Amazon RDS for SQL Server now supports snapshots on read replicas

Amazon RDS for SQL Server now allows direct DB snapshot creation on read replica instances, previously limited to standalone or primary instances. This flexibility enhances backup and disaster recovery workflows by enabling snapshots without promoting the read replica first. Previously, enabling Multi-AZ on a promoted read replica required waiting for the initial full snapshot to complete, which was time-consuming for large storage configurations like 64 TiB io2 volumes and made predicting DR timelines difficult. The service now retains snapshot data throughout the read replica lifecycle, accelerating post-promotion snapshot completion and shortening Multi-AZ activation. While manual snapshots, automatic backups with a retention period greater than zero, and retained backups during read replica deletion are supported, point-in-time recovery from read replicas is not. This feature works for both intra-region and cross-region read replicas, and is available for all SQL Server versions that support read replicas in every AWS region where Amazon RDS for SQL Server read replicas are offered, including AWS GovCloud (US).

Why it matters

This update affects users who need to optimize backup and disaster recovery strategies for SQL Server databases. The ability to create snapshots directly from read replicas makes DR planning more flexible and predictable.