# Choosing between Amazon EC2 and Amazon RDS
<a name="comparison"></a>

Amazon EC2 and Amazon RDS offer unique benefits that may be beneficial for your specific use case. You have the flexibility to use one or both services for your SQL Server database, depending on your needs. This section provides detailed information to help with your choice.

## Decision matrix
<a name="matrix"></a>

The following table provides a side-by-side comparison of SQL Server features supported on Amazon RDS, Amazon RDS Custom for SQL Server, and Amazon EC2. Use this information to understand their differences and to choose the best approach for your use case.

For the most current information for Amazon RDS, see [Microsoft SQL Server on Amazon RDS](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonRDS/latest/UserGuide/CHAP_SQLServer.html) in the AWS documentation.

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#### [ Development ]


****  

| Development feature | Amazon RDS | Amazon RDS Custom | Amazon EC2 | Notes | 
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | 
| Buffer pool extensions |  ![\[No\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-no.png) No |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes  |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes  | If this feature is critical to your workload, consider choosing Amazon RDS Custom or Amazon EC2. | 
| `BULK INSERT` |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes  |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes  |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes  | See [Integrating an Amazon RDS for SQL Server DB instance with Amazon S3](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonRDS/latest/UserGuide/User.SQLServer.Options.S3-integration.html) in the Amazon RDS documentation. | 
| Change data capture (CDC) |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes (Enterprise Edition: all versions; Standard Edition: 2016 SP1 and later)  |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes  |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes  | See [Using change data capture](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonRDS/latest/UserGuide/Appendix.SQLServer.CommonDBATasks.CDC.html) in the Amazon RDS documentation. | 
| Change tracking |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes  |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes  |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes  |  | 
| Columnstore indexes |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes (Enterprise and Standard Editions: 2016 and later)  |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes (Enterprise and Standard Editions: 2019 and 2022)  |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes (Enterprise Edition: 2014 and later; Standard Edition: 2016 SP1 and later)  | See [RDBMS scalability and performance](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/sql-server/editions-and-components-of-sql-server-2019?view=sql-server-ver16#RDBMSSP) in the SQL Server documentation. | 
| Data Quality Services |  ![\[No\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-no.png) No |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes  |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes | If this feature is critical to your workload, consider choosing Amazon RDS Custom or Amazon EC2. | 
| Database Mail |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes  |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes  |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes | See the blog post [Using Database Mail on Amazon RDS for SQL Server](https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/database/using-database-mail-on-amazon-rds-for-sql-server/). We encourage you to use the [Amazon Simple Email Service (Amazon SES)](https://aws.amazon.com/ses/) to send outbound email originating from AWS resources, to ensure a high degree of deliverability. | 
| Database Engine Tuning Advisor |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes  |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes |  | 
| DB event notifications |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes  |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes  |  ![\[No\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-no.png) No (manually track and manage DB events) | See [Using Amazon RDS event notification](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonRDS/latest/UserGuide/USER_Events.html) in the Amazon RDS documentation. | 
| DDL event notifications |  ![\[No\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-no.png) No |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes  |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes | If this feature is critical to your workload, consider choosing Amazon RDS Custom or Amazon EC2. | 
| Delayed transaction durability (lazy commit) |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes (SQL Server 2016 and later) |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes (SQL Server 2019 and 2022)  |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes (SQL Server 2014 and later) |  | 
| Distributed queries |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes (SQL Server targets) |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes (SQL Server targets)  |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes (SQL Server targets) | See the [Implementing linked servers with Amazon RDS for SQL Server](https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/database/implement-linked-servers-with-amazon-rds-for-microsoft-sql-server/) blog post. | 
| Extended events |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes  |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes  |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes |  | 
| Extended stored procedures, including `xp_cmdshell` |  ![\[No\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-no.png) No |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes  |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes | If this feature is critical to your workload, consider choosing Amazon RDS Custom or Amazon EC2. | 
| File tables |  ![\[No\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-no.png) No |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes  |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes | If this feature is critical to your workload, consider choosing Amazon RDS Custom or Amazon EC2. | 
| `FILESTREAM` |  ![\[No\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-no.png) No |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes  |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes | `FILESTREAM` isn't compatible with Amazon RDS. However, you can configure the in-memory database. | 
| Full-text search |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes (except semantic search) |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes  |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes |  | 
| In-memory database |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes (SQL Server 2014 and later) |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes (SQL Server 2019)  |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes (SQL Server 2014 and later) |  | 
| Linked servers |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes (SQL Server, Oracle, and Teradata targets) |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes, with CEV  |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes | See the [Implementing linked servers with Amazon RDS for SQL Server](https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/database/implement-linked-servers-with-amazon-rds-for-microsoft-sql-server/) blog post and [Support for linked servers with Oracle OLEDB in Amazon RDS for SQL Server](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonRDS/latest/UserGuide/Appendix.SQLServer.Options.LinkedServers_Oracle_OLEDB.html) in the Amazon RDS documentation. A custom engine version (CEV) is a binary volume snapshot of a database version and Amazon Machine Image (AMI). | 
