aws-rds-spring-boot-integration

---
name: aws-rds-spring-boot-integration
description: Provides patterns to configure AWS RDS (Aurora, MySQL, PostgreSQL) with Spring Boot applications. Configures HikariCP connection pools, implements read/write splitting, sets up IAM database authentication, enables SSL connections, and integrates with AWS Secrets Manager. Use when setting up RDS connections in Spring Boot, configuring connection pooling, or managing database credentials securely.
license: MIT
---

# AWS RDS Spring Boot Integration

## Overview

Configure AWS RDS databases (Aurora, MySQL, PostgreSQL) with Spring Boot applications. Provides patterns for datasource configuration, HikariCP connection pooling, SSL connections, environment-specific configurations, and AWS Secrets Manager integration.

## When to Use

Use when configuring HikariCP connection pools for RDS workloads, implementing read/write split with Aurora replicas, setting up IAM database authentication, enabling SSL/TLS connections, managing database migrations with Flyway, or troubleshooting RDS connectivity issues.

## Instructions

Follow these steps to configure AWS RDS with Spring Boot:

1. **Add Dependencies** — Include Spring Data JPA, database driver (MySQL/PostgreSQL), and Flyway
2. **Configure Datasource** — Set connection properties in application.yml
3. **Configure HikariCP** — Optimize pool settings for your RDS workload
4. **Set Up SSL** — Enable encrypted connections to RDS
5. **Configure Profiles** — Set environment-specific configurations (dev/prod)
6. **Add Migrations** — Create Flyway scripts for schema management
7. **Validate Connectivity** — Run health check to verify database connection

   **If validation fails**: Check security group rules, verify credentials, ensure RDS is accessible from your network, and confirm SSL certificate configuration.

8. **Run Migrations** — Apply Flyway migrations only after connectivity validation passes

## Quick Start

### Step 1: Add Dependencies

**Maven (pom.xml):**
```xml
<dependencies>
    <!-- Spring Data JPA -->
    <dependency>
        <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
        <artifactId>spring-boot-starter-data-jpa</artifactId>
    </dependency>

    <!-- Aurora MySQL Driver -->
    <dependency>
        <groupId>com.mysql</groupId>
        <artifactId>mysql-connector-j</artifactId>
        <version>8.2.0</version>
        <scope>runtime</scope>
    </dependency>

    <!-- Aurora PostgreSQL Driver (alternative) -->
    <dependency>
        <groupId>org.postgresql</groupId>
        <artifactId>postgresql</artifactId>
        <scope>runtime</scope>
    </dependency>

    <!-- Flyway for database migrations -->
    <dependency>
        <groupId>org.flywaydb</groupId>
        <artifactId>flyway-core</artifactId>
    </dependency>

    <!-- Validation -->
    <dependency>
        <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
        <artifactId>spring-boot-starter-validation</artifactId>
    </dependency>
</dependencies>
```

**Gradle (build.gradle):**
```gradle
dependencies {
    implementation 'org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-starter-data-jpa'
    implementation 'org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-starter-validation'

    // Aurora MySQL
    runtimeOnly 'com.mysql:mysql-connector-j:8.2.0'

    // Aurora PostgreSQL (alternative)
    runtimeOnly 'org.postgresql:postgresql'

    // Flyway
    implementation 'org.flywaydb:flyway-core'
}
```

### Step 2: Basic Datasource Configuration

Use the configuration in the **Examples** section below. For PostgreSQL, change:
- Driver: `org.postgresql.Driver`
- URL: `jdbc:postgresql://...` with `?ssl=true&sslmode=require`
- Dialect: `org.hibernate.dialect.PostgreSQLDialect`

### Step 3: Set Up Environment Variables

```bash
# Production environment variables
export DB_PASSWORD=YourStrongPassword123!
export SPRING_PROFILES_ACTIVE=prod

# For development
export SPRING_PROFILES_ACTIVE=dev
```

## Database Migration Setup

Create migration files for Flyway:

```
src/main/resources/db/migration/
├── V1__create_users_table.sql
├── V2__add_phone_column.sql
└── V3__create_orders_table.sql
```

