Using Aurora PostgreSQL extensions with Babelfish - Amazon Aurora

Using Aurora PostgreSQL extensions with Babelfish

Aurora PostgreSQL provides extensions for working with other AWS services. These are optional extensions that support various use cases, such as using Amazon S3 with your DB cluster for importing or exporting data.

  • To import data from an Amazon S3 bucket to your Babelfish DB cluster, you set up the aws_s3 Aurora PostgreSQL extension. This extension also lets you export data from your Aurora PostgreSQL DB cluster to an Amazon S3 bucket.

  • AWS Lambda is a compute service that lets you run code without provisioning or managing servers. You can use Lambda functions to do things like process event notifications from your DB instance. To learn more about Lambda, see What is AWS Lambda? in the AWS Lambda Developer Guide. To invoke Lambda functions from your Babelfish DB cluster, you set up the aws_lambda Aurora PostgreSQL extension.

To set up these extensions for your Babelfish cluster, you first need to grant permission to the internal Babelfish user to load the extensions. After granting permission, you can then load Aurora PostgreSQL extensions.

Enabling Aurora PostgreSQL extensions in your Babelfish DB cluster

Before you can load the aws_s3 or the aws_lambda extensions, you grant the needed privileges to your Babelfish DB cluster.

The procedure following uses the psql PostgreSQL command line tool to connect to the DB cluster. For more information, see Using psql to connect to the DB cluster. You can also use pgAdmin. For details, see Using pgAdmin to connect to the DB cluster.

This procedure loads both aws_s3 and aws_lambda, one after the other. You don't need to load both if you want to use only one of these extensions. The aws_commons extension is required by each, and it's loaded by default as shown in the output.

To set up your Babelfish DB cluster with privileges for the Aurora PostgreSQL extensions
  1. Connect to your Babelfish DB cluster. Use the name for the "master" user (-U) that you specified when you created the Babelfish DB cluster. The default (postgres) is shown in the examples.

    For Linux, macOS, or Unix:

    psql -h your-Babelfish.cluster.444455556666-us-east-1.rds.amazonaws.com \ -U postgres \ -d babelfish_db \ -p 5432

    For Windows:

    psql -h your-Babelfish.cluster.444455556666-us-east-1.rds.amazonaws.com ^ -U postgres ^ -d babelfish_db ^ -p 5432

    The command responds with a prompt to enter the password for the user name (-U).

    Password:

    Enter the password for the user name (-U) for the DB cluster. When you successfully connect, you see output similar to the following.

    psql (13.4) SSL connection (protocol: TLSv1.3, cipher: TLS_AES_256_GCM_SHA384, bits: 256, compression: off) Type "help" for help. postgres=>
  2. Grant privileges to the internal Babelfish user to create and load extensions.

    babelfish_db=> GRANT rds_superuser TO master_dbo; GRANT ROLE
  3. Create and load the aws_s3 extension. The aws_commons extension is required, and it's installed automatically when the aws_s3 is installed.

    babelfish_db=> create extension aws_s3 cascade; NOTICE: installing required extension "aws_commons" CREATE EXTENSION
  4. Create and load the aws_lambda extension.

    babelfish_db=> create extension aws_lambda cascade; CREATE EXTENSION babelfish_db=>

Using Babelfish with Amazon S3

If you don't already have an Amazon S3 bucket to use with your Babelfish DB cluster, you can create one. For any Amazon S3 bucket that you want to use, you provide access.

Before trying to import or export data using an Amazon S3 bucket, complete the following one-time steps.

To set up access for your Babelfish DB instance to your Amazon S3 bucket
  1. Create an Amazon S3 bucket for your Babelfish instance, if needed. To do so, follow the instructions in Create a bucket in the Amazon Simple Storage Service User Guide.

  2. Upload files to your Amazon S3 bucket. To do so, follow the steps in Add an object to a bucket in the Amazon Simple Storage Service User Guide.