| Machine Learning Services (with R scripts) |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes  |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes  |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes | Machine Learning Services must be installed separately on a Windows or Linux machine. It's supported on an [Always On Failover Cluster Instance (FCI)](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/sql-server/failover-clusters/windows/always-on-failover-cluster-instances-sql-server?view=sql-server-ver15) only in SQL Server 2019 and later. Although R isn't supported on Amazon RDS, you can use it on AWS (see the blog post [Getting started with R on AWS](https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/opensource/getting-started-with-r-on-amazon-web-services/)). | 
| Maintenance plans |  ![\[No\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-no.png) No |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes  |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes | Amazon RDS provides a separate set of features to facilitate backup and recovery of databases. For backup, you can configure automated backup. | 
| Master Data Services |  ![\[No\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-no.png) No |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes  |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes | If this feature is critical to your workload, consider choosing Amazon RDS Custom or Amazon EC2. | 
| Microsoft Distributed Transaction Coordinator (MSDTC) |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes  |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes | See the blog post [Enabling distributed transaction support for domain-joined Amazon RDS for SQL Server instances](https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/database/enabling-distributed-transaction-support-for-domain-joined-amazon-rds-for-sql-server-instances/). | 
| `OPENROWSET` |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes  |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes |  | 
| Partially contained databases |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes (SQL Server 2014 and later) |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes (SQL Server 2019)  |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes (SQL Server 2014 and later) |  | 
| Performance Data Collector |  ![\[No\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-no.png) No |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes  |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes | On Amazon RDS, you can use Amazon CloudWatch, AWS CloudTrail, and Performance Insights to monitor your SQL Server performance (see [Overview of monitoring Amazon RDS](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonRDS/latest/UserGuide/MonitoringOverview.html) in the Amazon RDS documentation).  | 
| Policy-Based Management |  ![\[No\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-no.png) No |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes  |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes | If this feature is critical to your workload, consider choosing Amazon RDS Custom or Amazon EC2. | 
| PolyBase |  ![\[No\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-no.png) No |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes  |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes | If this feature is critical to your workload, consider choosing Amazon RDS Custom or Amazon EC2. | 
| Preconfigured parameters |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes |  ![\[No\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-no.png) No |  ![\[No\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-no.png) No |  | 
| Resource Governor |  ![\[No\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-no.png) No |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes | If this feature is critical to your workload, consider choosing Amazon RDS Custom or Amazon EC2. | 
| Safe CLR |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes (SQL Server 2016, 2019, and 2022) |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes |  | 
| Sequences |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes (SQL Server 2014 and later) |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes (SQL Server 2019) |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes (SQL Server 2014 and later) |  | 
| Server-level triggers |  ![\[No\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-no.png) No |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes | If this feature is critical to your workload, consider choosing Amazon RDS Custom or Amazon EC2. | 
| Service Broker |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes (except endpoints) |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes |  | 
| Spatial and location features |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes |  | 
| SQL Server Agent |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes |  | 
| SQL Server Analysis Services (SSAS) |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes (SQL Server 2016 and later) |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes | See [Support for SSAS in Amazon RDS for SQL Server](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonRDS/latest/UserGuide/Appendix.SQLServer.Options.SSAS.html) in the Amazon RDS documentation. | 
| SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS) |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes (SQL Server 2016 and later) |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes | See [Support for SSIS in Amazon RDS for SQL Server](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonRDS/latest/UserGuide/Appendix.SQLServer.Options.SSIS.html) in the Amazon RDS documentation. | 
| SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes (SQL Server 2016 and later) |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes | See [Support for SSRS in Amazon RDS for SQL Server](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonRDS/latest/UserGuide/Appendix.SQLServer.Options.SSRS.html) in the Amazon RDS documentation. | 
| SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes |  | 
| SQL Server Migration Assistant (SSMA) |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes |  | 
| SQL Server Profiler |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes (server-side and client-side traces) |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes |  | 
| `sqlcmd` |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes |  | 
| Stretch Database |  ![\[No\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-no.png) No |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes | If this feature is critical to your workload, consider choosing Amazon RDS Custom or Amazon EC2. | 
| `THROW` statement |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes (SQL Server 2014 and later) |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes (SQL Server 2019) |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes (SQL Server 2014 and later) |  | 
| Transact-SQL endpoints |  ![\[No\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-no.png) No |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes | All operations that use `CREATE ENDPOINT` are unavailable on Amazon RDS. We recommend that you install SQL Server on an EC2 instance for these operations.  | 
| UTF-16 support |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes (SQL Server 2014 and later) |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes (SQL Server 2014 and later) |  | 
| WCF Data Service |  ![\[No\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-no.png) No |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes | If this feature is critical to your workload, consider choosing Amazon RDS Custom or Amazon EC2. | 

