Using the aws-advanced-jdbc-wrapper for postgresql RDS instances

Hello,

While the AWS Advanced JDBC Wrapper Driver provides the most benefits when used with Aurora DB clusters or RDS Multi-AZ clusters, it can still offer some advantages even for a single RDS PostgreSQL instance with Multi-AZ enabled. [1]

Some benefits you may see include:

• Faster failover times. The driver is able to detect a failover to the standby faster than your application may otherwise. This can reduce downtime.
• Centralized connection handling. The driver pools and manages connections, offloading this work from your application code.
• Built-in retry logic. It will automatically retry queries if it detects the writer instance has failed over.
• Simplified configuration. You don't need to code failover logic into your application.

Since you have Multi-AZ enabled, the driver could detect a failover to the standby within 1-2 minutes. This may be an improvement over your application's current failover approach.

The driver also provides value even without using Secrets Manager or IAM by centralizing connection handling.

So in summary, while the full capabilities are best realized with Aurora or RDS clusters, you may still see some benefits from using the wrapper driver in your single-instance configuration to simplify connection handling and improve failover times. But the value prop isn't as strong as with clustered deployments.

Let me know if any part of the explanation needs more clarity or if you have additional questions!

Source:

[1] Achieve one second or less downtime with the Advanced JDBC Wrapper Driver when upgrading Amazon RDS Multi-AZ DB Clusters - blog post