Updated on 2024-07-18 GMT+08:00

Creating a Read Replica

Scenarios

Read replicas enhance the read capabilities and reduce the load on your DB instances.

After an RDS instance is created, you can create read replicas for it as required.

Procedure

  1. Log in to the management console.
  2. Click in the upper left corner of the page and choose Databases > Relational Database Service.
  3. On the Instances page, locate the target DB instance and click Create Read Replica in the Operation column.

    Alternatively, click the target DB instance. In the DB instance topology, click under the primary DB instance to create read replicas.

  4. On the displayed page, configure required parameters and click Next.

    Table 1 Basic information

    Parameter

    Description

    Region

    By default, read replicas are in the same region as your DB instance.

    DB Instance Name

    Must start with a letter and consist of 4 to 64 characters. Only letters (case-sensitive), digits, hyphens (-), and underscores (_) are allowed.

    DB Engine

    Same as the DB engine of your DB instance by default and cannot be changed.

    DB Engine Version

    Same as the DB engine version of your DB instance by default and cannot be changed.

    Storage Type

    Determines the DB instance read/write speed. The higher the maximum throughput is, the higher the DB instance read/write speed can be.

    • Cloud SSD: cloud drives used to decouple storage from compute.

    AZ

    RDS allows you to deploy your DB instance and read replicas in the same AZ.

    Table 2 Instance specifications

    Parameter

    Description

    Instance Class

    Refers to the CPU and memory of a DB instance. Different instance classes have different numbers of database connections and maximum IOPS.

    Storage Space

    Contains the system overhead required for inodes, reserved blocks, and database operation.

    By default, storage space of a read replica is the same as that of the primary DB instance.

    Disk Encryption

    • Disable: indicates the encryption function is disabled.
    • Enable: indicates the encryption function is enabled. Enabling disk encryption improves security but affects system performance.

      Key Name: indicates the tenant key. You can select an existing key or create a new one.

      NOTE:
      • If you enable disk encryption during instance creation, the disk encryption status and the key cannot be changed later.
      • After an RDS DB instance is created, do not disable or delete the key that is currently in use. Otherwise, RDS will be unavailable and data cannot be restored.
      • For details about how to create a key, see the "Creating a CMK" section in the Data Encryption Workshop User Guide.

    Table 3 Network

    Parameter

    Description

    VPC

    Same as the primary DB instance's VPC.

    Subnet

    Same as the primary DB instance's subnet.

    • IPv4 address:

      A floating IPv4 address is automatically assigned when you create a read replica. You can also enter an unused floating IPv4 address in the subnet CIDR block. After the read replica is created, you can change the floating IP address.

    Security Group

    Same as the primary DB instance's security group.

  5. Confirm specifications.

    • If you need to modify your settings, click Previous.
    • If you do not need to modify your settings, click Submit.

  6. After a read replica is created, you can view and manage it.

    For details about how to manage read replicas, see Managing a Read Replica.

    You can view the detailed progress and result of the task on the Task Center page.

FAQ

Q: Does creating read replicas during peak hours increase the load on my primary instance when my primary instance's CPU usage is high?

A: Yes. When a read replica is created, it synchronizes data from the primary instance, which consumes I/O and CPU resources of the primary instance. To avoid this impact, you can create read replicas during off-peak hours.

Follow-up Operations

Managing a Read Replica