Getting Started with Amazon Redshift in 6 Simple Steps

#1 Set Up Your AWS Account and Redshift

To start with AWS Redshift, there are many prerequisites, such as an AWS account. In addition, to create an AWS account, you must have a credit card or the payment method AWS supports.

Once you have created your AWS account and logged in with your credentials, you will be redirected to AWS Management Console’s Page, shown in the above image.

First, select your preferred region. By default AWS sets N. Virginia Region, which is shown in the top right corner. You can change it by clicking on it.

After selecting the preferred region, search Redshift on the search bar and click enter. You will be navigated to the homepage of AWS Redshift.

#2 Create Redshift Cluster

AWS Redshift homepage looks like the above image. As shown in the image, many icons are on the left sidebar.

We need to create a cluster first, then log on to the group to create database objects to get started with AWS Redshift.

At the left sidebar, there is an icon named Clusters. Click that icon to start specifying the configuration using which the cluster would be built.

#3 Configure Your Redshift Cluster

Once you click the Clusters icon, you will redirect to the below page, where you must configure your cluster. Don’t worry; we are here to guide you in configuring your Redshift Cluster.

To configure your cluster, give it a unique name on the cluster identifier field and select the preferred node types. Additionally, node types are essential elements that determine the capacity of your nodes.

There are two types of nodes RA3 and DC2. By default, RA3 is recommended and is the most advanced and powerful node with a significant computing and storing capacity. On the other hand, DC2 stands for Dense Nodes.

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If you just started with Redshift and have no idea, I recommend going with DC2 saves a lot of your money. As mentioned earlier, RA3 is the most advanced and powerful node, and its price is also high.

#4 Configure Your Redshift Database

Once you select your node types, choose the number of nodes and configure your Redshift database.

By default, AWS provides the database’s name to the ‘dev,’ and the database port is ‘5439.’ You can change this as per your need or leave it as default.

After specifying the database name, the next step is to specify the master username and password to complete the database level of configuration.

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The default username is an ‘awsuser‘ shown in the image above. You can change the username and must type a password by matching all the terms and conditions indicated in the password box below.

#5 Additional Configuration

Under additional configuration, firstly, there is an optional cluster permission section. It allows specifying Identity and Access Management (IAM) roles that will enable the Redshift clusters to communicate and integrate with other AWS services.

Additionally, you can be modified it later, even after the cluster is created. However, I recommend you configure it according to your use cases.

Slide down to the cluster permission section and see an additional configuration section. Turn off the use default settings. By default, it is on. The other configuration allows you to configure Network, Security, Backup, Maintainance, and Configuration settings.

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The only thing you need to do here is under the network setting. While you click on the network options, you are navigated to the landing page below. You can see a publicly accessible section by default, ‘No,’ You need to change them to ‘Yes.’

Once you configure your settings, you are ready to create a cluster. However, I recommend checking all the settings and configurations once again. Here’s a short checklist of what you might be interested in:

1. Identify your data needs and use cases
2. Regulate the appropriate Redshift cluster size and node types.
3. Create a new AWS account or log in to the existing account.
4. Select your preferred AWS region and availability zone
5. Navigate to the Amazon Redshift console and click on “Create Cluster.”
6. Configure the basic settings for your Redshift cluster, including the cluster identifier, node type, and the number of nodes.
7. Choose your Redshift cluster’s appropriate VPC (Virtual Private Cloud) and subnet group.
8. Set up the appropriate security groups and access controls to protect your Redshift cluster.
9. Configure additional cluster settings, such as automated backups, encryption, and maintenance windows.
10. Review and confirm your cluster configuration settings.
11. Wait for your Redshift cluster to provision and become available.
12. Connect to your Redshift cluster using a SQL client or BI tool to load data and begin querying.

Once you pass this 12 steps checklist, click ‘create cluster.’ After connecting your cluster, start creating, and you will be redirected to the cluster window that looks like the image below.

Once the cluster is created, it is in Available status, as shown below.

Click on the dashboard icon, which is top of the left-hand corner, to see the statistics of your Redshift cluster.

#6  Connect to Redshift Cluster

Click the ‘editor’ icon in the left-hand corner to connect the Redshift and Fire queries to create a database.

After clicking the ‘editor’ icon, you will be redirected to the above page, where you should create your master username and master password. Fill in all the required details and click ‘connect to database’. Then, you will be navigated to a new window, as shown below.

Now you are ready to Fire Data Definition Language (DDL) and Data Manipulation Language (DML) from the query editor window.

Conclusion

In conclusion, AWS Redshift is one of the most powerful cloud-based data warehouse solutions. From its flexible architecture and scalable infrastructure to its robust security features, Redshift has quickly become a popular choice for organizations looking to store and analyze large amounts of data.

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With its intuitive interface and easy setup process, getting started with Redshift is a straightforward process that can be accomplished in just a few steps. Whether you’re looking to improve your data analytics capabilities or simply streamline your data storage and management processes, AWS Redshift is a versatile solution to help you achieve your goals.

AWS Redshift Tutorial

Resource:

https://aws.amazon.com/redshift/features/

https://docs.aws.amazon.com/redshift/latest/dg/c_high_level_system_architecture.html

Getting Started With AWS Redshift