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#### [ HA/DR ]


****  

| Development feature | Amazon RDS | Amazon RDS Custom | Amazon EC2 | Notes | 
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | 
| Always On availability groups |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes (only for migration purposes) |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes | If you need a self-managed Always On availability group, we recommend that you use AWS Launch Wizard to simplify SQL Server HA deployment on an EC2 instance. See [AWS Launch Wizard for SQL Server](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/launchwizard/latest/userguide/launch-wizard-sql.html) in the AWS documentation.  | 
| Always On Failover Cluster Instances (FCIs) |  ![\[No\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-no.png) No |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes | You can use AWS Launch Wizard to simplify your SQL Server FCI deployment on Amazon EC2. See [AWS Launch Wizard for SQL Server](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/launchwizard/latest/userguide/launch-wizard-sql.html) in the AWS documentation.  | 
| Backing up to Amazon S3 |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes | Amazon RDS supports native backup and restore for SQL Server databases by using full backup files (.bak files) and Amazon S3 as a repository. See [Importing and Exporting SQL Server databases](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonRDS/latest/UserGuide/SQLServer.Procedural.Importing.html) in the Amazon RDS documentation. | 
| `BACKUP` command |  ![\[No\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-no.png) No |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes | See [How do I perform native backups of an Amazon RDS DB instance that's running SQL Server?](https://aws.amazon.com/premiumsupport/knowledge-center/native-backup-rds-sql-server/) in AWS Knowledge Center. | 
| Database mirroring |  ![\[No\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-no.png) No |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes |  | 
| SQL Server replication |  ![\[No\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-no.png) No (limited push subscription) |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes | If you want to replicate a single table on Amazon RDS, you can also use [AWS DMS](https://aws.amazon.com/dms/) or set up read replicas. | 
| Distributed availability groups |  ![\[No\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-no.png) No |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes (migration only) |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes | If this feature is critical to your workload, consider choosing Amazon RDS Custom or Amazon EC2. | 
| Log shipping |  ![\[No\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-no.png) No |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes | For disaster recovery purposes, you can use read replicas or [AWS DMS](https://aws.amazon.com/dms/). | 
| Custom log shipping |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes | Not applicable |  | 
| Managed automated backups |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes |  ![\[No\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-no.png) No (requires configuring and managing maintenance plans, or using third-party solutions) | See [Working with backups](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonRDS/latest/UserGuide/USER_WorkingWithAutomatedBackups.html) in the Amazon RDS documentation. | 
| Multi-AZ with automated failover |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes (storage-based replication) |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes (Enterprise Edition only, with manual configuration of Always On availability groups) | See [Multi-AZ deployments for Amazon RDS for SQL Server](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonRDS/latest/UserGuide/USER_SQLServerMultiAZ.html) in the Amazon RDS documentation. | 
| Read replicas |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes (SQL Server 2016 and later) |  ![\[No\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-no.png) No |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes (with manual configuration of Always On availability groups) |  | 
| `RESTORE` command |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes | See [AWS Knowledge Center](https://aws.amazon.com/premiumsupport/knowledge-center/native-backup-rds-sql-server/). | 

