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AWS CloudTrail VS Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL

Compare AWS CloudTrail VS Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL and see what are their differences

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AWS CloudTrail logo AWS CloudTrail

AWS CloudTrail is a web service that records AWS API calls for your account and delivers log files to you.

Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL logo Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL

PostgreSQL as a Service
  • AWS CloudTrail Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-04-18
  • Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-10-29

AWS CloudTrail features and specs

  • Comprehensive Logging
    AWS CloudTrail provides detailed logging of all API calls made within your AWS environment, helping you maintain accountability and transparency.
  • Enhanced Security
    By logging activities, CloudTrail helps in detecting unusual behavior and potential security threats, allowing for timely response.
  • Compliance and Auditing
    CloudTrail logs are crucial for regulatory compliance and auditing purposes, supporting frameworks such as HIPAA, GDPR, and PCI DSS.
  • Integration
    CloudTrail integrates seamlessly with other AWS services like CloudWatch and AWS Lambda, enabling automated responses to specific activities.
  • Event History
    Access historical event records for your AWS account, enabling analysis and troubleshooting of past issues.
  • Data Retention
    CloudTrail allows you to define policies for retaining log data, ensuring that logs are available as long as needed for audits and investigations.

Possible disadvantages of AWS CloudTrail

  • Costs
    While CloudTrail's basic tier is free, there are costs associated with advanced features and long-term log storage, which can add up for large organizations.
  • Complexity
    Managing and analyzing a large volume of logs can become complex and time-consuming, especially without additional tools and expertise.
  • Performance Impact
    While minimal, there may be a slight performance overhead associated with logging large volumes of AWS API calls.
  • Incomplete Coverage
    Not all AWS services and features support CloudTrail logging, potentially leaving gaps in visibility for certain activities.
  • Latency
    There is some latency involved in the delivery of log data, which might delay real-time monitoring and response in critical scenarios.
  • Data Exposure Risk
    If not properly secured, CloudTrail logs themselves could become a target for attackers seeking sensitive information about your AWS environment.

Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL features and specs

  • Managed Service
    Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL is a fully managed service, meaning that AWS handles routine database tasks such as backups, patch management, and failover, reducing the operational burden on users.
  • Scalability
    The service allows for easy vertically scaling of database instances as application demands grow, without requiring downtime. This helps businesses to adapt to changing workloads efficiently.
  • High Availability
    With Multi-AZ deployments, Amazon RDS provides enhanced reliability and availability. It automatically creates a primary database instance and synchronously replicates data to a standby instance in a different Availability Zone.
  • Security Features
    Amazon RDS integrates with AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) for access control and offers encryption at rest and in transit capabilities, bolstering data security.
  • Backup and Recovery
    Automatic backups, snapshots, and point-in-time recovery simplify data recovery and help ensure that data can be restored to any given second during the retention period.

Possible disadvantages of Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL

  • Cost
    The cost of running a managed service like Amazon RDS can be higher than managing a database in-house, especially for smaller organizations or when optimal configurations are not utilized.
  • Limited Customization
    Since Amazon RDS is a managed service, there are certain limitations on access to the underlying operating system and database configurations, which may hinder some advanced customizations and optimizations.
  • Vendor Lock-In
    Using RDS for PostgreSQL can lead to vendor lock-in, making it difficult for businesses to move away from AWS without incurring data transfer costs or requiring significant re-engineering efforts.
  • Maintenance Windows
    Updates and patches are applied during scheduled maintenance windows, which might cause disruptions if the timing is not properly managed or if unexpected performance issues occur during these periods.
  • Limited Extension Support
    While RDS for PostgreSQL supports a wide range of extensions, not all PostgreSQL extensions are available, potentially limiting additional functionality that might be needed for specialized use cases.

AWS CloudTrail videos

AWS Cloudtrail vs Cloudwatch in 15 minutes | AWS tutorial for beginners

More videos:

  • Review - AWS re:Invent 2018: Augmenting Security & Improving Operational Health w/ AWS CloudTrail (SEC323)

Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL videos

Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL/Amazon Aurora PostgreSQL Operational Best Practices | AWS Events

Category Popularity

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API Tools
100 100%
0% 0
Databases
0 0%
100% 100
APIs
100 100%
0% 0
Cloud Hosting
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100% 100

User comments

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Social recommendations and mentions

Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL might be a bit more popular than AWS CloudTrail. We know about 16 links to it since March 2021 and only 16 links to AWS CloudTrail. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

AWS CloudTrail mentions (16)

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Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL mentions (16)

  • Kubernetes and Container Portability: Navigating Multi-Cloud Flexibility
    Amazon RDS for MySQL (for managed MySQL) or Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL (for managed PostgreSQL). - Source: dev.to / about 1 month ago
  • Top 8 Managed Postgres Providers
    Amazon RDS is a managed service for relational databases that makes PostgreSQL setup, scaling, and management automatic. This lets developers concentrate on creating applications instead of handling database tasks. - Source: dev.to / 9 months ago
  • Deploying Django Application on AWS with Terraform - Part 1
    Yay! We have now deployed our Django web application with ECS Service + Fargate on AWS. But now it works with SQLite file database. This file will be recreated on every service restart. So, our app cannot persist any data for now. In the next article we’ll connect Django to AWS RDS PostgreSQL. - Source: dev.to / about 1 year ago
  • gactive: Active-active Replication Extension for PostgreSQL on Amazon RDS
    Today, AWS announces the general availability of pgactive: Active-active Replication Extension for PostgreSQL, available for Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS) for PostgreSQL. Pgactive lets you use asynchronous active-active replication for streaming data between database instances to provide additional resiliency and flexibility in moving data between database instances, including writers located in... Source: over 1 year ago
  • Hosting my Software
    Best practice would definitely be setting up a separately hosted database (I swear I'm not an AWS shill) for production as this ensures much better data integrity. Plus it manages backups etc. For you. Source: about 2 years ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing AWS CloudTrail and Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL, you can also consider the following products

Postman - The Collaboration Platform for API Development

Application Load Balance - Automatically distribute incoming traffic across multiple targets using an Application Load Balancer.

DreamFactory - DreamFactory is an API management platform used to generate, secure, document, and extend APIs.

Amazon Aurora - MySQL and PostgreSQL-compatible relational database built for the cloud. Performance and availability of commercial-grade databases at 1/10th the cost.

Sentinet - API Management and SOA Governance for enterprises and developers

Amazon S3 - Amazon S3 is an object storage where users can store data from their business on a safe, cloud-based platform. Amazon S3 operates in 54 availability zones within 18 graphic regions and 1 local region.