Create a SQL Server Developer Edition instance on Amazon RDS for SQL Server
Database Blog
This article explains how to create SQL Server Developer Edition instances on Amazon RDS using custom engine versions (CEV), enabling free development/testing without licensing costs.
- Upload SQL Server Developer Edition ISO and cumulative updates to Amazon S3
- Create a custom engine version (CEV) packaging installation files for RDS deployment
- Launch RDS instances using the CEV with full Enterprise Edition functionality
- Currently supports SQL Server 2022 CU21 on sixth-generation instance classes
- Multi-AZ deployments and read replicas not currently supported
- CEVs are region and account-specific, cannot be shared across accounts
- Pay only for AWS infrastructure; SQL Server licensing fees waived for Developer Edition
- Requires IAM permissions for RDS operations and S3 file access
This feature allows development teams to use full-featured SQL Server in managed RDS environments while reducing licensing costs for non-production workloads.
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