A DB Instance is the primary building block of Amazon RDS. It represents a managed database environment running a specific database engine (e.g., MySQL, PostgreSQL, Oracle). AWS manages infrastructure tasks like provisioning, backups, and updates, enabling users to focus on database usage rather than maintenance.
| Instance Class | Purpose | Key Features | Example Use Case |
|---|---|---|---|
| Burstable (db.t series) | Cost-efficient for low or intermittent workloads | - CPU credits for burst capacity- Low cost- Limited sustained performance | Development/test environments, small blogs with low traffic |
| Standard (db.m series) | General-purpose workloads | - Balanced CPU, memory, and storage- Versatile and broadly compatible | E-commerce platforms, CRM tools |
| Memory-Optimized (db.r series) | High memory-to-CPU ratio workloads | - Suitable for in-memory databases- Handles large datasets | Analytics platforms, caching layers |
| Compute-Optimized (db.c series) | Compute-intensive workloads | - High CPU-to-memory ratio- Optimized for high compute tasks | Machine learning, real-time recommendation systems |
| Storage-Optimized (db.i series) | High I/O throughput workloads | - Optimized for fast disk throughput- Tailored for OLTP systems and time-series databases | Payment processing systems, big data storage |
| Instance Class | Relative Cost | Key Cost Considerations |
|---|---|---|
| Burstable (db.t series) | Lowest | - Pay only for burstable CPU- Ideal for low or unpredictable workloads |
| Standard (db.m series) | Moderate | - Balanced performance and cost- Suitable for most production workloads |
| Memory-Optimized (db.r series) | High | - Higher cost due to increased memory per vCPU- Designed for memory-intensive tasks |
| Compute-Optimized (db.c series) | High | - Higher cost for compute-focused workloads- Less memory relative to price |
| Storage-Optimized (db.i series) | Highest | - Expensive due to high IOPS and throughput- Specialized for large-scale storage tasks |