------
#### [ Scalability ]


****  

| Development feature | Amazon RDS | Amazon RDS Custom | Amazon EC2 | Notes | 
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | 
| Built-in instance and database monitoring and metrics |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes |  ![\[No\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-no.png) No (export your own metrics to Amazon CloudWatch or use a third-party solution) |  ![\[No\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-no.png) No (export your own metrics to CloudWatch or use a third-party solution) | See the blog post [Monitor your SQL Server database by using custom metrics with Amazon CloudWatch and AWS Systems Manager](https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/database/monitor-your-microsoft-sql-server-using-custom-metrics-with-amazon-cloudwatch-and-aws-systems-manager/). | 
| Configurable storage size |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes |  | 
| Maximum number of databases per instance | Depends on the instance size and Multi-AZ configuration | SQL Server maximum (5000) |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) No limitation | See [Maximum capacity specifications for SQL Server](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/sql-server/maximum-capacity-specifications-for-sql-server?view=sql-server-ver15) in the Microsoft SQL Server documentation. | 
| Maximum storage size of a DB instance | 64 TiB | 64 TiB |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) No limitation | Amazon RDS also supports tempdb databases on local disks by using Non-Volatile Memory Express (NVMe) instance storage. See [Instance store support for the tempdb database on Amazon RDS for SQL Server](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonRDS/latest/UserGuide/SQLServer.InstanceStore.html) in the Amazon RDS documentation. | 
| Minimum storage size of a DB instance | 20 GiB (Enterprise, Standard, Web, and Express Editions) | 20 GiB (Enterprise, Standard, Web, and Express Editions) |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) No limitation |  | 
| New Query Optimizer |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes (SQL Server 2016 and later) |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes (SQL Server 2019 and 2022) |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes (SQL Server 2014 and later) |  | 

------
#### [ Security ]


****  

| Development feature | Amazon RDS | Amazon RDS Custom | Amazon EC2 | Notes | 
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | 
| Automatic software patching |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes |  ![\[No\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-no.png) No (CEV)  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes (RPEV) |  ![\[No\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-no.png) No | A custom engine version (CEV) is a binary volume snapshot of a database version and Amazon Machine Image (AMI). An RDS provided engine version (RPEV) is the default Amazon Machine Image (AMI) and Microsoft SQL Server installation. | 
| Encrypted storage using AWS KMS |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes | See the blog post [Securing data in Amazon RDS using AWS KMS encryption](https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/database/securing-data-in-amazon-rds-using-aws-kms-encryption/). | 
| Server roles |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes (SQL Server 2016 and later) |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes (SQL Server 2019 and 2022) |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes (SQL Server 2014 and later) |  | 
| SQL authentication |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes |  | 
| SQL Server audit |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes |  | 
| SSL (encryption in transit) |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes | See [Using SSL with a Microsoft SQL Server DB instance](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonRDS/latest/UserGuide/SQLServer.Concepts.General.SSL.Using.html) in the Amazon RDS documentation. | 
| sysadmin role |  ![\[No\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-no.png) No |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes | For unsupported server-level roles, see [Microsoft SQL Server security](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonRDS/latest/UserGuide/CHAP_SQLServer.html#SQLServer.Concepts.General.FeatureSupport.UnsupportedRoles) in the Amazon RDS documentation. When you create a new RDS DB instance, the default master user that you use gets certain privileges for that DB instance (see [Account privileges](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonRDS/latest/UserGuide/UsingWithRDS.MasterAccounts.html) in the Amazon RDS documentation). | 
| TDE (encryption at rest) |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes (Enterprise Edition: 2016-2022; Standard Edition: 2019 and 2022) |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes (SQL Server 2019 and 2022 Enterprise, Standard, Web, and Developer Editions) |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes (Enterprise Edition: 2014-2019; Standard Edition: 2019) | See information about TDE support in the [Amazon RDS](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonRDS/latest/UserGuide/Appendix.SQLServer.Options.TDE.html) and [Amazon RDS Custom](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonRDS/latest/UserGuide/custom-reqs-limits-MS.html#custom-sqlserver-features.smk.tde) documentation. | 
| Windows Authentication |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes |  | 

