Integrate Amazon RDS for MySQL with Databox

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Amazon Relational Database Service (Amazon RDS) is a managed cloud database service from AWS that makes it easy to set up, operate, and scale relational databases without managing the underlying infrastructure. It supports multiple database engines including MySQL, PostgreSQL, MariaDB, Oracle, and Microsoft SQL Server. Connecting Amazon RDS to Databox lets you pull data directly from your managed database, build datasets using SQL queries, and visualize business-critical figures alongside data from your other connected tools.

Note: This article covers connections using the MySQL engine. If your RDS instance runs a different engine, use the corresponding Databox connector: PostgreSQL instances use the PostgreSQL connector, and SQL Server instances use the SQL Server connector. The steps for configuring public access and security group rules in AWS are the same regardless of engine.

If you've already established a connection, you can reuse it to add new data sources to your Databox account.

Databox only reads data from your database — it never writes to it. Create a dedicated MySQL user with SELECT-only privileges scoped to the Databox IP address. You can run these commands using a MySQL client connected to your RDS instance, or via the Query Editor in the AWS Management Console.

MySQL 8.0+ (modern syntax):

CREATE USER 'databox'@'52.4.198.118' IDENTIFIED BY 'your_secure_password';
GRANT SELECT ON your_database.* TO 'databox'@'52.4.198.118';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;

MySQL 5.x (legacy single-statement syntax):

GRANT SELECT ON your_database.* TO 'databox'@'52.4.198.118' IDENTIFIED BY 'your_secure_password';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;

Replace your_database with the name of the database you want to connect, and your_secure_password with a strong password. If you need to grant access to multiple databases, repeat the GRANT statement for each one.

Note: Avoid the following special characters in your password, as they can cause encoding issues when establishing the connection: `, ', ", /, \, and spaces.

By default, RDS instances are not accessible from outside their VPC. To allow Databox to reach your instance, it must be configured as publicly accessible.

1. In the AWS Management Console, go to Databases and select your DB instance.
2. Click Modify.
3. Under Connectivity, set Public access to Yes.
4. Click Continue, then choose when to apply the change (Apply immediately or during the next maintenance window).
5. Click Modify DB instance to save.

Note: For the instance to be reachable after enabling public access, its DB subnet group must be in a VPC subnet with an internet gateway attached. If connectivity still fails after enabling this setting, verify that a route to 0.0.0.0/0 via an internet gateway exists in the associated route table.

RDS controls network access through VPC security groups. Add an inbound rule that permits TCP traffic on port 3306 from the Databox IP address.

1. In the AWS Management Console, go to Databases and select your DB instance.
2. Under Connectivity & security, click the link to the VPC security group associated with the instance.
3. Select the security group, then click Edit inbound rules.
4. Click Add rule and fill in:
   • Type: MySQL/Aurora
   • Protocol: TCP
   • Port range: 3306
   • Source: Custom — enter 52.4.198.118/32
5. Click Save rules.

1. In Databox, go to Data Sources > + New connection.
2. Search for Amazon RDS for MySQL and click Connect.
3. Fill in the connection form:
   • Data source name — a label for this connection in Databox.
   • Host — your RDS endpoint hostname, found on the instance's Connectivity & security tab in the AWS Console (e.g., mydb.abc123.us-east-1.rds.amazonaws.com).
   • Port — the port your RDS instance listens on. The default for MySQL is 3306.
   • User — the MySQL username created in Step 1.
   • Password — the password for that user.
   • Database name (optional) — the specific database to connect to. Leave blank to connect at the server level.
   • Timezone — the time zone used to interpret date values in query results. Defaults to Etc/UTC.
4. Select an SSL/TLS mode (see SSL/TLS below).
5. Click Connect.

Databox offers three SSL/TLS modes when connecting to a database. Choose the one that matches your server's configuration.

Amazon RDS provides SSL/TLS certificates signed by AWS-managed certificate authorities. To use SSL with server certificate verification, download the appropriate CA certificate bundle from AWS and paste its contents into the CA certificate bundle (ssl-ca) field in Databox. For step-by-step instructions on configuring each SSL mode, see Enable SSL/TLS for your database connection.

The Amazon RDS for MySQL integration supports the creation of datasets, which allow you to define and shape the specific data you want to use for reporting in Databox. Datasets make it easier to focus on the most relevant information, enabling you to filter, visualize, and analyze metrics across projects, teams, and clients without writing complex queries each time.

1. Select a table: Pick the appropriate schema within that database.
2. Select columns: Browse and select the specific columns (fields) from your tables or views to include in your dataset. These columns define the structure and content of your dataset.

For more advanced use cases, you can write a custom SQL query instead of selecting columns manually. This allows you to:

• Join multiple tables
• Apply filters and aggregations
• Format or transform data before importing it into Databox

Your query must return a valid tabular result to be used as a dataset.

• Amazon RDS documentation — Official AWS docs for Amazon RDS, covering instance creation, connectivity, security, backups, multi-AZ deployments, read replicas, and monitoring.
• Amazon RDS for MySQL — MySQL-specific guidance within the RDS User Guide, including supported versions, parameter groups, and engine-specific features.

For comprehensive details on metrics, data availability, templates, specifications, usage guidelines, and other key information, refer to the resources listed below.

Technical Details

Behavior & Usage

Notes

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