Setting up your environment for Amazon RDS Custom for Oracle

Before you create an Amazon RDS Custom for Oracle DB instance, perform the following tasks.

Step 1: Create or reuse a symmetric encryption AWS KMS key

Customer managed keys are AWS KMS keys in your AWS account that you create, own, and manage. A customer managed symmetric encryption KMS key is required for RDS Custom. When you create an RDS Custom for Oracle DB instance, you supply the KMS key identifier. For more information, see Configuring a DB instance for Amazon RDS Custom for Oracle.

You have the following options:

Make sure that your symmetric encryption key grants access to the kms:Decrypt and kms:GenerateDataKey operations to the AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) role in your IAM instance profile. If you have a new symmetric encryption key in your account, no changes are required. Otherwise, make sure that your symmetric encryption key's policy grants access to these operations.

For more information, see Step 4: Configure IAM for RDS Custom for Oracle.

For more information about configuring IAM for RDS Custom for Oracle, see Step 4: Configure IAM for RDS Custom for Oracle.

Step 2: Download and install the AWS CLI

AWS provides you with a command-line interface to use RDS Custom features. You can use either version 1 or version 2 of the AWS CLI.

For information about downloading and installing the AWS CLI, see Installing or updating the latest version of the AWS CLI.

Skip this step if either of the following is true:

Step 3: Extract the CloudFormation templates for RDS Custom for Oracle

To simplify setup, we strongly recommend that you use AWS CloudFormation templates to create CloudFormation stacks. If you plan to configure IAM and your VPC manually, skip this step.

Step 3a: Download the CloudFormation template files

A CloudFormation template is a declaration of the AWS resources that make up a stack. The template is stored as a JSON file.

Step 3b: Extract custom-oracle-iam.json

Open the custom-oracle-iam.zip file that you downloaded, and then extract the file custom-oracle-iam.json. The beginning of the file looks like the following.

{
  "AWSTemplateFormatVersion": "2010-09-09",
  "Parameters": {
    "EncryptionKey": {
      "Type": "String",
      "Default": "*",
      "Description": "KMS Key ARN for encryption of data managed by RDS Custom and by DB Instances."
    }
  },
  "Resources": {
    "RDSCustomInstanceServiceRole": {
      "Type": "AWS::IAM::Role",
      "Properties": {
        "RoleName": { "Fn::Sub": "AWSRDSCustomInstanceRole-${AWS::Region}" },
        "AssumeRolePolicyDocument": {
          "Version": "2012-10-17",
          "Statement": [
            {
              "Action": "sts:AssumeRole",
              "Effect": "Allow",
              "Principal": {
                "Service": "ec2.amazonaws.com"
              }
            }
          ]
        },...

Step 3c: Extract custom-vpc.json

Open the custom-vpc.zip file that you downloaded, and then extract the file custom-vpc.json. The beginning of the file looks like the following.

{
  "AWSTemplateFormatVersion": "2010-09-09",
  "Parameters": {
    "PrivateVpc": {
      "Type": "AWS::EC2::VPC::Id",
      "Description": "Private VPC Id to use for RDS Custom DB Instances"
    },
    "PrivateSubnets": {
      "Type": "List<AWS::EC2::Subnet::Id>",
      "Description": "Private Subnets to use for RDS Custom DB Instances"
    },
    "RouteTable": {
      "Type": "String",
      "Description": "Route Table that must be associated with the PrivateSubnets and used by S3 VPC Endpoint",
      "AllowedPattern": "rtb-[0-9a-z]+"
    }
  },
  "Resources": {
    "DBSubnetGroup": {
      "Type": "AWS::RDS::DBSubnetGroup",
      "Properties": {
        "DBSubnetGroupName": "rds-custom-private",
        "DBSubnetGroupDescription": "RDS Custom Private Network",
        "SubnetIds": {
          "Ref": "PrivateSubnets"
        }
      }
    },...

Step 4: Configure IAM for RDS Custom for Oracle

You use an IAM role or IAM user (known as an IAM entity) to create an RDS Custom DB instance using the console or AWS CLI. This IAM entity must have the necessary permissions for instance creation.

You can configure IAM using either CloudFormation or manual steps.

