Aurora PostgreSQL

Learn how to add an Aurora PostgreSQL database as a datasource in StrongDM.

Overview

This guide explains how to add an Aurora PostgreSQL database as a datasource in StrongDM using standard database credentials (username and password).

When you add an Aurora PostgreSQL resource, StrongDM proxies client connections through a node (gateway, relay, or proxy cluster). This enables centralized credential management, access enforcement, and full query auditing. Unlike Aurora PostgreSQL (IAM), this datasource type relies on static credentials, either provided directly or retrieved from a secret store.

Use this guide to configure the connection properties, add the resource in StrongDM, and test client connectivity.

For general information about how to add a database as a resource in StrongDM, see our main guide, Add a Datasource.

Supported Versions and Clients

StrongDM supports Aurora PostgreSQL clusters running PostgreSQL-compatible engines, including supported Aurora PostgreSQL versions (for example, 9.6, 10.x, 11.x, 12.x, 13.x, and 14.x depending on availability).

Standard PostgreSQL clients and tools work seamlessly through StrongDM, including:

• psql CLI

• GUI tools like DBeaver and DataGrip

• Application frameworks that use PostgreSQL drivers

For IAM-based database authentication, see the Aurora PostgreSQL (IAM) resource type.

Prerequisites

To add your resource in StrongDM, you need to meet several technical and configuration prerequisites. Please ensure that the following requirements are met.

In StrongDM, you must have the following:

• Administrator permission level

• At least one operational StrongDM node (gateway, relay, or proxy cluster) with network access to the Aurora PostgreSQL cluster endpoint on port 5432

• If using secrets management tools for storing your credentials, a Secret Store configured in StrongDM

To verify that the resource is accessible by the node, log in to the gateway or relay and use Netcat: nc -zv <HOSTNAME> <PORT> (in this example, nc -zv testdb-01.fancy.org 3306). If your gateway server can connect to this hostname, proceed.

Netcat is a tool for checking various hostnames and ports by either sending data (a ping) or checking for listeners on the ports. The command in the aforementioned example use "-z" to check for listeners without sending data and "-v" to show verbose output. If you don't have Netcat, you can install the Netcat package with whatever package manager you are using, such as "apt-get install netcat".

On the AWS side, you must have the following:

• Aurora PostgreSQL cluster deployed and available

• PostgreSQL user with the required privileges (read-only for reporting or full CRUD for administrative use)

• Correct VPC, subnet, and security group rules so that StrongDM nodes can reach the cluster endpoint

Resource Management in StrongDM

After all prerequisites and prep work is done, you are ready to add the resource to StrongDM. This section provides instructions for adding the resource in either the StrongDM Admin UI, CLI, Terraform provider, or SDKs.

Admin UI

Set up and Manage With the Admin UI

If using the Admin UI to add an Aurora MySQL (IAM) database as a StrongDM resource, use the following steps.

1. Log in to the StrongDM Admin UI.

2. Go to Resources > Datasources.

3. Click Add datasource.

4. Select Aurora PostgreSQL as the Datasource Type and set other configuration properties for your new database resource.

5. Complete all required fields.

6. Click Create to save the resource.

7. Click the resource name to view status, diagnostic information, and setting details.

CLI

Set up and Manage With the CLI

This section provides an example of how to add the resource using the StrongDM CLI. For more information and examples, please see the CLI Reference documentation.

# Add Aurora PostgreSQL datasource
sdm admin datasources add aurorapostgres aurora-pg-prod
  --hostname="mypg-cluster.cluster-abcdefghijkl.us-east-1.rds.amazonaws.com"
  --port=5432
  --database="production"
  --username="db_user"
  --password="secret"
  --tls-required
  --bind-interface="127.0.0.1"
  --egress-filter="tag:env=prod"
  --port-override="-1"
  --proxy-cluster-id="n-1a2b345c67890123"
  --secret-store-id="se-e1b2"
  --subdomain="aurora-pg-prod"
  --tags="env=production,team=data"

Terraform

Set up and Manage With Terraform

This section provides an example of how to configure and manage the resource using the Terraform provider. For more information and examples, please see the Terraform provider documentation.

# Install StrongDM provider
terraform {
  required_providers {
    sdm = {
      source  = "strongdm/sdm"
      version = "5.1.0"
    }
  }
}

# Configure StrongDM provider
provider "sdm" {
  # Add API access key and secret key from Admin UI
  api_access_key = "njjSn...5hM"
  api_secret_key = "ziG...="
}

# Create Aurora PostgreSQL resource
resource "sdm_aurorapostgres" "aurora_pg_prod" {
  name       = "aurora-pg-prod"
  hostname   = "mypg-cluster.cluster-abcdefghijkl.us-east-1.rds.amazonaws.com"
  port       = 5432
  database   = "production"
  username   = "db_user"
  password   = "secret"

  # Networking / routing
  tls_required     = true
  bind_interface   = "127.0.0.1"
  egress_filter    = "tag:env=prod"
  port_override    = 12345
  proxy_cluster_id = "n-1a2b345c67890123"

  # Secrets / metadata
  secret_store_id = "se-e1b2"
  subdomain       = "aurora-pg-prod"
  tags = {
    env  = "production"
    team = "data"
  }
}

SDKs

Set up and manage with SDKs

In addition to the Admin UI, CLI, and Terraform, you may configure and manage your resource with any of the following SDK options: Go, Java, Python, and Ruby. Please see the following references for more information and examples.

