connect to MariaDB database

Currently, Amazon RDS supports database engines such as Amazon Aurora, MySQL, MariaDB, PostgreSQL, Oracle, and Microsoft SQL Server. You can find detailed information about how to connect to an Amazon RDS MySQL Database.

It is also worth mentioning that dbForge Studio for MySQL offers broad compatibility and connectivity options that extend beyond Amazon RDS support.

How to create and connect to AWS RDS MySQL with dbForge Studio for MySQL

Conclusion

As you can see, with dbForge Studio for MySQL, you can easily connect to an Amazon RDS MariaDB database. The process is quick and can be completed in just a few clicks. After you deploy the MariaDB instance on Amazon RDS, you can proceed to manage and modify databases. dbForge Studio for MySQL is a great helper for building queries, measuring and improving performance, comparing data and schemas, importing and exporting data, and much more!

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