**V1__create_users_table.sql:**
```sql
CREATE TABLE users (
    id BIGINT AUTO_INCREMENT PRIMARY KEY,
    name VARCHAR(100) NOT NULL,
    email VARCHAR(255) NOT NULL UNIQUE,
    created_at TIMESTAMP NOT NULL DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP,
    updated_at TIMESTAMP NOT NULL DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP ON UPDATE CURRENT_TIMESTAMP,
    INDEX idx_email (email)
) ENGINE=InnoDB DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8mb4;
```

## Examples

### Example 1: Aurora MySQL Configuration

```yaml
spring:
  datasource:
    url: jdbc:mysql://myapp-aurora-cluster.cluster-abc123xyz.us-east-1.rds.amazonaws.com:3306/devops
    username: admin
    password: ${DB_PASSWORD}
    driver-class-name: com.mysql.cj.jdbc.Driver
    hikari:
      maximum-pool-size: 20
      minimum-idle: 5
      connection-timeout: 20000
  jpa:
    hibernate:
      ddl-auto: validate
    open-in-view: false
```

### Example 2: Aurora PostgreSQL with SSL

```properties
spring.datasource.url=jdbc:postgresql://myapp-aurora-pg-cluster.cluster-abc123xyz.us-east-1.rds.amazonaws.com:5432/devops?ssl=true&sslmode=require
spring.datasource.username=${DB_USERNAME}
spring.datasource.password=${DB_PASSWORD}
spring.datasource.hikari.maximum-pool-size=30
spring.jpa.properties.hibernate.dialect=org.hibernate.dialect.PostgreSQLDialect
```

### Example 3: Read/Write Split Configuration

```java
@Configuration
public class DataSourceConfiguration {

    @Bean
    @Primary
    public DataSource dataSource(
            @Qualifier("writerDataSource") DataSource writerDataSource,
            @Qualifier("readerDataSource") DataSource readerDataSource) {
        Map<Object, Object> targetDataSources = new HashMap<>();
        targetDataSources.put("writer", writerDataSource);
        targetDataSources.put("reader", readerDataSource);

        RoutingDataSource routingDataSource = new RoutingDataSource();
        routingDataSource.setTargetDataSources(targetDataSources);
        routingDataSource.setDefaultTargetDataSource(writerDataSource);

        return routingDataSource;
    }
}
```

## Constraints and Warnings

- HikariCP pool size must respect RDS instance connection limits
- Security groups must allow traffic from your application's IP range
- Use AWS Secrets Manager instead of hardcoding credentials
- Enable storage autoscaling to prevent storage exhaustion

## Best Practices

- **HikariCP**: Enable leak detection and configure timeouts for failover scenarios
- **Security**: Enable SSL/TLS; use IAM Database Authentication when possible
- **Performance**: Disable open-in-view; use appropriate indexing and batch operations
- **Monitoring**: Enable Spring Boot Actuator with database health checks

## Testing

Verify connectivity with this health check endpoint:

```java
@RestController
@RequestMapping("/api/health")
public class DatabaseHealthController {
    @Autowired
    private DataSource dataSource;

    @GetMapping("/db-connection")
    public ResponseEntity<Map<String, Object>> testDatabaseConnection() {
        Map<String, Object> response = new HashMap<>();
        try (Connection connection = dataSource.getConnection()) {
            response.put("status", "success");
            response.put("database", connection.getCatalog());
            response.put("connected", true);
            return ResponseEntity.ok(response);
        } catch (Exception e) {
            response.put("status", "failed");
            response.put("error", e.getMessage());
            response.put("connected", false);
            return ResponseEntity.status(HttpStatus.SERVICE_UNAVAILABLE).body(response);
        }
    }
}
```

```bash
curl http://localhost:8080/api/health/db-connection
```

## Support

For detailed troubleshooting and advanced configuration, refer to:

- [AWS RDS Aurora Advanced Configuration](references/advanced-configuration.md)
- [AWS RDS Aurora Troubleshooting Guide](references/troubleshooting.md)
- [AWS RDS Aurora documentation](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/sdk-for-java/latest/developer-guide/java_aurora_code_examples.html)
- [Spring Boot Data RDS Aurora documentation](https://www.baeldung.com/aws-aurora-rds-java)