Amazon EC2 allows you to install and manage SQL Server directly on a Windows or Linux VM, giving you full access to the underlying operating system. This is required when you need to install custom agents, configure OS-level features, or have complete control over the environment.
Amazon RDS and Aurora are managed services and do not provide access to the underlying OS, nor does Redshift (which is a data warehouse, not SQL Server).
AWS Documentation Extract:
"If you require access to the underlying operating system or need to install custom software, use SQL Server on Amazon EC2. Amazon RDS is a managed service and does not provide OS-level access."
(Source: AWS Database Migration documentation, SQL Server Deployment Options)
[Reference: AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Official Study Guide, Database Migration Section., ]
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