''' The current schedule for OPS345 is here: [[OPS335_Weekly_Schedule]]
* Data = Databases = All computer data is stored as 1s and 0s, but noone has the time to write and read millions and billions of those just to see some pictures. Only people in the Matrix can look at a stream of binary data and see pictures. Real people need a library to convert that stream of data to RGB values for pixels in XY coordinates, and a video card to place those on a screen. The same applies to apparently simple data like strings of text. You could store text as ASCII values in a plain-text file, but for most use cases data stored that way is not usable. For example the text you're reading here is often modified not stored in a plain text file, it is typically stored in a relational database.That allows me to edit it via a web browser, adding formatting and images, allows you to view it in a web browser, enables features like the edit history, email notifications, etc. * AWS provides Databases are not the only means to store user data, but they are the most common way to store organized text. For many years now and still today the most common database services via RDSon the internet is MySQL, though which was forked into MariaDB some years ago. While you're not expected to become gain strong database skills in this course: as a system administrator you should know how to do basic setup tasks like setting up a server, creating a database and users, and setting up a pre-defined schema to be used by a web application. That's what this lab is about. = AWS RDS = You could install MariaDB in one of your own DBMS like AWS VMs (as you did in Vmware in OPS245) but Amazon provides a service called Relational Database Service (RDS). This service performs better, is more reliable, and is professionally administered by highly qualified AWS employees. So it would make no sense for us to compete with that, especially given how valuable data in a database typically is. RDS supports many backends including most of popular SQL database engines (RDBMSs). We're going to create a MariaDB on your own VMDB instance. * In the AWS Management Console go to RDS.* Under Databases click "Create database".*
* In the AWS console go to RDS. Create ops345db, with a long password that's different from other passwords. Put it in ops345sgprivate. This one will be used/seen in plain text sometimes.
** It will complain about not having two subnets in different availability zones.