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Microsoft SQL Server VS Amazon RDS

Compare Microsoft SQL Server VS Amazon RDS and see what are their differences

Microsoft SQL Server logo Microsoft SQL Server

Microsoft Azure is an open, flexible, enterprise-grade cloud computing platform. Move faster, do more, and save money with IaaS + PaaS. Try for FREE.

Amazon RDS logo Amazon RDS

Easy to manage relational databases optimized for total cost of ownership.
  • Microsoft SQL Server Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-01-17
  • Amazon RDS Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-03-18

Microsoft SQL Server features and specs

  • Performance
    Microsoft SQL Server offers high performance and efficient database management capabilities, optimized for both OLTP (Online Transaction Processing) and OLAP (Online Analytical Processing).
  • Security Features
    SQL Server comes with advanced security features such as encryption, data masking, and advanced threat protection to ensure data integrity and privacy.
  • Scalability
    The server supports horizontal and vertical scaling to accommodate growing amounts of data and increasing number of users.
  • Integration with Microsoft Ecosystem
    Seamless integration with other Microsoft products such as Azure, Power BI, and Visual Studio, making it a versatile choice for businesses already using Microsoft services.
  • Ease of Use
    The server provides a user-friendly interface and helpful tools such as SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) for database maintenance and management.
  • Comprehensive Support
    Microsoft offers extensive support and documentation, along with a strong community that provides additional resources and insights.

Possible disadvantages of Microsoft SQL Server

  • Cost
    Licensing and operational costs can be high, especially for larger enterprises, making it a significant investment.
  • Complexity
    Initial setup and configuration can be complex, often requiring expert knowledge to deploy and maintain effectively.
  • Resource Intensive
    The server can be resource-heavy, requiring significant hardware and computational resources to run efficiently, especially for larger databases.
  • Limited Cross-Platform Support
    Although improvements have been made, SQL Server is primarily optimized for Windows environments, which can limit its use in cross-platform scenarios.
  • Proprietary Software
    Being a proprietary software solution, it lacks the flexibility and cost benefits that come with open-source alternatives.
  • Updates and Patches
    Frequent updates and patches can sometimes disrupt service, requiring periodic maintenance that could result in downtime.

Amazon RDS features and specs

  • Managed Service
    Amazon RDS takes care of routine database tasks such as backups, patch management, and scalability, reducing the operational burden on users.
  • Scalability
    Easily scale your database's compute and storage resources with a few clicks or automatically with Amazon RDS Auto Scaling.
  • High Availability
    Amazon RDS provides Multi-AZ deployments for disaster recovery and automated backups, ensuring high availability and durability.
  • Security
    Integrated with AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM), Amazon RDS offers encryption at rest and in transit, as well as network isolation using Amazon VPC.
  • Performance Monitoring
    Amazon RDS provides built-in performance monitoring tools such as Amazon CloudWatch for tracking key metrics and identifying issues.
  • Compatibility
    Supports multiple database engines including MySQL, PostgreSQL, MariaDB, Oracle, and SQL Server, offering flexibility based on your requirements.

Possible disadvantages of Amazon RDS

  • Cost
    The cost of using Amazon RDS can accumulate quickly, especially with high storage demands, high availability configurations, and extensive data transfer.
  • Limited Customization
    As a managed service, there are limits to the customization and fine-tuning compared to self-managed databases, which might not meet all specialized needs.
  • Vendor Lock-In
    Reliance on Amazon RDS ties you into the AWS ecosystem, making migration to another cloud provider or on-premise environment more challenging.
  • Performance Variability
    While generally reliable, users may sometimes experience variability in performance due to shared cloud infrastructure.
  • Configuration Restrictions
    Certain database configurations and features available in on-premise setups might not be supported or might have limited support in Amazon RDS.
  • Complexity in Hybrid Environments
    Integrating Amazon RDS with on-premise systems or other cloud providers can be complex and might require additional configuration and management.

Microsoft SQL Server videos

What is Microsoft SQL Server?

Amazon RDS videos

Amazon Relational Database Service (Amazon RDS)

More videos:

  • Review - Getting Started with Amazon RDS - Relational Database Service on AWS

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Microsoft SQL Server and Amazon RDS)
Databases
50 50%
50% 50
NoSQL Databases
53 53%
47% 47
Relational Databases
51 51%
49% 49
Development
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Microsoft SQL Server and Amazon RDS

Microsoft SQL Server Reviews

20 Best SQL Management Tools in 2020
It is a SQL management tool for analysing the differences in Microsoft SQL Server database structures. It allows comparing database objects like tables, columns, indexes, foreign keys, schemas, etc.
Source: www.guru99.com

Amazon RDS Reviews

We have no reviews of Amazon RDS yet.
Be the first one to post

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Amazon RDS seems to be a lot more popular than Microsoft SQL Server. While we know about 72 links to Amazon RDS, we've tracked only 5 mentions of Microsoft SQL Server. 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.

Microsoft SQL Server mentions (5)

  • Cloud provider comparison 2024: VM Performance / Price
    Azure is the #2 overall Cloud provider and, as expected, it's the best choice for most Microsoft/Windows-based solutions. That said, it does offer many types of Linux VMs, with quite similar abilities as AWS/GCP. - Source: dev.to / 9 months ago
  • Amdocs, NVIDIA and Microsoft Azure build custom LLMs for telcos
    Amdocs has partnered with NVIDIA and Microsoft Azure to build custom Large Language Models (LLMs) for the $1.7 trillion global telecoms industry. Source: over 1 year ago
  • Windows Azure: Microsoft's crown jewel
    You can utilise various tools on the platform to significantly improve your IT performance. Due to its flexibility, even official recommendations for Azure might need to be clarified and easier to comprehend. Simply put, Azure (formerly Windows Azure) is Microsoft's cloud computing operating system. Source: almost 2 years ago
  • From developer to (solutions) architect. A simple guide.
    This is not to say there aren't architects still working on premise in self managed environments, but if you're planning to join the forces, you probably want to have an idea of who are the 3 public cloud providers (AWS, Azure and GCP), and their offering and topology. - Source: dev.to / almost 4 years ago
  • Can You Learn AWS (And Get Certified) With No Experience? e.g. No IT background or degree
    Right now, AWS couldn’t be a better choice. AWS has been for many years—and continues to be—the market leader between all the cloud platforms. Whilst the competitors like GCP and Azure are catching up, they’ve still not toppled AWS which continues to be, by far, the biggest cloud provider. - Source: dev.to / about 4 years ago

Amazon RDS mentions (72)

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What are some alternatives?

When comparing Microsoft SQL Server and Amazon RDS, you can also consider the following products

MongoDB - MongoDB (from "humongous") is a scalable, high-performance NoSQL database.

MariaDB - An enhanced, drop-in replacement for MySQL

PostgreSQL - PostgreSQL is a powerful, open source object-relational database system.

MySQL - The world's most popular open source database

SQLite - SQLite Home Page

Redis - Redis is an open source in-memory data structure project implementing a distributed, in-memory key-value database with optional durability.