Review Set 4 – confusion about VPC & On-premises MySQL replication direction

[AudreyST]

Q “A large media company based in Los Angeles, California runs a MySQL RDS instance inside an AWS VPC. The company runs a custom analytics application on its on-premises … Which .. is the most secure way of performing this replication?”

The answer: “Create an IPSec VPN connection using either OpenVPN or VPN/VGW through the Virtual Private Cloud service. Prepare an instance of MySQL running external to Amazon RDS. Configure the MySQL DB instance to be the replication source. Use mysqldump to transfer the database from the Amazon RDS instance to the on-premises MySQL instance and start the replication from the Amazon RDS Read Replica”.

I am quite confused reading the question, the statement “Replication to an instance of MySQL running external to Amazon RDS is *only supported during the time it takes to export a database* from a MySQL DB instance” & the diagram (replication direction) below it in the explanation section and totally unsure what is the final replication direction.

I understand a new mySQL was created on-premises, and the mysqldump of the VPC MySQL was exported to the on-premises. After this, I’m confused if the replication was supposed to be from on-premises to VPC OR from VPC to on-premises. Was the VPC MySQL the source or (became) a replica OR the other way around at the end?? Please help me understand. Thank you.

p.s. I have to write a new post after finding the origin post disappeared from this forum (after I attempted to edited it). Weird.

[Neil-TutorialsDojo]

Hello AudreyST,

Good day!

To clarify the workflow:
Use mysqldump to export the database from the Amazon RDS MySQL instance and import it into the on-premises MySQL instance. This step ensures that the initial data is synchronized. After the initial transfer, set up replication so that the Amazon RDS MySQL instance serves as the source. The on-premises MySQL instance will act as the replica, receiving updates from the Amazon RDS instance. This setup allows for continuous data synchronization.

I understand the confusion caused by the explanation and diagram. We will work on updating the question to provide clearer guidance. Thank you for your feedback and happy learning!

Regard,
Neil @ Tutorials Dojo