The Amazon Aurora Connector
Archive Amazon Aurora databases, MySQL and PostgreSQL compatible with cost-optimized Lakehouse storage. Stop paying Aurora compute rates for data you must retain but rarely touch.
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Amazon Aurora Archiving for Cost Optimization and Long-Term Compliance
Archon’s Amazon Aurora Connector extracts tables, schemas, and historical data from Aurora MySQL-compatible and Aurora PostgreSQL-compatible clusters and archives them into open Parquet/Delta Lake format on S3-based Lakehouse or other cloud storage. Built for compliance and data engineering teams managing long-term retention mandates on Aurora-backed applications without incurring ongoing Aurora compute and storage costs.
Aurora’s automated backups and Point-in-Time Recovery are operational recovery tools, not compliance archives. PITR retention maxes out at 35 days. For regulatory obligations spanning 5, 7, or 10 years, Archon provides a separate, immutable compliance archive that satisfies auditors and regulators without requiring Aurora clusters to remain active.
- JDBC extraction from Aurora MySQL-compatible and Aurora PostgreSQL-compatible clusters
- Tables, schemas, views, audit logs, and binlog/WAL-derived change records captured
- Schema structure and relational metadata preserved in open Parquet format
- Cross-schema query via Archon Analyzer, no Aurora compute costs post-archive
- SEC, FINRA, HIPAA, GDPR, PCI DSS, and SOX retention policy support
Capabilities
Everything You Need for Amazon Aurora Data Operations
Beyond PITR: Permanent Compliance Archiving
Aurora PITR retains data for 35 days maximum. For SEC, FINRA, HIPAA, and SOX retention obligations spanning years, Archon provides a separate, WORM-immutable archive layer that satisfies regulators without Aurora compute spend.
Aurora Storage Cost Optimization
Aurora storage is charged per GB-month. Aged tables that remain in Aurora at full storage cost, but are rarely queried, are candidates for Archon archiving. Offload to S3 Lakehouse Parquet at a fraction of Aurora storage pricing.
Application Retirement Data Preservation
Cloud-native applications built on Aurora are retired regularly. Archon archives the Aurora database, including schema structure and audit tables, before the application is shut down, ensuring compliance access without Aurora infrastructure.
Multi-Engine Unified Archiving
Aurora MySQL-compatible and Aurora PostgreSQL-compatible clusters are archived through a single Archon configuration, delivering a unified Lakehouse archive regardless of Aurora engine variant.
Use Cases
How Enterprises Use the Amazon Aurora Connector
01 Regulatory Compliance Beyond PITR
Financial services, healthcare, and government entities with 5-10 year retention obligations on Aurora data use Archon to satisfy those mandates without Aurora compute spend. Archive once and query whenever a regulator asks.
02 Aurora Storage Cost Reduction
Large Aurora deployments accumulate cold tables that inflate storage costs without active query value. Archon offloads those tables to S3 Lakehouse at a fraction of Aurora storage pricing, with no loss of query access via Archon Analyzer.
03 Cloud Application Retirement
Cloud-native applications built on Aurora are decommissioned after Archon archives the underlying database. Aurora cluster costs are eliminated while compliance access is maintained indefinitely.
04 GDPR and CCPA Compliance on AWS
Consumer-facing applications using Aurora satisfy GDPR Article 5 retention and CCPA data deletion obligations through Archon's selective PII removal, applied to archived records without disrupting relational integrity.
Technical Specifications
| Specification | Details |
|---|---|
| Connection Method | JDBC (MySQL Connector/J or PostgreSQL JDBC driver, depending on Aurora engine) |
| Supported Versions | Aurora MySQL-Compatible (v2, v3), Aurora PostgreSQL-Compatible (12, 13, 14, 15, 16) |
| Data Scope | Tables, schemas, views, audit logs, binlog/WAL-derived change records |
| Output Format | Parquet, Delta Lake, Avro, CSV, TSV |
| Metadata Handling | Schema structure, indexes, constraints, foreign keys, column definitions |
| Transformation Rules | 1,000+ built-in; engine-specific schema normalization supported |
| Retention Management | SEC 17a-4, FINRA 4511, HIPAA, GDPR, PCI DSS, SOX retention schedules |
| Legal Hold | Cluster and table-level hold orchestration with audit trail |
| Deployment | AWS (S3 Lakehouse) · On-premises · Hybrid |
| Security & Compliance | TLS 1.3 in transit · AES-256 at rest · WORM |
How It Works
Up and Running in 4 Steps
01
Connect to Aurora
Authenticate via JDBC to Aurora MySQL-compatible or PostgreSQL-compatible cluster. Archon auto-discovers all databases, schemas, tables, views, and audit structures.
02
Map & Configure
Define database and schema scope, binlog/WAL capture strategy, and jurisdiction-specific retention schedules. Configure PII masking for GDPR compliance.
03
Validate & Preview
Run a dry-run against sample Aurora tables. Quality report flags null primary keys, replication lag anomalies, and binlog availability issues.
04
Archive & Monitor
Execute full extraction to S3 Lakehouse. Trusted timestamps applied per table. Data queryable via Archon Analyzer or Athena without Aurora compute.FAQ
Common Questions About the Amazon Aurora Connector
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1. Does Archon satisfy compliance retention requirements that Aurora PITR cannot?
Yes. Aurora PITR maxes out at 35 days. Archon provides permanent, WORM-immutable archiving that satisfies SEC, FINRA, HIPAA, and SOX retention mandates spanning years.
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2. Does Archon support both Aurora MySQL-compatible and Aurora PostgreSQL-compatible engines?
Yes. Archon supports both Aurora engine variants in a unified configuration, with engine-specific extraction and schema normalization applied automatically.
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3. Can Archon archive Aurora without impacting active application performance?
Yes. Archon uses read-only JDBC extraction with configurable parallelism and throttle settings, no impact on active Aurora cluster performance or application query patterns.
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4. Is archived Aurora data queryable without reactivating the Aurora cluster?
Yes. Archon archives to open Parquet/Delta Lake format on S3, queryable via Archon Analyzer, Amazon Athena, or Apache Spark without Aurora compute costs.
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5. Does Archon support Aurora Global Database archiving across regions?
Yes. Archon can extract from Aurora Global Database reader instances, enabling regional archiving without impacting the primary writer cluster.
Ready to archive your Amazon Aurora data and retire the dependency?
Talk to an Archon connector specialist at archondatastore.com. Free consultation, no commitment, reply within 24 hours.
