Amazon RDS for SQL Server now supports changing the server-level collation when creating a new DB Instance. If the collation is not specified the default server-level collation will continue to be SQL_Latin1_General_CP1_CI_AS. To learn more about which collations are supported please visit the Amazon RDS for SQL Server User Guide . 

PostgreSQL 12 Beta 2 is now available in the Amazon RDS Database Preview Environment , allowing customers to test the beta version of PostgreSQL 12 on Amazon RDS .

PostgreSQL 12 Beta 2 can now be deployed for development and testing in the Amazon RDS Database Preview Environment without the hassle of installing, provisioning, and managing the database. The PostgreSQL community released PostgreSQL 12 Beta 2 on June 20, 2019. PostgreSQL 12 includes improved functionality, performance, management of indexing, improved partitioning capabilities, JSON path queries per SQL/JSON specifications, nondeterministic collations which support case-insensitive and accent-insensitive comparisons for ICU provided collations, most common-value statistics for improved query plans, creation of generated columns that computes values with an expression, pluggable table storage interface, ability to enable/disable page checksums, and many more.

The Amazon RDS Database Preview Environment supports both Single-AZ and Multi-AZ deployments on the latest generation of instance classes (currently T2, M4, and R4), and can be encrypted at rest using KMS keys. Amazon RDS Database Preview Environment database instances are retained for a maximum period of 60 days and are automatically deleted after the retention period. Amazon RDS database snapshots that are created in the preview environment can only be used to create or restore database instances within the preview environment. Customers can use standard PostgreSQL dump and load functionality to import or export their databases from the preview environment.

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

The Amazon RDS Database Preview Environment Forum is available for customers and the Amazon RDS team to share information and concerns about both the candidate versions of PostgreSQL 12 and the Amazon RDS Database Preview Environment.
 

AWS DataSync now offers Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) 140-2 validated endpoints in US Regions to protect sensitive information. These endpoints terminate Transport Layer Security (TLS) sessions using a FIPS 140-2 validated cryptographic software module, making it easier for you to use DataSync for regulated workloads. 

You can now deploy AWS DataSync within your Amazon Virtual Private Cloud (Amazon VPC) using VPC endpoints. With this feature, data transferred between the DataSync agent and AWS service doesn’t need to traverse the public internet or need public IP addresses, increasing the security of data as it is copied over the network. VPC endpoints for DataSync are powered by AWS PrivateLink, a highly available, scalable technology that enables you to privately connect your VPC to supported AWS services.

With Amazon Virtual Private Cloud (Amazon VPC) sharing, you can now use AWS Glue, create Amazon EMR clusters and Amazon Aurora Serverless DB clusters in shared and centrally-managed VPCs. Amazon VPC sharing allows other AWS accounts to create their application resources, such as EC2 instances, Amazon Relational Database Service (Amazon RDS) databases, Amazon Redshift clusters, Amazon EMR clusters, and Lambda functions in shared Amazon VPCs.

AWS Fargate is now available in Asia Pacific (Hong Kong) AWS region.  

End user access is coming under increased security threats and compliance requirements, accompanied by a growing workforce of mobile and contingent workers. As a result, end user access to the applications and data that’s been migrated to AWS is driving customer requirements to move or add the capability for desktop and application streaming on AWS for similar customer benefits.

Today, we are excited to announce new AWS End User Computing (EUC) Competency Partners who can support customers that need to provision, protect, and get intelligence from end-point devices, end-user apps, and data on AWS. These APN Consulting Partners provide services and offerings that help customers with strategy, professional services, managing infrastructure, repeatable intellectual property, and optimization of End User Computing technologies on AWS.

Interested in becoming an AWS EUC Competency Partner? See the requirements and next steps here.

Interested in working with one of our top validated AWS End User Computing Consulting Partners? See the launch partners here.

AWS Transit Gateway is now available in the Asia Pacific (Hong Kong) AWS Region. AWS Transit Gateway enables customers to connect thousands of Amazon Virtual Private Clouds (Amazon VPCs) and their on-premises networks using a single gateway. As you grow the number of workloads across multiple AWS accounts, you need to scale your networks, better control your policies, and effectively monitor your resources.

Starting today, Amazon EC2 I3en instances are available in the AWS GovCloud (US-West) and Asia Pacific (Singapore) AWS Regions. I3en global availability now includes the Asia Pacific (Tokyo, Seoul, Singapore), Europe (Frankfurt, Ireland), US East (N. Virginia, Ohio), US West (Oregon, N. California), and AWS GovCloud (US-West) regions.

Amazon RDS for Oracle now supports Oracle Management Agent (OMA) version 13.3 for Oracle Enterprise Manager (OEM) Cloud Control 13c3. OEM 13c offers web-based tools to monitor and manage your Oracle databases. Amazon RDS for Oracle installs OMA, which then communicates with your Oracle Management Service (OMS) to provide monitoring information. Customers running OMS 13.3 can now manage databases by installing OMA 13.3.