Language	Reference	GitHub	Examples
Go	pkg.go.dev	strongdm-sdk-go	Go SDK Examples
Java	javadoc	strongdm-sdk-java	Java SDK Examples
Python	pdocs	strongdm-sdk-python	Python SDK Examples
Ruby	RubyDoc	strongdm-sdk-ruby	Ruby SDK Examples

Configuration Properties

The following configuration properties are required to define an Aurora PostgreSQL datasource in StrongDM. These settings control how StrongDM connects to the resource, authenticates the connection, and optionally uses encryption or secret management. Each property must be correctly configured to ensure connectivity and access enforcement through StrongDM.

Property	Requirement	Description
Display Name	Required	Meaningful name to display the resource throughout StrongDM; exclude special characters like quotes (") or angle brackets (< or >)
Datasource Type	Required	Aurora PostgreSQL
Proxy Cluster	Required	Defaults to "None (use gateways)"; if using proxy clusters, select the appropriate cluster to proxy traffic to this resource
Hostname	Required	Hostname for your resource; must be accessible to a gateway or relay
Port	Required	Port to use when connecting to your Aurora PostgreSQL (IAM) database; default port value is 5432
Connectivity Mode	Required	Select either Virtual Networking Mode, which lets users connect to the resource with a software-defined, IP-based network; or Loopback Mode, which allows users to connect to the resource using the local loopback adapter in their operating system; this field is shown if Virtual Networking Mode enabled for your organization
IP Address	Optional	If Virtual Networking Mode is the selected connectivity mode, an IP address value in the configured Virtual Networking Mode subnet in the organization network settings; if Loopback Mode is the selected connectivity mode, an IP address value in the configured Loopback IP range in the organization network settings (by default, 127.0.0.1); if not specified, an available IP address in the configured IP address space for the selected connectivity mode will be automatically assigned; this field is shown if Virtual Networking Mode and/or multi-loopback mode is enabled for your organization
Port Override	Optional	If Virtual Networking Mode is the selected connectivity mode, a port value between 1 and 65535 that is not already in use by another resource with the same IP address; if Loopback Mode is the selected connectivity mode, a port value between 1024 to 64999 that is not already in use by another resource with the same IP address; when left empty with Virtual Networking Mode, the system assigns the default port to this resource; when left empty for Loopback Mode, an available port that is not already in use by another resource is assigned; preferred port also can be modified later from the Port Overrides settings
DNS	Optional	If Virtual Networking Mode is the selected connectivity mode, a unique hostname alias for this resource; when set, causes the desktop app to display this resource's human-readable DNS name (for example, k8s.my-organization-name) instead of the bind address that includes IP address and port (for example, 100.64.100.100:5432)
Database	Required	Database name you would like to connect to using this datasource
Secret Store	Optional	Credential store location; defaults to Strong Vault; learn more about Secret Store options
Username	Required	Username to utilize when connecting to this datasource; displays when Secret Store integration is not configured for your organization or when StrongDM serves as the Secret Store type
Password	Required	Password for the user connecting to this datasource; displays when Secret Store integration is not configured for your organization or when StrongDM serves as the Secret Store type
Username (path)	Required	Path to the secret in your Secret Store location (for example, path/to/credential?key=optionalKeyName where key argument is optional); required when using a non-StrongDM Secret Store type
Password (path)	Required	Path to the secret in your Secret Store location (for example, path/to/credential?key=optionalKeyName where key argument is optional); required when using a non-StrongDM Secret Store type
Restrict Database	Optional	When selected, limits all connections to the configured database
Resource Tags	Optional	Datasource Tags consisting of key-value pairs <KEY>=<VALUE> (for example, env=dev)

Secret Store options

By default, datasource credentials are stored in StrongDM. However, these credentials can also be saved in a secrets management tool.

Non-StrongDM options appear in the Secret Store dropdown if they are created under Settings > Secrets Management. When you select another Secret Store type, its unique properties display. For more details, see Configure Secret Store Integrations.

Resource status

After a resource is created, the Admin UI displays that resource as unhealthy until the healthchecks run successfully. When the resource is ready, the Health icon indicates a positive, green status.

When the resource does not display a positive status, click the resource name to go to the Diagnostics tab and check for errors.

Test the Connection

After you have added your resource in StrongDM, follow these steps to verify that it’s working correctly.

1. Assign yourself access by ensuring that your user or role has access to the resource. In the StrongDM Admin UI, go to Access > Roles, and verify that the resource is attached to a role you’re in.

2. In the CLI, run sdm status to list the available datasources. Ensure that the resource appears in your list of accessible datasources.

3. Start a session to the resource, as in the following example:

   sdm connect aurora-pg-prod

   This sets local environment variables (such as PGHOST, PGPORT, PGUSER, and so forth) for connecting. See the CLI Reference documentation for details on sdm connect.

4. Connect with psql:

   psql "$PGDATABASE"

   Run a simple query to confirm:

   SELECT version();

5. In the StrongDM Admin UI, check Logs > Queries (and Logs > Connections) to confirm the session and and queries are logged.

When these steps succeed, you’re ready to connect to your resource through StrongDM.

Help

If you encounter issues, please consult the StrongDM Help Center.

Be prepared to provide the following information to StrongDM Support, so that they can inspect logs and confirm node and resource health:

• Resource name or ID

• CLI error output or logs

• Node name and region

• Timestamps of failed attempts