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SimpleDB VS Amazon Aurora

Compare SimpleDB VS Amazon Aurora and see what are their differences

SimpleDB logo SimpleDB

Amazon SimpleDB is a simple database storage solution that allows developers to simply store & query data items via web services requests, saving time.

Amazon Aurora logo Amazon Aurora

MySQL and PostgreSQL-compatible relational database built for the cloud. Performance and availability of commercial-grade databases at 1/10th the cost.
  • SimpleDB Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-04-01
  • Amazon Aurora Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-03-17

SimpleDB features and specs

  • Scalability
    SimpleDB automatically manages server infrastructure on behalf of users, allowing it to scale in response to application demand without manual intervention.
  • Ease of Use
    It is designed to be simple, with a straightforward API that makes it easy to get started without needing to manage the complexities of traditional database systems.
  • Flexible Data Model
    The schema-less nature of SimpleDB allows users to store structured data without predefining the data types, making it adaptable to changes in data format or structure.
  • Indexing and Querying
    SimpleDB provides automatic indexing of all attributes, which facilitates quick querying and retrieval of data without requiring users to manage indices.
  • Integration with AWS Services
    Seamless integration with other AWS services like S3 and EC2, allowing users to build comprehensive cloud solutions.

Possible disadvantages of SimpleDB

  • Limited Query Functionality
    SimpleDB's querying capabilities are more limited compared to relational databases; it does not support complex queries or joins.
  • Storage and Throughput Limitations
    There are limitations on storage size per domain and concurrent read/write throughput, which could be restrictive for large-scale applications.
  • Consistency Model
    SimpleDB trades off strong consistency for high availability, which means applications must be designed to handle eventual consistency.
  • Cost
    While SimpleDB can be cost-effective for small applications, costs can accumulate quickly with large-scale data operations due to its pricing model based on data usage.
  • Obsolescence
    With the advancement and growing use of more robust AWS databases like DynamoDB, SimpleDB has become less appealing and might not receive the same level of support or updates.

Amazon Aurora features and specs

  • High Performance
    Amazon Aurora is designed to provide up to five times the throughput of standard MySQL and three times the throughput of standard PostgreSQL databases.
  • Scalability
    Aurora scales storage automatically, growing from 10GB up to 128TB with no downtime. This automatic scaling makes it ideal for applications with fluctuating workloads.
  • High Availability and Durability
    Aurora automatically replicates six copies of data across three availability zones and continuously backs up data to Amazon S3, ensuring durability.
  • Security
    Aurora offers multiple layers of security including network isolation using Amazon VPC, encryption at rest using keys that you create and control through AWS Key Management Service (KMS), and encryption of data in transit using SSL.
  • Fully Managed
    Aurora is fully managed by AWS, which automates time-consuming administrative tasks such as hardware provisioning, database setup, patching, and backups.
  • Compatibility
    Aurora is compatible with MySQL and PostgreSQL, making it easier to migrate existing applications to Aurora with minimal changes.
  • Immutability
    Amazon QLDB uses an immutable transaction log, which ensures that all changes to the data are permanent and cannot be deleted or altered. This enables high data integrity and supports cryptographic verification.
  • Serverless Architecture
    QLDB is serverless, meaning that it automatically scales according to your needs. You donโ€™t have to worry about managing and provisioning servers, thus reducing operational complexity.
  • Integrated with AWS Ecosystem
    Being part of AWS, QLDB can easily integrate with other AWS services, such as AWS Lambda, Amazon S3, and Amazon CloudWatch, providing a seamless experience for building applications.
  • ACID Transactions
    QLDB supports ACID (Atomicity, Consistency, Isolation, Durability) transactions, ensuring data integrity, which is crucial for applications that require reliable transaction guarantees.
  • Cryptographic Verification
    The ledger uses a cryptographic hashing process to create a chain of blocks, allowing you to verify the integrity of your data over time.

Possible disadvantages of Amazon Aurora

  • Cost
    Aurora can be more expensive than traditional RDS instances, particularly for workloads that do not fully utilize its high performance and scalability features.
  • Complexity
    The numerous features and configurations can make Aurora complex to manage and tune, especially for those who are not familiar with AWS services.
  • Vendor Lock-in
    Adopting Aurora ties you into the AWS ecosystem, which can make it difficult to migrate to other cloud providers or on-premises systems.
  • Cold Start Latency
    Aurora Serverless can experience latency during cold starts, which can be problematic for applications requiring instant scalability.
  • Limited to AWS Environment
    Aurora is only available within the AWS environment, which can be limiting if your infrastructure spans multiple cloud providers.
  • Limited Query Language
    QLDB uses PartiQL, which while powerful, may not support the full range of complex queries and functionality available in more mature query languages like SQL.
  • Not a Blockchain
    QLDB provides blockchain-like capabilities but is not a decentralized blockchain. This means it does not have the decentralized features of public blockchains, such as Bitcoin or Ethereum.
  • Performance Overhead
    The immutable nature of QLDB can introduce performance overhead, especially for write-heavy applications, which could be a concern in performance-sensitive environments.

Analysis of Amazon Aurora

Overall verdict

  • Amazon Aurora is generally regarded as an excellent database service for businesses that require robust performance and high availability. It strikes a balance between cost-effectiveness and advanced database features, making it suitable for a wide range of applications.