Configure IAM using CloudFormation

When you use the CloudFormation template for IAM, it creates the following required resources:

Create your IAM role and instance profile manually

Configuration is easiest when you use CloudFormation. However, you can also configure IAM manually. For manual setup, do the following:

Step 1: Create the IAM role AWSRDSCustomInstanceRoleForRdsCustomInstance

In this step, you create the role using the naming format AWSRDSCustomInstanceRole-region. Using the trust policy, Amazon EC2 can assume the role. The following example assumes that you have set the environment variable $REGION to the AWS Region in which you want to create your DB instance.

aws iam create-role \
  --role-name AWSRDSCustomInstanceRole-$REGION \
  --assume-role-policy-document '{
    "Version": "2012-10-17",
      "Statement": [
        {
          "Action": "sts:AssumeRole",
          "Effect": "Allow",
          "Principal": {
              "Service": "ec2.amazonaws.com"
          }
        }
      ]
    }'

Step 2: Add an access policy to AWSRDSCustomInstanceRoleForRdsCustomInstance

When you embed an inline policy in an IAM role, the inline policy is used as part of the role's access (permissions) policy. You create the AWSRDSCustomIamRolePolicy policy that permits Amazon EC2 to send and receive messages and perform various actions.

The following example creates the access policy named AWSRDSCustomIamRolePolicy, and adds it to the IAM role AWSRDSCustomInstanceRole-region. This example assumes that you have set the following environment variables:

aws iam put-role-policy \
  --role-name AWSRDSCustomInstanceRole-$REGION \
  --policy-name AWSRDSCustomIamRolePolicy \
  --policy-document '{
    "Version": "2012-10-17",
    "Statement": [
        {
            "Sid": "1",
            "Effect": "Allow",
            "Action": [
                "ssm:DescribeAssociation",
                "ssm:GetDeployablePatchSnapshotForInstance",
                "ssm:GetDocument",
                "ssm:DescribeDocument",
                "ssm:GetManifest",
                "ssm:GetParameter",
                "ssm:GetParameters",
                "ssm:ListAssociations",
                "ssm:ListInstanceAssociations",
                "ssm:PutInventory",
                "ssm:PutComplianceItems",
                "ssm:PutConfigurePackageResult",
                "ssm:UpdateAssociationStatus",
                "ssm:UpdateInstanceAssociationStatus",
                "ssm:UpdateInstanceInformation",
                "ssm:GetConnectionStatus",
                "ssm:DescribeInstanceInformation",
                "ssmmessages:CreateControlChannel",
                "ssmmessages:CreateDataChannel",
                "ssmmessages:OpenControlChannel",
                "ssmmessages:OpenDataChannel"
            ],
            "Resource": [
                "*"
            ]
        },
        {
            "Sid": "2",
            "Effect": "Allow",
            "Action": [
                "ec2messages:AcknowledgeMessage",
                "ec2messages:DeleteMessage",
                "ec2messages:FailMessage",
                "ec2messages:GetEndpoint",
                "ec2messages:GetMessages",
                "ec2messages:SendReply"
            ],
            "Resource": [
                "*"
            ]
        },
        {
            "Sid": "3",
            "Effect": "Allow",
            "Action": [
                "logs:PutRetentionPolicy",
                "logs:PutLogEvents",
                "logs:DescribeLogStreams",
                "logs:DescribeLogGroups",
                "logs:CreateLogStream",
                "logs:CreateLogGroup"
            ],
            "Resource": [
                "arn:aws:logs:'$REGION':'$ACCOUNT_ID':log-group:rds-custom-instance*"
            ]
        },
        {
            "Sid": "4",
            "Effect": "Allow",
            "Action": [
                "s3:putObject",
                "s3:getObject",
                "s3:getObjectVersion"
            ],
            "Resource": [
                "arn:aws:s3:::do-not-delete-rds-custom-*/*"
            ]
        },
        {
            "Sid": "5",
            "Effect": "Allow",
            "Action": [
                "cloudwatch:PutMetricData"
            ],
            "Resource": [
                "*"
            ],
            "Condition": {
                "StringEquals": {
                    "cloudwatch:namespace": [
                        "RDSCustomForOracle/Agent"
                    ]
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "Sid": "6",
            "Effect": "Allow",
            "Action": [
                "events:PutEvents"
            ],
            "Resource": [
                "*"
            ]
        },
        {
            "Sid": "7",
            "Effect": "Allow",
            "Action": [
                "secretsmanager:GetSecretValue",
                "secretsmanager:DescribeSecret"
            ],
            "Resource": [
                "arn:aws:secretsmanager:'$REGION':'$ACCOUNT_ID':secret:do-not-delete-rds-custom-*"
            ]
        },
        {
           "Sid": "8",
           "Effect": "Allow",
           "Action": [
             "s3:ListBucketVersions"
           ],
           "Resource": [
             "arn:aws:s3:::do-not-delete-rds-custom-*"
           ]
         },
         {
            "Sid": "9",
            "Effect": "Allow",
            "Action": "ec2:CreateSnapshots",
            "Resource": [
                "arn:aws:ec2:*:*:instance/*",
                "arn:aws:ec2:*:*:volume/*"
            ],
            "Condition": {
                "StringEquals": {
                    "ec2:ResourceTag/AWSRDSCustom": "custom-oracle"
                }
            }
          },
          {
            "Sid": "10",
            "Effect": "Allow",
            "Action": "ec2:CreateSnapshots",
            "Resource": [
                "arn:aws:ec2:*::snapshot/*"
            ]
          },
          {
            "Sid": "11",
            "Effect": "Allow",
            "Action": [
              "kms:Decrypt",
              "kms:GenerateDataKey"
            ],
            "Resource": [
              "arn:aws:kms:'$REGION':'$ACCOUNT_ID':key/'$KMS_KEY'"
            ]
          },
          {
            "Sid": "12",
            "Effect": "Allow",
            "Action": "ec2:CreateTags",
            "Resource": "*",
            "Condition": {
                "StringLike": {
                    "ec2:CreateAction": [
                        "CreateSnapshots"
                    ]
                }
            }
        }
    ]
}'

