Amazon RDS Database Preview Environment

Test beta, release candidate, and early production versions of database engine software on RDS

The Amazon RDS Database Preview Environment allows you to test beta, release candidate, and early production versions of Amazon AuroraRDS for PostgreSQL, RDS for MariaDB, and MySQL Innovation releases.

You can now start testing new features and functionality of PostgreSQL, MySQL, and MariaDB databases on Amazon Aurora and  Amazon RDS within days or weeks of the new versions becoming available from the PostgreSQL, MySQL, or MariaDB community.

Database instances in the Amazon RDS Database Preview Environment are fully functional and allow complete testing of each new database engine without the hassle of having to self-install, provision, and manage a preview version of the database software.

The Amazon RDS Database Preview Environment currently supports development, beta, and release candidate versions of the next upcoming major version of PostgreSQL, MySQL, and MariaDB. The Amazon RDS Database Preview Environment also supports MySQL Innovation releases.

Preview versions of PostgreSQL are available in the Amazon RDS Database Preview Environment until the production version is released by the PostgreSQL community and subsequently released by Amazon Aurora and Amazon RDS.

PostgreSQL, MySQL, and MariaDB database instances in the Amazon RDS Database Preview Environment are priced the same as production Amazon RDS instances created in the US East (Ohio) Region.

Amazon Aurora PostgreSQL-Compatible Edition 17.0, RDS for PostgreSQL 17, RDS for MariaDB 11.4, and MySQL Innovation release version 8.1 and higher are now available in the Amazon RDS Database Preview Environment.

Test open source database software on RDS

Shorten your release cycles

Test reliability, functionality, and performance improvements in database engine software without waiting for the Amazon RDS integration and testing to complete. This allows you to shorten your release cycles by weeks, by avoiding the hassle of installing, provisioning, and managing preview versions of database software.

Access new database features

Leverage the managed service benefits of Amazon RDS while testing database software versions not yet supported by Amazon RDS. The Amazon RDS Database Preview Environment supports both Single-AZ and Multi-AZ instances on the latest generation of instance classes and can be encrypted at rest using KMS keys.

Report issues to the Amazon RDS team

Use the Amazon RDS Database Preview Environment Forum to share information and concerns about the candidate versions of the PostgreSQL, MySQL, and MariaDB database and about the Amazon RDS Database Preview Environment.

Get started with the Amazon RDS Database Preview Environment

The Amazon RDS Database Preview Environment is available for existing Amazon RDS customers and those wishing to try Amazon RDS for the first time.
Step 1 - Sign up for an Amazon Web Services account

Sign up for Amazon RDS

Get access to the  Amazon RDS Free Tier.

Access the Preview Environment

Navigate to the Amazon RDS Database Preview Environment from the Amazon RDS dashboard in the AWS Console.

Launch a Preview Instance

Launch a database preview instance. Consult the Amazon RDS Database Preview Environment Forum for help.