Settings for DB instances
In the following table, you can find details about which settings you can and can't modify. You can also find when changes can be applied and whether the changes cause downtime for your DB instance. By using Amazon RDS features such as Multi-AZ, you can minimize downtime if you later modify the DB instance. For more information, see Configuring and managing a Multi-AZ deployment for Amazon RDS.
You can modify a DB instance using the console, the modify-db-instance
CLI command, or the ModifyDBInstance
RDS API operation.
Console setting and description | CLI option and RDS API parameter | When the change occurs | Downtime notes | Supported DB engines |
---|---|---|---|---|
Allocated storage The storage, in gibibytes, that you want to allocate for your DB instance. You can only increase the allocated storage. You can't reduce the allocated storage. You can't modify the storage of some older DB instances, or DB instances restored from older DB snapshots. The Allocated storage setting is disabled in the console if your DB instance isn't eligible. You can check whether you can allocate more storage by using the CLI command describe-valid-db-instance-modifications. This command returns the valid storage options for your DB instance. You can't modify allocated storage if the DB instance status is storage-optimization. You also can't modify allocated storage for a DB instance if it's been modified in the last six hours. The maximum storage allowed depends on your DB engine and the storage type. For more information, see Amazon RDS DB instance storage. |
CLI option:
RDS API parameter:
|
If you choose to apply the change immediately, it occurs immediately. If you don't choose to apply the change immediately, it occurs during the next maintenance window. |
Downtime doesn't occur during this change. Performance might be degraded during the change. |
All DB engines |
Architecture configuration A configuration that allows multiple tenant databases to reside in your DB instance. Currently, only RDS for Oracle container databases (CDBs) support this setting. If your CDB is in the single-tenant configuration, you can modify it to use the Multi-tenant configuration. In this configuration, you can use RDS APIs to create 1–30 tenant databases, depending on the database edition and any required option licenses. Application PDBs and proxy PDBs aren't supported. The multi-tenant configuration is permanent, which means that you can't later convert your CDB back to the single-tenant configuration. NoteThe Amazon RDS feature is called "multi-tenant" rather than "multitenant" because it is a capability of the RDS platform, not just the Oracle DB engine. The term "Oracle multitenant" refers exclusively to the Oracle database architecture, which is compatible with both on-premises and RDS deployments. For more information, see Overview of RDS for Oracle CDBs. |
CLI option:
API parameter:
|
The change occurs immediately. |
Downtime doesn't occur during this change. |
Oracle |
Architecture settings The architecture of the Oracle database: CDB or non-CDB. If you choose Oracle multitenant architecture, RDS for Oracle converts your non-CDB into a CDB that uses the single-tenant configuration. This setting is supported only if your database is a non-CDB running Oracle Database 19c with the April 2021 or higher RU. After conversion, your CDB contains one initial pluggable database (PDB). The architecture change is permanent, which means that you can't convert your CDB back to a non-CDB. NoteTo convert a CDB in the single-tenant configuration to the multi-tenant configuration, modify your CDB instance again and choose Multi-tenant configuration for your Architecture configuration. For more information, see Single-tenant configuration of the CDB architecture. |
CLI option:
API parameter:
|
If you choose to apply the change immediately, it occurs immediately. If you don't choose to apply the change immediately, it occurs during the next maintenance window. |
Downtime occurs during this change. |
Oracle |
Auto minor version upgrade Choose Enable auto minor version upgrade to enable your DB instance to receive preferred minor DB engine version upgrades automatically when they become available. This is the default behavior. Amazon RDS performs automatic minor version upgrades in the maintenance window. If you don't choose Enable auto minor version upgrade, your DB instance isn't upgraded automatically when new minor versions become available. For more information, see Automatically upgrading the minor engine version. |
CLI option:
RDS API parameter:
|
The change occurs immediately. This setting ignores the apply immediately setting. |
Downtime doesn't occur during this change. |
All DB engines |
Backup replication Choose Enable replication to another AWS Region to create backups in an additional Region for disaster recovery. Then choose the Destination Region for the additional backups. |
