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ApsaraDB RDS:Overview of DuckDB-based analytical primary instances

Last Updated:Dec 11, 2025

The DuckDB-based analytical primary instance is a cost-effective, lightweight solution for running complex analytical queries alongside your transactional workloads. This instance deeply integrates the DuckDB engine into the MySQL kernel, leveraging columnar storage and vectorized execution to deliver analytical query performance over 100x faster than the standard MySQL InnoDB engine. Additionally, its use of columnar storage significantly reduces storage costs through efficient compression. The instance fully retains the features of RDS for MySQL, ensuring seamless compatibility with the existing MySQL ecosystem and your workflows. You can operate this instance just like a regular RDS for MySQL instance, enjoying both robust transactional support and high-performance real-time analytics in a single solution. This empowers you to accelerate data-driven decision-making for your enterprise.

Core advantages

  • High-performance analytics: The built-in DuckDB engine supports features such as columnar storage, vectorized execution, efficient memory management, and parallel processing. These features improve complex query performance by over 100 times compared to standard MySQL.

  • Highly compatible with MySQL: The instance is fully compatible with the MySQL protocol, syntax, and data types. It supports transactions at the Snapshot Isolation level and uses MySQL binary logging (binlog) for data replication between primary and secondary instances to ensure data reliability and consistency.

  • Low storage cost: The columnar storage technology is used to provide a high data compression ratio. A DuckDB-based analytical primary instance uses over 50% less disk space than an instance that uses the InnoDB engine.

  • Secure and reliable: The instance uses a cluster architecture that supports automatic failover to ensure business continuity. The kernel is crash-safe to ensure data durability in extreme scenarios. The instance also supports a reliable backup and recovery mechanism that lets you perform a point-in-time restore.

  • Simple architecture: The instance uses the same database kernel as RDS for MySQL and has no external component dependencies.

For more information, see Technical principles.

Deployment models

  • Major engine version: MySQL 8.0.

  • Billing method: Pay-as-you-go and subscription.

  • Edition: Based on the RDS Cluster Edition architecture with one primary node and multiple secondary nodes. This architecture supports automatic failover. All secondary nodes are read-only. You can add or remove nodes as needed.

  • Storage type: Premium ESSD (storage capacity range: 20 GB to 128,000 GB).

Supported features

Category

Feature

Supported by DuckDB-based analytical primary instance

Data migration

Data migration

Supported (Supported only when the DuckDB-based analytical primary instance is the destination)

Data synchronization

Data synchronization

Supported (Supported only when the DuckDB-based analytical primary instance is the destination)

Instance management

Create an instance

Supported

Change instance configurations

Supported

Configure automatic storage expansion

Supported

Configure automatic performance scaling

Unsupported

Migrate across zones

Unsupported

Perform an automatic or manual failover

Supported

Query the data replication mode

Supported (View-only)

Use a parameter template

Unsupported

Disaster recovery instance

Unsupported

Restart an instance

Supported

Configure automatic start and stop

Unsupported

Restart a specified node

Unsupported

Pause an instance

Unsupported

Configure a maintenance window

Supported

Release or unsubscribe from an instance

Supported

Instance recycle bin

Supported

Instance upgrade

Update the minor engine version

Supported

Upgrade the major engine version

MySQL 8.0 is the latest major engine version that RDS for MySQL supports. You cannot upgrade to a later version.

Change the storage type from ESSD to Premium ESSD

Unsupported

Account management

Create an account

Supported

Configure a custom password policy

Supported

Reset a password

Supported

Modify account permissions

Supported

Delete an account

Supported

Reset a privileged account

Supported

Database management

Manage databases

Supported

Delete a database

Supported

Database connection

Connect to an instance

Supported

Configure an instance endpoint

Supported

View the instance endpoint and port

Supported

Apply for a public endpoint

Supported

Monitoring and alerting

View monitoring data

Supported

Set the frequency for legacy monitoring

Supported

Configure alert rules

Supported

Network management

Change the VPC and vSwitch

Supported

Read-only instances and read/write splitting

Create a read-only instance

Unsupported

Enable database proxy

Unsupported

Change the read/write splitting endpoint type

Unsupported

Security management

Configure an IP address whitelist

Supported

Use a cloud certificate to quickly enable SSL encryption

Supported

Configure Transparent Data Encryption (TDE)

Unsupported

Enable and disable release protection for an instance

Supported

Disk encryption

Supported

Manage sensitive data

Unsupported

Auditing

SQL Explorer and Audit

Supported

Log management

Supported

Database backup

Free quota

Supported

Back up data

Supported

Configure a retention policy for backups after an instance is released

Supported

Sparse backup

Unsupported

Download a backup

Unsupported

Cross-region backup

Unsupported

Database recovery

Restore data

Supported

Restore a single database or table

Unsupported

Restore data across regions

Unsupported

Diagnostics and optimization

Autonomy service

Supported

AliSQL

AliSQL

Supported

Tag management

Create a tag

Supported

Remove a tag

Supported

Filter instances by tag

Supported

Cluster node management

HA architecture with one primary node and multiple secondary nodes handling read requests

Supported

Unified management of read/write and read-only endpoints

Supported

Automatic failover and manual switchover for cluster nodes

Supported

References