RDS and Aurora Backup & Restore Options

1. Automated Backups

RDS automatically performs daily full backups and saves transaction logs every 5 minutes.

Key Features

• Point-in-time recovery up to 5 minutes ago.
• Retention period: 1 to 35 days (configurable).
• Can be disabled (by setting retention to 0).
• Aurora Difference: Automated backups cannot be disabled.

2. Manual DB Snapshots

Snapshots are user-triggered backups that can be retained indefinitely.

Key Benefits

• Unlike automated backups, manual snapshots do not expire.
• Cost-saving trick:
  • If you use an RDS instance only a few hours per month, take a snapshot, delete the instance, and restore it later when needed.
  • Snapshots cost less than an active database's storage.

3. Restore Options

Restoring from RDS or Aurora Backups

• Restoring from automated backups or manual snapshots creates a new database instance.
• Cannot restore to an existing database—always creates a new instance.

Restoring from Amazon S3 (MySQL Only)

Restoring to RDS MySQL

1. Backup your on-premises MySQL database.