Supercharge Your SQL Server Workload on AWS

Why AWS for SQL Server Workloads?

• Lower Total Cost of Ownership: Up to 45% savings on SQL Server licensing and up to 77% on Windows Server licensing
• Higher Performance and Reliability: 98% reduction in unplanned downtime, 20-26% boost in developer productivity, and 71% faster deployments
• Flexible Licensing Options: Bring your own license or pay-as-you-go with license-included model
• Integrated Experience: AWS tools like AWS Launch Wizard for SQL Server provide a guided experience for sizing, configuration, and deployment
• Extensive Experience: AWS has been running Microsoft workloads on the cloud for over 16 years, longer than any other cloud provider
• Opportunity for Modernization: Move to purpose-built databases on AWS and focus on innovation rather than maintenance tasks

Migration Pathways

1. Lift and Shift to Amazon EC2: Simple and easy way to move SQL Server workloads, allows using existing licenses
2. Refactor to AWS Managed Services: Fully managed Amazon RDS for SQL Server or Amazon RDS Custom for SQL Server to eliminate operational overhead

Post-Migration Challenges

1. Cost Management: Controlling SQL Server costs on the cloud can be challenging due to pay-as-you-go model and over-provisioning
2. Licensing Complexities: Dealing with punitive licensing terms from commercial database providers and end-of-support issues
3. Scalability and Operational Resilience: Designing highly available and disaster-resilient workloads across Availability Zones and Regions
4. Patch Management: Significant undifferentiated heavy lifting for IT operations, even with automation

Thomson Reuters' Cloud Journey

• Migrated mission-critical "One Source Global Trade Platform" to AWS
• Initially lifted and shifted to Amazon EC2 to meet tight deadlines and leverage existing licenses
• Faced challenges with cost, licensing, scalability, and operational overhead
• Ultimately re-platformed to Amazon RDS Custom for SQL Server to address these challenges
  • Eliminated need for third-party replication software
  • Automated patching, backup, and disaster recovery
  • Achieved significant cost savings

Operationalizing SQL Server on AWS

• Running SQL Server on Amazon EC2 provides a familiar VM-like experience
• Amazon RDS for SQL Server offers a fully managed service, but with some limitations
• Amazon RDS Custom for SQL Server provides a middle ground, offering a managed service with more flexibility:
  • Bring your own SQL Server installation media and licenses
  • Install custom drivers, agents, and tools
  • Run administrative tasks like an SA user
  • Migrate using backup and restore or Always On Availability Groups

Key Takeaways

1. Use SQL Server Developer Edition for non-production environments to save costs
2. Leverage memory-optimized instances (e.g., X2idn) to balance SQL Server's resource requirements
3. Leverage AWS Storage Gateway to optimize SQL Server backup and restore costs and performance