Exporting RDS/Aurora to S3

Overview

Domain expertise for exporting Amazon RDS and Aurora database snapshots to Amazon S3 in Apache Parquet format. Covers the full workflow: snapshot identification or creation, IAM role and KMS encryption setup, S3 bucket preparation, export task initiation, progress monitoring, data verification, and post-export access guidance for analytics services like Athena, Glue, and Redshift Spectrum.

Export an RDS or Aurora snapshot to S3

To export a database snapshot to S3 with proper IAM roles, encryption, and monitoring, follow the procedure exactly. See RDS to S3 export procedure.

Troubleshooting

Database not found

Verify the database identifier spelling, case, and region. For Aurora, use describe-db-clusters instead of describe-db-instances.

Export not supported

Snapshot export supports MySQL, PostgreSQL, MariaDB, Aurora MySQL, and Aurora PostgreSQL only. Oracle and SQL Server are not supported.

IAM role permission errors

Ensure the role trust policy allows export.rds.amazonaws.com with aws:SourceAccount and aws:SourceArn conditions for confused deputy protection, and has S3 PutObject and KMS permissions. Wait 10–15 seconds after role creation for propagation.

Export stuck or failed

Check the export task status for failure reasons. Common causes: S3 bucket deleted, IAM role modified, or KMS key disabled during export. See the full procedure for detailed troubleshooting.