Not available when modifying a DB instance. For information on enabling cross-Region backups using the AWS CLI or RDS API, see Enabling cross-Region automated backups for Amazon RDS. |
The change is applied asynchronously, as soon as possible. |
Downtime doesn't occur during this change. |
Oracle, PostgreSQL, SQL Server |
Backup retention period The number of days that automatic backups are retained. To disable automatic backups, set the backup retention period to 0. For more information, see Introduction to backups. NoteIf you use AWS Backup to manage your backups, this option doesn't apply. For information about AWS Backup, see the AWS Backup Developer Guide. |
CLI option:
RDS API parameter:
|
If you choose to apply the change immediately, it occurs immediately. If you don't choose to apply the change immediately, and you change the setting from a nonzero value to another nonzero value, the change is applied asynchronously, as soon as possible. Otherwise, the change occurs during the next maintenance window. |
Downtime occurs if you change from 0 to a nonzero value, or from a nonzero value to 0. This applies to both Single-AZ and Multi-AZ DB instances. |
All DB engines |
Backup window The time range during which automated backups of your databases occur. The backup window is a start time in Universal Coordinated Time (UTC), and a duration in hours. For more information, see Introduction to backups. NoteIf you use AWS Backup to manage your backups, this option doesn't appear. For information about AWS Backup, see the AWS Backup Developer Guide. |
CLI option:
RDS API parameter:
|
The change is applied asynchronously, as soon as possible. |
Downtime doesn't occur during this change. |
All DB engines |
Certificate authority The certificate authority (CA) for the server certificate used by the DB instance. For more information, see Using SSL/TLS to encrypt a connection to a DB instance or cluster. |
CLI option:
RDS API parameter:
|
If you choose to apply the change immediately, it occurs immediately. If you don't choose to apply the change immediately, it occurs during the next maintenance window. |
Downtime only occurs if the DB engine doesn't support rotation without restart. You can use the describe-db-engine-versions AWS CLI command to determine whether the DB engine supports rotation without restart. |
All DB engines |
Copy tags to snapshots If you have any DB instance tags, enable this option to copy them when you create a DB snapshot. For more information, see Tagging Amazon RDS resources. |
CLI option:
RDS API parameter:
|
The change occurs immediately. This setting ignores the apply immediately setting. |
Downtime doesn't occur during this change. |
All DB engines |
Database port The port that you want to use to access the DB instance. The port value must not match any of the port values specified for options in the option group that is associated with the DB instance. For more information, see Connecting to an Amazon RDS DB instance. |
CLI option:
RDS API parameter:
|
The change occurs immediately. This setting ignores the apply immediately setting. |
The DB instance is rebooted immediately. |
All DB engines |
DB engine version The version of the DB engine that you want to use. Before you upgrade your production DB instance, we recommend that you test the upgrade process on a test DB instance. Doing this helps verify its duration and validate your applications. For more information, see Upgrading a DB instance engine version. |
CLI option:
RDS API parameter:
|
If you choose to apply the change immediately, it occurs immediately. If you don't choose to apply the change immediately, it occurs during the next maintenance window. |
Downtime occurs during this change. |
All DB engines |
DB instance class The DB instance class that you want to use. For more information, see DB instance classes. |
CLI option:
RDS API parameter:
|
If you choose to apply the change immediately, it occurs immediately. If you don't choose to apply the change immediately, it occurs during the next maintenance window. |
Downtime occurs during this change. |
All DB engines |
DB instance identifier The new DB instance identifier. This value is stored as a lowercase string. For more information about the effects of renaming a DB instance, see Renaming a DB instance. |
CLI option:
RDS API parameter:
|
If you choose to apply the change immediately, it occurs immediately. If you don't choose to apply the change immediately, it occurs during the next maintenance window. |
Downtime occurs during this change unless your DB engine version supports dynamic SSL upload. To determine whether your version requires a restart, run the following AWS CLI command:
|
All DB engines |
DB parameter group The DB parameter group that you want associated with the DB instance. For more information, see Parameter groups for Amazon RDS. |