  3. Set up permissions as needed:

    • To import data from Amazon S3, the Babelfish DB cluster needs permission to access the bucket. We recommend using an AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) role and attaching an IAM policy to that role for your cluster. To do so, follow the steps in Using an IAM role to access an Amazon S3 bucket.

    • To export data from your Babelfish DB cluster, your cluster must be granted access to the Amazon S3 bucket. As with importing, we recommend using an IAM role and policy. To do so, follow the steps in Setting up access to an Amazon S3 bucket.

You can now use Amazon S3 with the aws_s3 extension with your Babelfish DB cluster.

To import data from Amazon S3 to Babelfish and to export Babelfish data to Amazon S3
  1. Use the aws_s3 extension with your Babelfish DB cluster.

    When you do, make sure to reference the tables as they exist in the context of PostgreSQL. That is, if you want to import into a Babelfish table named [database].[schema].[tableA], refer to that table as database_schema_tableA in the aws_s3 function:

  2. Make sure to reference Babelfish tables using PostgreSQL naming when using the aws_s3 extension and Amazon S3, as shown in the following table.

Babelfish table

Aurora PostgreSQL table

database.schema.table

database_schema_table

To learn more about using Amazon S3 with Aurora PostgreSQL, see Importing data from Amazon S3 into an Aurora PostgreSQL DB cluster and Exporting data from an Aurora PostgreSQL DB cluster to Amazon S3.

Using Babelfish with AWS Lambda

After the aws_lambda extension is loaded in your Babelfish DB cluster but before you can invoke Lambda functions, you give Lambda access to your DB cluster by following this procedure.

To set up access for your Babelfish DB cluster to work with Lambda

This procedure uses the AWS CLI to create the IAM policy and role, and associate these with the Babelfish DB cluster.

  1. Create an IAM policy that allows access to Lambda from your Babelfish DB cluster.

    aws iam create-policy --policy-name rds-lambda-policy --policy-document '{ "Version": "2012-10-17", "Statement": [ { "Sid": "AllowAccessToExampleFunction", "Effect": "Allow", "Action": "lambda:InvokeFunction", "Resource": "arn:aws:lambda:aws-region:444455556666:function:my-function" } ] }'
  2. Create an IAM role that the policy can assume at runtime.

    aws iam create-role --role-name rds-lambda-role --assume-role-policy-document '{ "Version": "2012-10-17", "Statement": [ { "Effect": "Allow", "Principal": { "Service": "rds.amazonaws.com" }, "Action": "sts:AssumeRole" } ] }'
  3. Attach the policy to the role.

    aws iam attach-role-policy \ --policy-arn arn:aws:iam::444455556666:policy/rds-lambda-policy \ --role-name rds-lambda-role --region aws-region
  4. Attach the role to your Babelfish DB cluster

    aws rds add-role-to-db-cluster \ --db-cluster-identifier my-cluster-name \ --feature-name Lambda \ --role-arn arn:aws:iam::444455556666:role/rds-lambda-role \ --region aws-region

After you complete these tasks, you can invoke your Lambda functions. For more information and examples of setting up AWS Lambda for Aurora PostgreSQL DB cluster with AWS Lambda, see Step 2: Configure IAM for your Aurora PostgreSQL DB cluster and AWS Lambda.

To invoke a Lambda function from your Babelfish DB cluster

AWS Lambda supports functions written in Java, Node.js, Python, Ruby, and other languages. If the function returns text when invoked, you can invoke it from your Babelfish DB cluster. The following example is a placeholder python function that returns a greeting.

lambda_function.py import json def lambda_handler(event, context): #TODO implement return { 'statusCode': 200, 'body': json.dumps('Hello from Lambda!')

Currently, Babelfish doesn't support JSON. If your function returns JSON, you use a wrapper to handle the JSON. For example, say that the lambda_function.py shown preceding is stored in Lambda as my-function.

  1. Connect to your Babelfish DB cluster using the psql client (or the pgAdmin client). For more information, see Using psql to connect to the DB cluster.

