How to Deploy MariaDB on AWS

Why deploy MariaDB on AWS?

Running MariaDB on AWS offloads backups, patching, failover, and hardware scaling to Amazon, letting developers focus on schema design and query performance.

How do I create an RDS MariaDB instance with the AWS CLI?

Use aws rds create-db-instance to provision a managed server, choose instance class, storage, network, and encryption options in one command.

aws rds create-db-instance \
--db-instance-identifier ecommerce-mariadb \
--db-instance-class db.t3.medium \
--engine mariadb \
--allocated-storage 20 \
--master-username admin \
--master-user-password "S3curePass!" \
--backup-retention-period 7 \
--vpc-security-group-ids sg-0123456789abcdef \
--db-subnet-group-name private-subnets \
--multi-az

How do I connect from my workstation?

After the instance becomes available, copy the endpoint from the RDS console and connect with any MariaDB client: mysql -h ecommerce-mariadb.abc123.us-east-1.rds.amazonaws.com -u admin -p.

What initial schema should I create?

Create familiar ecommerce tables so team members instantly know the data model, then apply constraints and indexes for performance.

CREATE TABLE Customers (
id INT PRIMARY KEY AUTO_INCREMENT,
name VARCHAR(255) NOT NULL,
email VARCHAR(255) UNIQUE,
created_at DATETIME DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP
);

CREATE TABLE Orders (
id INT PRIMARY KEY AUTO_INCREMENT,
customer_id INT NOT NULL,
order_date DATE,
total_amount DECIMAL(10,2),
FOREIGN KEY (customer_id) REFERENCES Customers(id)
);

CREATE TABLE Products (
id INT PRIMARY KEY AUTO_INCREMENT,
name VARCHAR(255),
price DECIMAL(10,2),
stock INT
);

CREATE TABLE OrderItems (
id INT PRIMARY KEY AUTO_INCREMENT,
order_id INT,
product_id INT,
quantity INT,
FOREIGN KEY (order_id) REFERENCES Orders(id),
FOREIGN KEY (product_id) REFERENCES Products(id)
);

How do I migrate an existing database?

Dump the on-premise schema with mysqldump --single-transaction, gzip it, upload to S3, then import from an EC2 jump host or AWS Database Migration Service.

Which performance settings should I tweak first?

Enable GeneralLog=0, raise innodb_buffer_pool_size to 70-80 % of RAM, and configure performance_schema only for troubleshooting to avoid overhead.

How do I automate daily snapshots?

Set --backup-retention-period at creation or modify the instance later. AWS keeps N days of snapshots and allows point-in-time restores.

What security best practices apply?

Place the RDS instance in private subnets, require TLS (rds.force_ssl=1), rotate credentials with AWS Secrets Manager, and restrict inbound traffic to trusted CIDRs.

Common mistakes and how to fix them

Creating a public RDS instance

Leaving --publicly-accessible set to true exposes the database to the internet. Recreate or modify the instance with private subnets only.

Using the default security group

The default group often allows broad access. Create a dedicated group allowing port 3306 only from application subnets or a bastion host.

Frequently asked questions

Is MariaDB free on AWS?

MariaDB software is open-source, but AWS charges for compute, storage, backups, and data transfer.

Can I enable multi-AZ after launch?

Yes. Modify the instance, set --multi-az to true, and AWS will create a synchronous standby in another Availability Zone.