Amazon RDS for Db2 FAQs

Amazon Relational Database Service (Amazon RDS) for Db2 is a fully managed, highly available, and secure relational database engine that makes it easy to set up, operate, and scale Db2 deployments in the cloud.

You can get started by using the AWS Management Console, the AWS Command Line Interface (AWS CLI), or AWS CloudFormation to create a new Amazon RDS for Db2 database instance. For more information, visit the Amazon RDS interface documentation.

You can manage your instances with the AWS Management Console or AWS CLI. You can also monitor your RDS instance performance using Amazon CloudWatch and events and log activities with Amazon RDS Enhanced Monitoring.

Amazon RDS for Db2 supports Db2 Standard and Advanced editions of Db2 v11.5.9 for Linux, Unix, and Windows (LUW) databases.

If you are on v11.1, Amazon RDS for Db2 supports migrations through backup and restore from a snapshot of v11.1 to an Amazon RDS for Db2 instance. If you are on an older version than v11.1, we recommend you upgrade to v11.5 prior to migrating to Amazon RDS for Db2.

Amazon RDS for Db2 offers a Bring Your Own License (BYOL) model and the ability to subscribe to hourly licenses through the AWS Marketplace. With BYOL, you can use an existing Db2 license with Amazon RDS, whereas licensing through the AWS Marketplace are new Db2 licenses and you pay only for what you use with an hourly rate per core.

Yes, you can switch between BYOL and licensing through the AWS Marketplace using point-in-time restore and selecting the license type of your choice when you restore. Note, downtime is required when switching licensing types.

Yes, you can switch between Db2 Standard and Advanced Editions using a point-in-time restore and selecting the edition of your choice when you restore. Note, downtime is required when switching your database edition.

With minor version upgrades, you can choose to manually modify the engine version or enable the automatic minor version upgrade.

Amazon RDS for Db2 offers Multi-AZ deployment with one standby in a different Availability Zone (AZ) but in the same AWS Region as your primary database. It uses synchronous replication to keep data in your standby database up to date. In the event of a failure, the primary database will failover to the standby database with zero data loss and no manual intervention in as little as 60 seconds.

Amazon RDS for Db2 automatically takes storage-level snapshots on a daily basis. Archive logs are extracted and uploaded every 5 minutes. Snapshots are retained for up to 35 days. Snapshots can be used to recover the database management system (DBMS) or create a copy of the DBMS in a different Region with point-in-time recovery (PITR). Note: AWS automatic snapshots cannot be exported outside of AWS.

We support local user authentication and AWS Managed Microsoft Active Directory (AD) with Kerberos.

Amazon RDS Enhanced Monitoring and CloudWatch are supported with Amazon RDS for Db2. Db2 diagnostic logs are available in CloudWatch. See Monitoring Metrics in a DB Instance for more information. You can also use IBM Data Management Console (DMC) to monitor Amazon RDS for Db2 instances.

Yes, Amazon RDS for Db2 supports PITR in the same Region.

Yes, Amazon RDS for Db2 supports encryption at rest using AWS Key Management Service (AWS KMS). You can bring your own encryption keys. Amazon RDS for Db2 offers additional features, including encryption in transit and network isolation using Amazon Virtual Private Cloud (Amazon VPC). To learn more about Amazon RDS security features, visit Amazon RDS Security.