  2. Create the wrapper. This example uses PostgreSQL's procedural language for SQL, PL/pgSQL. To learn more, see PL/pgSQL–SQL Procedural Language.

    create or replace function master_dbo.lambda_wrapper() returns text language plpgsql as $$ declare r_status_code integer; r_payload text; begin SELECT payload INTO r_payload FROM aws_lambda.invoke( aws_commons.create_lambda_function_arn('my-function', 'us-east-1') ,'{"body": "Hello from Postgres!"}'::json ); return r_payload ; end; $$;

    The function can now be run from the Babelfish TDS port (1433) or from the PostgreSQL port (5433).

    1. To invoke (call) this function from your PostgreSQL port:

      SELECT * from aws_lambda.invoke(aws_commons.create_lambda_function_arn('my-function', 'us-east-1'), '{"body": "Hello from Postgres!"}'::json );

      The output is similar to the following:

      status_code | payload | executed_version | log_result -------------+-------------------------------------------------------+------------------+------------ 200 | {"statusCode": 200, "body": "\"Hello from Lambda!\""} | $LATEST | (1 row)
    2. To invoke (call) this function from the TDS port, connect to the port using the SQL Server sqlcmd command line client. For details, see Using a SQL Server client to connect to your DB cluster. When connected, run the following:

      1> select lambda_wrapper(); 2> go

      The command returns output similar to the following:

      {"statusCode": 200, "body": "\"Hello from Lambda!\""}

To learn more about using Lambda with Aurora PostgreSQL, see Invoking an AWS Lambda function from an Aurora PostgreSQL DB cluster. For more information about working with Lambda functions, see Getting started with Lambda in the AWS Lambda Developer Guide.

Using pg_stat_statements in Babelfish

Babelfish for Aurora PostgreSQL supports pg_stat_statements extension from 3.3.0. To learn more, see pg_stat_statements.

For details about the version of this extension supported by Aurora PostgreSQL, see Extension versions.

Creating pg_stat_statements extension

To turn on pg_stat_statements, you must turn on the Query identifier calculation. This is done automatically if compute_query_id is set to on or auto in the parameter group. The default value of compute_query_id parameter is auto. You also need to create this extension to turn on this feature. Use the following command to install the extension from T-SQL endpoint:

1>EXEC sp_execute_postgresql 'CREATE EXTENSION pg_stat_statements WITH SCHEMA sys';

You can access the query statistics using the following query:

postgres=>select * from pg_stat_statements;
Note

During installation, if you don't provide the schema name for the extension then by default it will create it in public schema. To access it, you must use square brackets with schema qualifier as shown below:

postgres=>select * from [public].pg_stat_statements;

You can also create the extension from PSQL endpoint.

Authorizing the extension

By default, you can see the statistics for queries performed within your T-SQL database without the need of any authorization.

To access query statistics created by others, you need to have pg_read_all_stats PostgreSQL role. Follow the steps mentioned below to construct GRANT pg_read_all_stats command.

  1. In T-SQL, use the following query that returns the internal PG role name.

    SELECT rolname FROM pg_roles WHERE oid = USER_ID();
  2. Connect to Babelfish for Aurora PostgreSQL database with rds_superuser privilege and use the following command:

    GRANT pg_read_all_stats TO <rolname_from_above_query>
Example

From T-SQL endpoint:

1>SELECT rolname FROM pg_roles WHERE oid = USER_ID(); 2>go
rolname ------- master_dbo (1 rows affected)

From PSQL endpoint:

babelfish_db=# grant pg_read_all_stats to master_dbo;
GRANT ROLE

You can access the query statistics using the pg_stat_statements view:

1>create table t1(cola int); 2>go 1>insert into t1 values (1),(2),(3); 2>go
(3 rows affected)
1>select userid, dbid, queryid, query from pg_stat_statements; 2>go
userid dbid queryid query ------ ---- ------- ----- 37503 34582 6487973085327558478 select * from t1 37503 34582 6284378402749466286 SET QUOTED_IDENTIFIER OFF 37503 34582 2864302298511657420 insert into t1 values ($1),($2),($3) 10 34582 NULL <insufficient privilege> 37503 34582 5615368793313871642 SET TEXTSIZE 4096 37503 34582 639400815330803392 create table t1(cola int) (6 rows affected)

