Hands-on Lab

Create and
Configure an
RDS Database
with Backup
Solutions
Contents Related Courses

Check VPC Configuration 1

AWS Certified
Configure RDS Subnets 1 Solution Architect -
Associate
Launch RDS Instance 1

Check Network Rules 2

Related Videos
Create Snapshots 3

Create a Read Replica 3 RDS Essentials

Promote a Replica 3

Delete the Primary Instance 4 Need Help?

Create an Instance from a Snapshot 4

Review 4 Linux Academy

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Lab Connection Information

• Labs may take up to five minutes to build
• Access to an AWS Console is provided on the Hands-
on Lab page, along with your login credentials
• Ensure you are using the N. Virginia region
• Labs will automatically end once the alloted amount
of time finishes
Create and Configure an RDS Database with Backup Solutions Linux Academy

In this lab, we’ll learn how to create an RDS MySQL database, configure a subnet group and security group,
and set up a read replica to serve as a backup solution.

To get started, log in to the AWS console with the credentials provided on the Hands-On Lab page. Once
we’re logged in, we’ll navigate to the VPC Dashboard.

Check VPC Configuration

From the menu on the left, select Your VPCs. There may be a few leftover VPCs from others who have
used this lab environment, but we’ll be looking for the one named LinuxAcademy.

Next, we’ll click the Subnets section from the menu on the left. There should be two subnets associated
with the LinuxAcademy VPC. In the bottom pane on this screen, we’ll select the Route Table tab for each
one and ensure that it contains a route to an internet gateway (the Target should begin with igw-).

Once we’ve checked our VPC’s configuration, we’re ready to start working with the RDS.

Configure RDS Subnets

Return to the AWS Services Console and select RDS under the Database section. Before we set up the
database itself, we’ll need to configure the subnets it can use, so we’ll select Subnet Groups from the menu
on the left.

We may see some leftover subnet groups in the list, but we’ll create our own by clicking the Create DB
Subnet Group button at the top of the page.

In the Name field, enter MyLabSnGroup. We can use this for the Description as well.

From the VPC dropdown menu, be sure to select the LinuxAcademy VPC that was created for this lab
environment. Next, we need to add both subnets to the group. If we’re not sure of their availability zones,
we can select each availability zone from the dropdown until we find the subnet, then click Add.

Once both subnets have been added to the group, click Create.

Launch RDS Instance

Next, we’ll navigate to Instances from the sidebar menu and click the Launch DB Instance. We’ll see a
list of database engines to choose from; for this lab, we’ll be using MySQL.

On the next screen, we’ll have the choice of a production or dev/test environment. We’ll select the Dev/Test
option for this lab, and click Next Step.

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Create and Configure an RDS Database with Backup Solutions Linux Academy

The next screen will allow us to set database details. To make things simple, we’ll first check the box to
Only show options that are eligible for RDS free tier. Select the t2.micro option from the DB Instance
Class menu.

Under the Settings section below, we’ll enter MyLabDBInstance as the DB Instance Identifier. For the
Master Username and Master Password, enter values that are secure and memorable. We will need these
later, so it might be a good idea to write them down. Once we’re done here, we’ll click Next Step.

On the Configure Advanced Settings screen, we’ll start with the Network & Security section. From
the VPC menu, select the LinuxAcademy VPC we looked at earlier. We’ll also select our subnet group
MyLabSnGroup from the Subnet Group menu. For this lab, we’ll set Publicly Accessible to Yes, and
choose either of the availability zones. In the VPC Security Group setting, make sure that Create new
Security Group is highlighted.

In the Database Options section, we’ll first set our Database Name. This will be the name of the database
itself, not the instance. For this lab, we’ll call it MyLabDatabase. Make sure that the port is set to 3306, and
leave the rest of the settings at their default values.

We won’t be configuring Backup, Monitoring, or Maintenance for this lab, but take a moment to look
over the options available in these sections. Finally, click Launch DB Instance.

Check Network Rules

After our instance is created, we should see it on the Instances screen with a status of available.

When we select our database, we’ll see an expanded panel with three tabs on the left side. If we click on
the top tab, we’re able to review its statistics and get its endpoint URL. Next, we can click the middle tab to
see configuration details and security and network information. Under the Security and Network heading,
click the link next to Security Groups.

A new tab will open, showing the RDS instance’s security group.

