Which solution meets these requirements?
Leverage Amazon RDS for MySQL with write-enabled replicas running on Amazon EC2. Create the test copies using a mysqidump backup from the RDS for MySQL DB instances and importing them into the new EC2 instances.
Leverage Amazon Aurora MySQL. Use database cloning to create multiple test copies of the production DB clusters.
Leverage Amazon Aurora MySQL. Restore previous production DB instance snapshots into new test copies of Aurora MySQL DB clusters to allow them to make changes.
Leverage Amazon RDS for MySQL. Use database cloning to create multiple developer copies of the production DB instance.
Explanations:
While Amazon RDS for MySQL with EC2 instances can be used to create test databases, the solution involves complex manual steps (e.g., mysqldump and importing into EC2), which would not be as fast and efficient as the alternatives. It also requires more manual management.
Amazon Aurora MySQL supports database cloning, which allows for the fast creation of test databases with data that matches the latest production state. It meets the requirement of quickly creating copies in minutes and enabling changes in the test databases.
Restoring snapshots for test environments does not meet the requirement for speed, as it involves a time-consuming restore process. It also doesn’t support quick creation of multiple test copies as needed.
While RDS for MySQL supports database cloning, it does not provide the same level of speed or efficiency as Aurora MySQL in terms of creating multiple test copies quickly. Aurora MySQL’s cloning feature is more suited for this purpose.
I suspect that the answer is:
Leverage Amazon Aurora MySQL. Use database cloning to create multiple test copies of the production DB clusters.