Resetting query statistics

You can use pg_stat_statements_reset() to reset the statistics gathered so far by pg_stat_statements. To learn more, see pg_stat_statements. It is currently supported through PSQL endpoint only. Connect to Babelfish for Aurora PostgreSQL with rds_superuser privilege, use the following command:

SELECT pg_stat_statements_reset();

Limitations

  • Currently, pg_stat_statements() is not supported through T-SQL endpoint. pg_stat_statements view is the recommended way to gather the statistics.

  • Some of the queries might be re-written by the T-SQL parser implemented by Aurora PostgreSQL engine, pg_stat_statements view will show the re-written query and not the original query.

    Example

    select next value for [dbo].[newCounter];

    The above query is re-written as the following in the pg_stat_statements view.

    select nextval($1);
  • Based on the execution flow of the statements, some of the queries might not be tracked by pg_stat_statements and will not be visible in the view. This includes the following statements: use dbname, goto, print, raise error, set, throw, declare cursor.

  • For CREATE LOGIN and ALTER LOGIN statements, query and queryid will not be shown. It will show insufficient privileges.

  • pg_stat_statements view always contains the below two entries, as these are executed internally by sqlcmd client.

    • SET QUOTED_IDENTIFIER OFF

    • SET TEXTSIZE 4096

Using pgvector in Babelfish

pgvector, an open-source extension, lets you search for similar data directly within your Postgres database. Babelfish now supports this extension starting with versions 15.6 and 16.2. For more information, pgvector Open source Documentation.

Prerequisites

To enable pgvector functionality, install the extension in sys schema using one of the following methods:

  • Run the following command in sqlcmd client:

    exec sys.sp_execute_postgresql 'CREATE EXTENSION vector WITH SCHEMA sys';
  • Connect to babelfish_db and run the following command in psql client:

    CREATE EXTENSION vector WITH SCHEMA sys;
Note

After installing the pgvector extension, the vector data type will only be available in new database connections you establish. Existing connections won't recognize the new data type.

Supported Functionality

Babelfish extends the T-SQL functionality to support the following:

  • Storing

    Babelfish now supports vector datatype compatible syntax, enhancing its T-SQL compatibility. To learn more about storing data with pgvector, see Storing.

  • Querying

    Babelfish expands T-SQL expression support to include vector similarity operators. However, for all other queries, standard T-SQL syntax is still required.

    Note

    T-SQL doesn't support Array type, and the database drivers do not have any interface to handle them. As a workaround, Babelfish uses text strings (varchar/nvarchar) to store vector data. For example, when you request a vector value [1,2,3], Babelfish will return a string '[1,2,3]' as the response. You can parse and split this string at application level as per your needs.

    To learn more about querying data with pgvector, see Querying.

  • Indexing

    T-SQL Create Index now supports USING INDEX_METHOD syntax. You can now define similarity search operator to be used on a specific column when creating an index.

    The grammar is also extended to support Vector similarity operations on the required column (Check column_name_list_with_order_for_vector grammar).

    CREATE [UNIQUE] [clustered] [COLUMNSTORE] INDEX <index_name> ON <table_name> [USING vector_index_method] (<column_name_list_with_order_for_vector>) Where column_name_list_with_order_for_vector is: <column_name> [ASC | DESC] [VECTOR_COSINE_OPS | VECTOR_IP_OPS | VECTOR_L2_OPS] (COMMA simple_column_name [ASC | DESC] [VECTOR_COSINE_OPS | VECTOR_IP_OPS | VECTOR_L2_OPS])

    To learn more about indexing data with pgvector, see Indexing.

  • Performance

    • Use SET BABELFISH_STATISTICS PROFILE ON to debug Query Plans from T-SQL endpoint.

    • Increase max_parallel_workers_get_gather using the set_config function supported in T-SQL.

    • Use IVFFlat for approximate searches. For more information, see IVFFlat.