Why this product is good

  • Amazon Aurora is considered a good choice for many applications due to its high performance, scalability, and compatibility with popular database systems like MySQL and PostgreSQL. It offers features like automated backups, quick failover, and replication capabilities. Aurora is designed to be fault-tolerant and highly available, providing a fully managed solution that relieves users from the operational burden associated with on-premise database management.

Recommended for

    Amazon Aurora is recommended for organizations that need reliable, scalable, and high-performance databases. It is well-suited for web and mobile applications, e-commerce platforms, real-time analytics, and other use cases requiring high availability and fault tolerance. It's ideal for businesses looking to modernize their database infrastructure and take advantage of cloud-native capabilities.

SimpleDB videos

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Amazon Aurora videos

Introduction to Amazon Aurora - Relational Database Built for the Cloud - AWS

More videos:

  • Review - Getting started with Amazon QLDB
  • Review - Amazon Aurora Global Database Deep Dive
  • Review - What's New in Amazon Aurora - AWS Online Tech Talks

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to SimpleDB and Amazon Aurora)
Databases
14 14%
86% 86
Project Management
100 100%
0% 0
Relational Databases
8 8%
92% 92
NoSQL Databases
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Amazon Aurora should be more popular than SimpleDB. It has been mentiond 25 times since March 2021. 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.

SimpleDB mentions (6)

  • Amazon is laying off another 9,000 employees across AWS, Twitch, advertising
    Amazing that this managed DB service is still running: https://aws.amazon.com/simpledb/. Source: over 2 years ago
  • What is the difference between Dynamo and DynamoDB?
    Over the years, Amazon also developed another NoSQL database called SimpleDB. Unlike the original Dynamo, SimpleDB is a managed service so it's easy for teams to adopt and operate. However, SimpleDB can't grow past 10 GB and its performance doesn't scale well (maxes out at around 25 writes per second). Source: almost 4 years ago
  • Amazon EC2-Classic Is Retiring
    You can actually still use SimpleDB: https://aws.amazon.com/simpledb/. - Source: Hacker News / about 4 years ago
  • AWS Quicksight: Authenticating users without SSO but simple DB
    Are you talking about SimpleDB (https://aws.amazon.com/simpledb/) ? If so, I had no idea anyone used this anymore. Source: about 4 years ago
  • Why Google Cloud is less trustworthy than AWS or Azure
    About deprecation: the gold standard is what AWS is doing with SimpleDB: essentially, never. The thing here is that if you run hundreds of services in production - many of which work smoothly and you don't need to touch often, you will find that Google's habit of forcing you to change how to use their tooling will generate a huge burden... They discourage you from using it and make it clear that for every use case... - Source: Hacker News / over 4 years ago
View more

Amazon Aurora mentions (25)

  • Comparative guide for SQL Subqueries vs CTEs vs Temp Tables vs Views vs Materialized Views in AWS Aurora
    In modern data-driven applications, the efficiency and readability of SQL queries can affect performance, maintainability, and developer productivity. AWS Aurora, a fully managed relational database service compatible with MySQL and PostgreSQL, offers several techniques to manage query complexity and optimize performance through: Subqueries, Common table expressions, Temporary Tables, Views, and Materialized views. - Source: dev.to / 11 days ago
  • AWS Lamba & RDS Proxy
    At some point I really needed to use a relational database and I started playing with RDS Aurora. I created an instance, connected from Lambda and it worked just fine. However when I generated a bit more load it soon started locking up, all connections were in use and new ones couldn't be created. It would take a while for the database to become available again. The warning for combining Lambda with connection... - Source: dev.to / 4 months ago
  • Building a RAG System for Video Content Search and Analysis
    Using Amazon Bedrock to invoke Amazon Titan Foundation Models for generating multimodal embeddings, Amazon Transcribe for converting speech to text, and Amazon Aurora postgreSQL for vector storage and similarity search, you can build an application that understands both visual and audio content, enabling natural language queries to find specific moments in videos. - Source: dev.to / 6 months ago
  • Everyone Uses Postgresโ€ฆ But Why?
    Cloud deployment: PostgreSQL can be deployed in the cloud with AWS RDS, Amazon Aurora, Azure Database for PostgreSQL, or Cloud SQL for PostgreSQL. - Source: dev.to / 11 months ago
  • Announcing the public beta for dedicated clusters
    Today, our Postgres databases are Amazon Aurora instances. You can trust that your database will have the scalability, reliability and security that AWS is known for. With dedicated clusters you can configure both the Postgres engine version, cluster class and number of replicas for failover and query distribution. - Source: dev.to / about 1 year ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing SimpleDB and Amazon Aurora, you can also consider the following products

Ninox - Ninox is a human-friendly database. Create your own Business Application with Ninox that matches your workflow. Ninox lets you integrate CRM, ERP, HR and many more...

MySQL - The world's most popular open source database

MongoDB Atlas - The best way to host MongoDB in the cloud. Deploy on AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud Platform. Try it free!

Oracle DBaaS - See how Oracle Database 12c enables businesses to plug into the cloud and power the real-time enterprise.

SAP HANA - SAP HANA is an in-memory, column-oriented, relational database management system.

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