------
#### [ Other features ]


****  

| Development feature | Amazon RDS | Amazon RDS Custom | Amazon EC2 | Notes | 
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | 
| Ability to install a third-party agent |  ![\[No\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-no.png) No |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes |  | 
| Ability to rename existing databases |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes (Single-AZ only) |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes (not available for databases in availability groups or enabled for mirroring) | For Multi-AZ deployments on Amazon RDS, see [Renaming a Microsoft SQL Server database in a Multi-AZ deployment](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonRDS/latest/UserGuide/Appendix.SQLServer.CommonDBATasks.RenamingDB.html) in the Amazon RDS documentation. | 
| Control over DB instance and operating system |  ![\[No\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-no.png) No |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes | If this feature is critical to your workload, consider choosing Amazon RDS Custom or Amazon EC2. | 
| Custom set time zones |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes |  | 
| Distributed Replay |  ![\[No\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-no.png) No |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes | The SQL Server Distributed Replay client service [requires sysadmin permissions](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/tools/distributed-replay/distributed-replay-security?view=sql-server-ver16#sql-server-permissions), which is why it isn't supported in Amazon RDS. | 
| Import data into the msdb database |  ![\[No\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-no.png) No |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes |  ![\[Yes\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/icon-yes.png) Yes | If this feature is critical to your workload, consider choosing Amazon RDS Custom or Amazon EC2. | 
| Installation methods | N/A | N/A | Amazon Machine Image (AMI) or manual installation |  | 
| SQL Server editions | Enterprise, Standard, Web, Express | Enterprise, Standard, Developer | Enterprise, Standard, Web, Developer, Express |  | 
| SQL Server versions | 2016, 2017, 2019, 2022 | 2019, 2022 | 2014, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2022 |  | 

------

For detailed information about these features, see the following:
+ [Microsoft Products on AWS](https://aws.amazon.com/windows/products/)
+ [Active Directory Reference Architecture: Implementing Active Directory Domain Services on AWS](https://aws.amazon.com/windows/resources/whitepapers/#ad)
+ [Securing the Microsoft Platform on AWS](https://d1.awsstatic.com/whitepapers/aws-microsoft-platform-security.pdf)
+ [AWS Directory Service](https://aws.amazon.com/directoryservice/)
+ [https://docs.aws.amazon.com/systems-manager-automation-runbooks/latest/userguide/automation-awsec2-sqlserverdbrestore.html](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/systems-manager-automation-runbooks/latest/userguide/automation-awsec2-sqlserverdbrestore.html) (AWS Systems Manager Automation runbook that restores SQL Server database backups stored in Amazon S3 to SQL Server 2017 running on an EC2 Linux instance)

## Shared responsibility
<a name="shared"></a>

The following diagram shows the division of responsibilities between AWS and the user in the management of SQL Server features and operations.

 ![\[Shared responsibility in the management of SQL Server features and operations\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/migration-sql-server/images/shared-responsibility.png) 

With AWS services, you don’t have to worry about administration tasks such as server provisioning, patching, setup, configuration, backups, or recovery. AWS continuously monitors your clusters to keep your workloads up and running with self-healing storage and automated scaling. You focus on high-value application development tasks such as schema design, query construction, and optimization, while AWS takes care of operational tasks on your behalf.

You never have to over-provision or under-provision infrastructure to accommodate application growth, intermittent spikes, and performance requirements, or incur fixed capital costs, including software licensing and support, hardware refresh, and resources to maintain hardware. AWS manages these, so you can spend time innovating and building new applications, not managing infrastructure.

For more information, see [Shared Responsibility Model](https://aws.amazon.com/compliance/shared-responsibility-model/) on the AWS website.