CLI option:
RDS API parameter:
|
The association of the new DB parameter group with the DB instance occurs immediately. |
Downtime doesn't occur when you associate a new DB parameter group with your DB instance. The association of a DB parameter group is different from the application of parameter changes within a parameter group. RDS applies modified static and dynamic parameter settings in the newly associated group only after you manually reboot the DB instance. However, if you modify dynamic parameters in the DB parameter group after you associate it with the DB instance, these parameter settings are applied immediately without requiring a reboot. For more information, see Parameter groups for Amazon RDS and Rebooting a DB instance. |
All DB engines |
Dedicated Log Volume Use a dedicated log volume (DLV) to store database transaction logs on a storage volume that's separate from the volume containing the database tables. For more information, see Using a dedicated log volume (DLV). |
CLI option:
RDS API parameter:
|
The change is applied when the DB instance is rebooted. |
Downtime occurs while the DB instance is rebooted. |
MariaDB, MySQL, PostgreSQL |
Deletion protection Enable deletion protection to prevent your DB instance from being deleted. For more information, see Deleting a DB instance. |
CLI option:
RDS API parameter:
|
The change occurs immediately. This setting ignores the apply immediately setting. |
Downtime doesn't occur during this change. |
All DB engines |
Enhanced Monitoring Enable Enhanced Monitoring to enable gathering metrics in real time for the operating system that your DB instance runs on. For more information, see Monitoring OS metrics with Enhanced Monitoring. |
CLI option:
RDS API parameter:
|
The change occurs immediately. This setting ignores the apply immediately setting. |
Downtime doesn't occur during this change. |
All DB engines |
IAM DB authentication Enable IAM DB authentication to authenticate database users through users and roles. For more information, see IAM database authentication for MariaDB, MySQL, and PostgreSQL. |
CLI option:
RDS API parameter:
|
If you choose to apply the change immediately, it occurs immediately. If you don't choose to apply the change immediately, it occurs during the next maintenance window. |
Downtime doesn't occur during this change. |
Only MariaDB, MySQL, and PostgreSQL |
Kerberos authentication Choose the Active Directory to move the DB instance to. The directory must exist prior to this operation. If a directory is already selected, you can specify None to remove the DB instance from its current directory. For more information, see Kerberos authentication. |
CLI option:
RDS API parameter:
|
If you choose to apply the change immediately, it occurs immediately. If you don't choose to apply the change immediately, it occurs during the next maintenance window. |
A brief downtime occurs during this change. |
Only Microsoft SQL Server, MySQL, Oracle, and PostgreSQL |
License model Choose bring-your-own-license to use your license for Db2 and Oracle. Choose license-included to use the general license agreement for Microsoft SQL Server or Oracle. For more information, see Amazon RDS for Db2 licensing options, Licensing Microsoft SQL Server on Amazon RDS, and RDS for Oracle licensing options. |
CLI option:
RDS API parameter:
|
If you choose to apply the change immediately, it occurs immediately. If you don't choose to apply the change immediately, it occurs during the next maintenance window. |
Downtime occurs during this change. |
Only Microsoft SQL Server and Oracle |
Log exports The types of database log files to publish to Amazon CloudWatch Logs. For more information, see Publishing database logs to Amazon CloudWatch Logs. |
CLI option:
RDS API parameter:
|
The change occurs immediately. This setting ignores the apply immediately setting. |
Downtime doesn't occur during this change. |
All DB engines |
Maintenance window The time range during which system maintenance occurs. System maintenance includes upgrades, if applicable. The maintenance window is a start time in Universal Coordinated Time (UTC), and a duration in hours. If you set the window to the current time, there must be at least 30 minutes between the current time and the end of the window. This timing helps ensure that any pending changes are applied. For more information, see Amazon RDS maintenance window. |
CLI option:
RDS API parameter:
|
The change occurs immediately. This setting ignores the apply immediately setting. |
If there are one or more pending actions that cause downtime, and the maintenance window is changed to include the current time, those pending actions are applied immediately and downtime occurs. |
All DB engines |
Manage master credentials in AWS Secrets Manager