Step 3: Create the RDS Custom instance profile AWSRDSCustomInstanceProfile

An instance profile is a container that includes a single IAM role. RDS Custom uses the instance profile to pass the role to the instance.

If you use the CLI to create a role, you create the role and instance profile as separate actions, with potentially different names. Create your IAM instance profile as follows, naming it using the format AWSRDSCustomInstanceProfile-region. The following example assumes that you have set the environment variable $REGION to the AWS Region in which you want to create your DB instance.

aws iam create-instance-profile \
    --instance-profile-name AWSRDSCustomInstanceProfile-$REGION

Step 4: Add AWSRDSCustomInstanceRoleForRdsCustomInstance to AWSRDSCustomInstanceProfile

Add your IAM role to the instance profile that you previously created. The following example assumes that you have set the environment variable $REGION to the AWS Region in which you want to create your DB instance.

aws iam add-role-to-instance-profile \
    --instance-profile-name AWSRDSCustomInstanceProfile-$REGION \
    --role-name AWSRDSCustomInstanceRole-$REGION

Step 5: Grant required permissions to your IAM user or role

Make sure that the IAM principal (user or role) that creates the CEV or RDS Custom DB instance has either of the following policies:

IAM permissions required for Amazon S3 and AWS KMS

To create CEVs or RDS Custom for Oracle DB instances, your IAM principal needs to access Amazon S3 and AWS KMS. The following sample JSON policy grants the required permissions.

{
    "Version": "2012-10-17",
    "Statement": [
        {
            "Sid": "CreateS3Bucket",
            "Effect": "Allow",
            "Action": [
                "s3:CreateBucket",
                "s3:PutBucketPolicy",
                "s3:PutBucketObjectLockConfiguration",
                "s3:PutBucketVersioning"
            ],
            "Resource": "arn:aws:s3:::do-not-delete-rds-custom-*"
        },
        {
            "Sid": "CreateKmsGrant",
            "Effect": "Allow",
            "Action": [
                "kms:CreateGrant",
                "kms:DescribeKey"
            ],
            "Resource": "*"
        }
    ]
}

For more information about the kms:CreateGrant permission, see AWS KMS key management.

