How to Use Redshift Enterprise Edition in PostgreSQL

How do I launch and use Amazon Redshift Enterprise Edition securely?

Redshift Enterprise Edition is a higher-tier Amazon Redshift deployment that adds encryption, VPC isolation, and advanced auditing while keeping full PostgreSQL-compatible SQL.

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Description

Example H2

Example H3

What problems does Redshift Enterprise Edition solve?

Enterprise Edition locks data at rest with AWS KMS encryption, isolates traffic in a dedicated VPC, and exposes audit logs to CloudTrail. Teams handling PII, PCI, or HIPAA data meet compliance without changing SQL code.

How do I launch an Enterprise Edition cluster?

In the AWS Console choose Amazon Redshift → Create cluster, pick an RA3 or DC2 node type, then set Edition to Enterprise. CLI users run aws redshift create-cluster --cluster-type multi-node --node-type ra3.large --master-username admin --master-user-password ****** --cluster-identifier sales-ee --encrypted --skip-final-cluster-snapshot false.

How do I connect with PostgreSQL tools?

Enterprise Edition keeps the same JDBC/ODBC endpoints. Point any PostgreSQL-compatible client (psql, Galaxy, DataGrip) to sales-ee.abc123.us-east-1.redshift.amazonaws.com:5439/dev using the master or IAM-auth user.

What SQL syntax changes should I know?

No new SQL keywords exist—Enterprise Edition supports standard Redshift SQL. You can still CREATE TABLE, COPY, and UNLOAD just as on Standard Edition.

How do I encrypt ecommerce tables?

All user tables inherit cluster-level encryption automatically. No extra SQL is required. Verify with SELECT colname, encrypted FROM pg_table_def WHERE tablename = 'customers';.

How do I grant fine-grained access?

Create groups and assign schema privileges:

CREATE GROUP analysts; GRANT USAGE ON SCHEMA public TO analysts; GRANT SELECT ON ALL TABLES IN SCHEMA public TO analysts; ALTER DEFAULT PRIVILEGES IN SCHEMA public GRANT SELECT ON TABLES TO analysts;

How do I audit query activity?

Enable useractivitylog and ship logs to CloudWatch:

ALTER SYSTEM SET enable_user_activity_logging = true;

Use CloudWatch Insights to filter suspicious DDL or large scans.

Best practices for performance & cost

Pick RA3 nodes to decouple compute from storage, keep sortkey/distkey aligned with filter columns, run VACUUM/ANALYZE after heavy loads, and pause/resume clusters on schedules.

Why How to Use Redshift Enterprise Edition in PostgreSQL is important

How to Use Redshift Enterprise Edition in PostgreSQL Example Usage


-- Top-10 customers by lifetime spend in Enterprise Edition
SELECT c.id,
       c.name,
       SUM(o.total_amount) AS lifetime_value
FROM   Customers  c
JOIN   Orders     o ON o.customer_id = c.id
GROUP  BY c.id, c.name
ORDER  BY lifetime_value DESC
LIMIT  10;

How to Use Redshift Enterprise Edition in PostgreSQL Syntax


-- Syntax: creating a secure, encrypted table in Enterprise Edition
CREATE TABLE Customers (
    id            BIGINT IDENTITY PRIMARY KEY,
    name          VARCHAR(255),
    email         VARCHAR(255),
    created_at    TIMESTAMP DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP
) DISTKEY(id) SORTKEY(created_at);

-- Copying data securely from S3 with KMS
COPY Customers
FROM 's3://company-data/customers/'
IAM_ROLE 'arn:aws:iam::123456789012:role/RedshiftCopyRole'
KMS_KEY_ID 'arn:aws:kms:us-east-1:123456789012:key/abcd-efgh-ijkl'
FORMAT AS JSON 'auto';

Common Mistakes

Launching Standard Edition by accident. Always verify the <em>Edition</em> field when creating the cluster or use <code>--encrypted</code> + RA3/DC2 in the CLI.
Assuming table-level encryption is manual. Enterprise Edition encrypts all objects automatically—no need for <code>ENCRYPTED</code> clauses.