Select Manage master credentials in AWS Secrets Manager to manage the master user password in a secret in Secrets Manager. Optionally, choose a KMS key to use to protect the secret. Choose from the KMS keys in your account, or enter the key from a different account. If RDS is already managing the master user password for the DB instance, you can rotate the master user password by choosing Rotate secret immediately. For more information, see Password management with Amazon RDS and AWS Secrets Manager. |
CLI option:
RDS API parameter:
|
If you are turning on or turning off automatic master user password management, the change occurs immediately. This change ignores the apply immediately setting. If you are rotating the master user password, you must specify that the change is applied immediately. |
Downtime doesn't occur during this change. |
All DB engines |
Multi-AZ deployment Yes to deploy your DB instance in multiple Availability Zones. Otherwise, No. For more information, see Configuring and managing a Multi-AZ deployment for Amazon RDS. |
CLI option:
RDS API parameter:
|
If you choose to apply the change immediately, it occurs immediately. If you don't choose to apply the change immediately, it occurs during the next maintenance window. |
Downtime doesn't occur during this change. However, there is a possible performance impact. For more information, see Converting a DB instance to a Multi-AZ deployment for Amazon RDS. |
All DB engines |
Network type The IP addressing protocols supported by the DB instance. IPv4 to specify that resources can communicate with the DB instance only over the Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4) addressing protocol. Dual-stack mode to specify that resources can communicate with the DB instance over IPv4, Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6), or both. Use dual-stack mode if you have any resources that must communicate with your DB instance over the IPv6 addressing protocol. Also, make sure that you associate an IPv6 CIDR block with all subnets in the DB subnet group that you specify. For more information, see Amazon RDS IP addressing. |
CLI option:
RDS API parameter:
|
If you choose to apply the change immediately, it occurs immediately. If you don't choose to apply the change immediately, it occurs during the next maintenance window. |
Downtime is possible during this change. |
All DB engines |
New master password The password for your master user. The password must contain 8–41 alphanumeric characters. |
CLI option:
RDS API parameter:
|
The change is applied asynchronously, as soon as possible. This setting ignores the apply immediately setting. |
Downtime doesn't occur during this change. |
All DB engines |
Option group The option group that you want associated with the DB instance. For more information, see Working with option groups. |
CLI option:
RDS API parameter:
|
If you choose to apply the change immediately, it occurs immediately. If you don't choose to apply the change immediately, it occurs during the next maintenance window. |
Downtime doesn't occur during this change. One exception is adding the MariaDB Audit Plugin to an RDS for MariaDB or RDS for MySQL DB instance, which might cause an outage. |
All DB engines |
Performance Insights Enable Performance Insights to monitor your DB instance load so that you can analyze and troubleshoot your database performance. Performance Insights isn't available for some DB engine versions and DB instance classes. The Performance Insights section doesn't appear in the console if it isn't available for your DB instance. For more information, see Monitoring DB load with Performance Insights on Amazon RDS and Amazon RDS DB engine, Region, and instance class support for Performance Insights. |
CLI option:
RDS API parameter:
|
The change occurs immediately. This setting ignores the apply immediately setting. |
Downtime doesn't occur during this change. |
All except Db2 |
Performance Insights AWS KMS key The AWS KMS key identifier for the AWS KMS key for encryption of Performance Insights data. The key identifier is the Amazon Resource Name (ARN), AWS KMS key identifier, or the key alias for the KMS key. For more information, see Turning Performance Insights on and off for Amazon RDS. |
CLI option:
RDS API parameter:
|
The change occurs immediately. This setting ignores the apply immediately setting. |
Downtime doesn't occur during this change. |
All except Db2 |
Performance Insights Retention period The amount of time, in days, to retain Performance Insights data. The retention setting in the free tier is Default (7 days). To retain your performance data for longer, specify 1–24 months. For more information about retention periods, see Pricing and data retention for Performance Insights. For more information, see Turning Performance Insights on and off for Amazon RDS. |
CLI option:
RDS API parameter:
|
The change occurs immediately. This setting ignores the apply immediately setting. |
Downtime doesn't occur during this change. |