IAM permissions required for creating a CEV

To create a CEV, your IAM principal needs the following additional permissions:

s3:GetObjectAcl
s3:GetObject
s3:GetObjectTagging
s3:ListBucket
mediaimport:CreateDatabaseBinarySnapshot

The following sample JSON policy grants the additional permissions necessary to access bucket my-custom-installation-files and its contents.

{
    "Version": "2012-10-17",
    "Statement": [
        {
            "Sid": "AccessToS3MediaBucket",
            "Effect": "Allow",
            "Action": [
                "s3:GetObjectAcl",
                "s3:GetObject",
                "s3:GetObjectTagging",
                "s3:ListBucket"
            ],
            "Resource": [
                "arn:aws:s3:::my-custom-installation-files",
                "arn:aws:s3:::my-custom-installation-files/*"
            ]
        },
        {
            "Sid": "PermissionForByom",
            "Effect": "Allow",
            "Action": [
                "mediaimport:CreateDatabaseBinarySnapshot"
            ],
            "Resource": "*"
        }
    ]
}

You can grant similar permissions for Amazon S3 to caller accounts using an S3 bucket policy.

IAM permissions required for creating a DB instance from a CEV

To create an RDS Custom for Oracle DB instance from an existing CEV, the IAM principal needs the following additional permissions.

iam:SimulatePrincipalPolicy
cloudtrail:CreateTrail
cloudtrail:StartLogging

The following sample JSON policy grants the permissions necessary to validate an IAM role and log information to an AWS CloudTrail.

{
    "Version": "2012-10-17",
    "Statement": [
        {
            "Sid": "ValidateIamRole",
            "Effect": "Allow",
            "Action": "iam:SimulatePrincipalPolicy",
            "Resource": "*"
        },
        {
            "Sid": "CreateCloudTrail",
            "Effect": "Allow",
            "Action": [
                "cloudtrail:CreateTrail",
                "cloudtrail:StartLogging"
            ],
            "Resource": "arn:aws:cloudtrail:*:*:trail/do-not-delete-rds-custom-*"
        }
    ]
}

Step 6: Configure your VPC for RDS Custom for Oracle

Your RDS Custom DB instance is in a virtual private cloud (VPC) based on the Amazon VPC service, just like an Amazon EC2 instance or Amazon RDS instance. You provide and configure your own VPC. Unlike RDS Custom for SQL Server, RDS Custom for Oracle doesn't create an access control list or security groups. You must attach you own security group, subnets, and route tables.

You can configure your virtual private cloud (VPC) using either CloudFormation or a manual process.

Configure your VPC using CloudFormation (recommended)

If you've already configured your VPC for a different RDS Custom engine, and want to reuse the existing VPC, skip this step. This section assumes the following:

When you use the CloudFormation template for your VPC, it creates the following resources:

Configure your VPC manually for RDS Custom for Oracle

As an alternative to automating VPC creation with AWS CloudFormation, you can configure your VPC manually. This option might be best when you have a complex networking setup that uses existing resources.

Make sure your VPC can access dependent AWS services

RDS Custom sends communication from your DB instance to other AWS services. Make sure the following services are accessible from the subnet in which you create your RDS Custom DB instances:

If creating Multi-AZ deployments

If RDS Custom can't communicate with the necessary services, it publishes the following events:

Database instance in incompatible-network. SSM Agent connection not available. Amazon RDS can't connect to the dependent AWS services.

Database instance in incompatible-network. Amazon RDS can't connect to dependent AWS services. Make sure port 443 (HTTPS) allows outbound connections, and try again. "Failed to connect to the following services: s3 events"

To avoid incompatible-network errors, make sure that VPC components involved in communication between your RDS Custom DB instance and AWS services satisfy the following requirements:

If you already configured a VPC for a different RDS Custom DB engine, you can reuse that VPC and skip this process.

Configure the instance metadata service

Make sure that your instance can do the following:

For more information, see Use IMDSv2 in the Amazon EC2 User Guide.

RDS Custom for Oracle automation uses IMDSv2 by default, by setting HttpTokens=enabled on the underlying Amazon EC2 instance. However, you can use IMDSv1 if you want. For more information, see Configure the instance metadata options in the Amazon EC2 User Guide.