Next, we’ll go back to the VPC Dashboard and navigate to the Network ACLs screen. From this list, we
should see an access control list with our two subnets associated. Select this ACL, and choose the Inbound
Rules tab in the pane at the bottom of the page.

What we’re looking for here is port 3306 to be open to inbound traffic. This will usually fall under a Custom
TCP Rule with a range that includes 3306 and is marked ALLOW. When we see this, it means our database
is accepting connections on the correct port.

We can also check the Outbound Rules to make sure the instance allows outbound traffic on port 3306.
Once we confirm this, we can close the browser tab.

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Create and Configure an RDS Database with Backup Solutions Linux Academy

Create Snapshots
Back in the RDS Dashboard, we’ll select Snapshots from the sidebar. We’ll see that a snapshot has
already been taken automatically, and we can also create manual snapshots. Let’s explore this by clicking
Create DB Snapshot at the top of the page.

Enter myfirstsnap as the Snapshot Name, then click Create. Next, we’ll see another snapshot in our list,
with a status of creating. If we select it, we’ll see that the Snapshot Type is manual.

Create a Read Replica

To create a read replica, let’s head back to the Instances screen and select our RDS instance. At the top,
we’ll see a dropdown titled Instance Actions. From that menu, select Create Read Replica.

Next, we’ll configure the replica instance. Make sure that the Read Replica Source is set to the RDS
instance we created, and set the DB Instance Identifier to MyReadReplicaInstance.

Set Publicly Accessible to Yes and choose an availability zone. For this lab, it doesn’t matter which one you
choose since both options will match those that we set when creating our subnet group.

The Database Port should be 3306 by default, but it’s a good idea for us to stop for a moment and check to
make sure it’s correct. The rest of the settings on this page will be left in their default states.

At this point, if we click Create Read Replica, we may encounter an error: DB instance is not in the
available state... This will happen if we finish configuring the read replica instance before our manual
snapshot has completed. Many backup operations are not available to be run concurrently, and it’s good to
keep this in mind when setting automatic snapshots or creating new read replicas in the future.

If this error appears, wait for the backup to complete. Once the RDS instance’s Status shows as available,
we can select Create Read Replica from the Instance Actions menu and set it up again. When we’re done,
we’ll click Create Read Replica.

Return to the Instances screen, and we’ll see a new read replica instance being created.

Promote a Replica
Once both the original and replica RDS instances have a Status of available, we can proceed.

If we scroll right on the Instances page, we’ll see the Replication Role field. The original, or primary,
instance will have a role of master and the replica will be replica.

Select the replica instance, click the Instance Actions dropdown menu, and choose Promote Read Replica.

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Create and Configure an RDS Database with Backup Solutions Linux Academy

On the next screen, we’ll see some configuration options. We’ll select Yes for Enable Automatic Backups,
since the replica will become a primary and it’s a good idea to keep backups of our primary data sources.
We’ll also increase the Backup Retention Period to 7 days so it matches that of our existing primary.
When we’re done, we’ll click Continue.

After reading the information on the next screen, click Promote Read Replica. The promotion will take a
few minutes.

Delete the Primary Instance

Now that our replica has been promoted, we may no longer need the original primary instance. To delete it,
we can select it on the Instances page, and choose Delete from the Instance Actions menu.

A warning will appear, telling us that _automated_ snapshots will be deleted along with the instance
itself. However, _manual_ snapshots will not. This difference can be extremely important when deleting
production databases.

Once we’ve read the warning and made sure we understand the consequences, we can click the Delete
button.

Create an Instance from a Snapshot

Next, we’ll choose Snapshots from the sidebar to see that our automated snapshots have been deleted,
but our manual snapshot remains. If we want to use it to create a new instance, we can select our manual
snapshot, click the Snapshot Actions menu at the top of the page, and select Restore Snapshot.

This will take us to another configuration screen like the ones we’ve seen before. From here, we can fill out
the fields and launch the instance, but we don’t need to do so to complete this lab.

Review
In this lab, we created a subnet group, created and configured an RDS instance, launched a read replica,
promoted the replica to a primary instance, deleted the original primary, and retained snapshots--just in
case! With this information, you now have a solid basis for understanding RDS database configuration and
management.

Congratulations! You’ve completed the lab on creating and configuring an RDS database with backup
solutions.

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