    To improve performance with pgvector, see Performance.

Limitations

  • Babelfish doesn't support Full Text Search for Hybrid Search. For more information, see Hybrid Search.

  • Babelfish doesn't currently support re-indexing functionality. However, you can still use PostgreSQL endpoint to re-index. For more information, see Vacuuming.

Using Amazon Aurora machine learning with Babelfish

You can extend the capabilities of your Babelfish for Aurora PostgreSQL DB cluster by integrating it with Amazon Aurora machine learning. This seamless integration grants you access to a range of powerful services like Amazon Comprehend or Amazon SageMaker or Amazon Bedrock, each tailored to address distinct machine learning needs.

As a Babelfish user, you can use existing knowledge of T-SQL syntax and semantics when working with Aurora machine learning. Follow the instructions provided in the AWS documentation for Aurora PostgreSQL. For more information, see Using Amazon Aurora machine learning with Aurora PostgreSQL.

Prerequisites

  • Before trying to set up your Babelfish for Aurora PostgreSQL DB cluster to use Aurora machine learning, you must understand the related requirements and prerequisites. For more information, see Requirements for using Aurora machine learning with Aurora PostgreSQL.

  • Make sure you install the aws_ml extension either using Postgres endpoint or the sp_execute_postgresql store procedure.

    exec sys.sp_execute_postgresql 'Create Extension aws_ml'
    Note

    Currently Babelfish doesn't support cascade operations with sp_execute_postgresql in Babelfish. Since aws_ml relies on aws_commons, you'll need to install it separately using Postgres endpoint.

    create extension aws_common;

Handling T-SQL syntax and semantics with aws_ml functions

The following examples explains how T-SQL syntax and semantics are applied to the Amazon ML services:

Example : aws_bedrock.invoke_model – A simple query using Amazon Bedrock functions
aws_bedrock.invoke_model( model_id varchar, content_type text, accept_type text, model_input text) Returns Varchar(MAX)

The following example shows how to invoke a Anthropic Claude 2 model for Bedrock using invoke_model.

SELECT aws_bedrock.invoke_model ( 'anthropic.claude-v2', -- model_id 'application/json', -- content_type 'application/json', -- accept_type '{"prompt": "\n\nHuman: You are a helpful assistant that answers questions directly and only using the information provided in the context below. \nDescribe the answerin detail.\n\nContext: %s \n\nQuestion: %s \n\nAssistant:","max_tokens_to_sample":4096,"temperature" :0.5,"top_k":250,"top_p":0.5,"stop_sequences":[]}' -- model_input );
Example : aws_comprehend.detect_sentiment – A simple query using Amazon Comprehend functions
aws_comprehend.detect_sentiment( input_text varchar, language_code varchar, max_rows_per_batch int) Returns table (sentiment varchar, confidence real)

The following example shows how to invoke the Amazon Comprehend service.

select sentiment from aws_comprehend.detect_sentiment('This is great', 'en');
Example : aws_sagemaker.invoke_endpoint – A simple query using Amazon SageMaker functions
aws_sagemaker.invoke_endpoint( endpoint_name varchar, max_rows_per_batch int, VARIADIC model_input "any") -- Babelfish inherits PG's variadic parameter type Rerurns Varchar(MAX)

Since model_input is marked as VARIADIC and of type “any”, users can pass a list of any length and any datatype to the function which will act as the input the input to the model. The following example shows how to invoke the Amazon SageMaker service.

SELECT CAST (aws_sagemaker.invoke_endpoint( 'sagemaker_model_endpoint_name', NULL, arg1, arg2 -- model inputs are separate arguments ) AS INT) -- cast the output to INT

For more detailed information on using Aurora machine learning with Aurora PostgreSQL, see Using Amazon Aurora machine learning with Aurora PostgreSQL.

Limitations

  • While Babelfish doesn't allow creating arrays, it can still handle data that represents arrays. When you use functions like aws_bedrock.invoke_model_get_embeddings that return arrays, the results is delivered as a string containing the array elements.