All except Db2 |
Processor features The number of CPU cores and the number of threads per core for the DB instance class of the DB instance. For more information, see Configuring the processor for a DB instance class in RDS for Oracle. |
CLI option:
RDS API parameter:
|
If you choose to apply the change immediately, it occurs immediately. If you don't choose to apply the change immediately, it occurs during the next maintenance window. |
Downtime occurs during this change. |
Only Oracle |
Provisioned IOPS The Provisioned IOPS (I/O operations per second) value for the DB instance. This setting is available only if you choose one of the following for Storage type:
For more information, see Provisioned IOPS SSD storage and gp3 storage (recommended). |
CLI option:
RDS API parameter:
|
If you choose to apply the change immediately, it occurs immediately. If you don't choose to apply the change immediately, it occurs during the next maintenance window. |
Downtime doesn't occur during this change. |
All DB engines |
Public access Publicly accessible to give the DB instance a public IP address, meaning that it's accessible outside the VPC. To be publicly accessible, the DB instance also has to be in a public subnet in the VPC. Not publicly accessible to make the DB instance accessible only from inside the VPC. For more information, see Hiding a DB instance in a VPC from the internet. To connect to a DB instance from outside its VPC, the DB instance must be publicly accessible. Also, access must be granted using the inbound rules of the DB instance's security group. In addition, other requirements must be met. For more information, see Can't connect to Amazon RDS DB instance. If your DB instance isn't publicly accessible, you can also use an AWS Site-to-Site VPN connection or an AWS Direct Connect connection to access it from a private network. For more information, see Internetwork traffic privacy. |
CLI option:
RDS API parameter:
|
The change occurs immediately. This setting ignores the apply immediately setting. |
Downtime doesn't occur during this change. |
All DB engines |
Security group The VPC security group that you want associated with the DB instance. For more information, see Controlling access with security groups. |
CLI option:
RDS API parameter:
|
The change is applied asynchronously, as soon as possible. This setting ignores the apply immediately setting. |
Downtime doesn't occur during this change. |
All DB engines |
Storage autoscaling Enable storage autoscaling to enable Amazon RDS to automatically increase storage when needed to avoid having your DB instance run out of storage space. Use Maximum storage threshold to set the upper limit for Amazon RDS to automatically increase storage for your DB instance. The default is 1,000 GiB. For more information, see Managing capacity automatically with Amazon RDS storage autoscaling. |
CLI option:
RDS API parameter:
|
The change occurs immediately. This setting ignores the apply immediately setting. |
Downtime doesn't occur during this change. |
All DB engines |
Storage throughput The new storage throughput value for the DB instance. This setting is available only if you choose General purpose SSD (gp3) for Storage type. For more information, see gp3 storage (recommended). |
CLI option:
RDS API parameter:
|
If you choose to apply the change immediately, it occurs immediately. If you don't choose to apply the change immediately, it occurs during the next maintenance window. |
Downtime doesn't occur during this change. |
All DB engines |
Storage type The storage type that you want to use. If you choose General Purpose SSD (gp3), you can provision additional Provisioned IOPS and Storage throughput under Advanced settings. If you choose Provisioned IOPS SSD (io1) or Provisioned IOPS SSD (io2), enter the Provisioned IOPS value. After Amazon RDS begins to modify your DB instance to change the storage size or type, you can't submit another request to change the storage size, performance, or type for six hours. For more information, see Amazon RDS storage types. |
CLI option:
RDS API parameter:
|
If you choose to apply the change immediately, it occurs immediately. If you don't choose to apply the change immediately, it occurs during the next maintenance window. |
The following changes all result in a brief downtime while the process starts. After that, you can use your database normally while the change takes place.
|
All DB engines |
DB subnet group The DB subnet group for the DB instance. You can use this setting to move your DB instance to a different VPC. For more information, see Amazon VPC and Amazon RDS. |
CLI option:
RDS API parameter:
|
If you choose to apply the change immediately, it occurs immediately. If you don't choose to apply the change immediately, it occurs during the next maintenance window. |
Downtime occurs during this change. |
All DB engines |