Welcome to the guide on Amazon RDS best practices! I'll explore key aspects of Security, Performance, Cost Optimization, and Governance and Compliance to optimize your AWS Relational Database Service deployment.

Security

1. Enable encryption at rest with AWS Key Management Service (KMS) and enforce SSL/TLS connections for data safety.

2. Configure security groups to limit access and use IAM roles for database access control.

3. Activate database logs and monitor them through Amazon CloudWatch Logs for security and troubleshooting.

4. Deploy RDS instances within a Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) for network isolation.

Performance

1. Select the optimal RDS instance type based on workload requirements and utilize Amazon Aurora for enhanced performance.

2. Use Amazon RDS Performance Insights for SQL query optimization and connection pooling with Amazon RDS Proxy.

3. Enable Amazon RDS Enhanced Monitoring for performance metrics and regularly analyze and optimize database indexes.

4. Utilize Amazon ElastiCache for caching and periodically right-size instances to maintain optimal performance and cost efficiency.

Cost Optimization

1. Purchase RDS Reserved Instances and enable storage auto-scaling to reduce costs.

2. Track spending trends with AWS Cost Explorer and periodically review and delete unnecessary backups to minimize storage costs.

3. Leverage AWS Savings Plans for predictable workloads and temporarily stop RDS instances during inactivity to save costs.

4. Monitor AWS Trusted Advisor or AWS Compute Optimizer for RDS instance sizing recommendations.

Governance and Compliance

1. Use AWS Config for compliance monitoring and enable Amazon RDS audit logging for activity tracking.

2. Access AWS Artifact for audit reports and classify data stored in RDS instances based on sensitivity.

3. Regularly review and update IAM policies to ensure alignment with security requirements and compliance obligations.

4. Implement a consistent tagging strategy for RDS resources and integrate RDS with Amazon Macie for data protection.

Stay tuned for next guide on Architecture, Automation and Integration, and Data Management. I'd love to hear your thoughts on these tips, so feel free to share your suggestions or experiences! For further assistance with AWS RDS, do not hesitate to contact us.

For the full list of 100 recommendations, please refer to LinkedIn post RDS Best Practices.