🟦 Getting Started with Amazon RDS — My First Cloud Database Adventure

I recently started exploring AWS cloud services as a beginner, and one of the most exciting things I discovered was Amazon RDS (Relational Database Service). I’ve always used databases locally, but the idea of spinning up a fully-managed cloud database (without worrying about installation or updates) felt powerful.

So, I decided to try it out — using the AWS Free Tier — and here’s everything I learned.

🧠 What is Amazon RDS?

Amazon RDS is a managed service for running relational databases like MySQL, PostgreSQL, and MariaDB. You don’t have to manage hardware, OS patches, or backups — AWS handles it all.

For beginners like me, it’s a dream come true!

🛠️ What I Did: Spinning Up a MySQL Database (Free Tier)

Here’s how I created my first RDS instance:

1. Service Chosen: Amazon RDS → MySQL

2. Instance Type: db.t3.micro (covered under Free Tier)

3. Storage: 20 GB General Purpose (gp2) — also Free Tier

4. Public Access: Enabled (so I could connect from my laptop)

5. Security Group: Allowed My IP address on port 3306

6. Backup & Monitoring: I kept the defaults to keep it simple.

After 5-10 minutes, the DB was ready. 🎉

🔗 Using SQLectron with Amazon RDS

1. Install SQLectron
   Download it from https://github.com/sqlectron/sqlectron-gui — it's available for Windows, macOS, and Linux.

2. Create a New Connection Use the following fields:

   • Client: MySQL

   • Name: (Any name)

   • Host: RDS endpoint (from AWS console)

   • Port: 3306

   • User: Your DB username

   • Password: The one you set

   • Database: Optional (you can leave it blank and choose after connecting)

3. Security Group Tip
   Make sure your RDS security group allows your local IP on port 3306 (MySQL’s default port). Without this, the connection will fail.

4. Connect & Start Exploring
   Once connected, you can:

   • Browse tables

   • Write SQL queries

   • Test data insertions

💡 Lessons I Learned

• AWS Free Tier gives you 750 hrs/month of db.t3.micro — so one DB running full-time is free.

• Always check inbound rules in your Security Group.

• Managed databases are slower to start, but once up, super stable.

• You can easily enable backups and snapshots for safety.