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AWS

Saturday, August 22, 2026 · 8 stories, curated & summarized — click any story for the source.

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InfoQ generaldevops

AWS Launches Aws-Bench to Evaluate AI Agents on Real Cloud Tasks

AWS has released aws-bench, an open-source benchmark designed to test AI agents against practical cloud operations like infrastructure provisioning and misconfiguration detection. The tool operates by spinning up disposable AWS accounts and executing real tasks, using automated verifiers to score agent accuracy. This approach moves beyond synthetic datasets to measure performance in live cloud environments.

  • Requires disposable AWS accounts to run real infrastructure tasks safely.
  • Scores agents via automated verifiers rather than static text matching.
  • Targets practical ops scenarios like provisioning and security fixes.
  • Open-source tool available for internal agent evaluation pipelines.
Read at source →
AWS What's New awsdatabase

Aurora DSQL adds CloudWatch Database Insights for per-statement monitoring

Amazon Aurora DSQL now integrates with CloudWatch Database Insights to provide cluster-level performance metrics at a one-minute interval. This feature captures sampled wait states and normalized SQL statements for all active sessions, enabling deeper diagnostics. Users can leverage these metrics alongside CloudWatch PromQL and the Aurora DSQL system diagnostics AI skill to identify resource-intensive queries.

  • Per-statement metrics are captured at 1-minute intervals by default at no extra cost.
  • Normalized SQL statements and wait states are available for all active cluster sessions.
  • Integrates with CloudWatch PromQL and the Aurora DSQL system diagnostics AI skill.
  • Helps pinpoint queries consuming the most resources for faster performance troubleshooting.
CHECKLISTAurora DSQL Monitoring TakeawaysCapture per-statement metrics at 1-minute intervalsView normalized SQL and wait statesIntegrate with CloudWatch PromQLUse AI skill for diagnosticsPinpoint resource-intensive queries
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AWS What's New awsdatabase

DynamoDB Streams adds ABAC support for tag-based IAM access control

Amazon DynamoDB Streams now allows attribute-based access control (ABAC) using IAM policies. You can attach up to 50 tags to each stream and use those tags in policy conditions to grant or deny access. This enables finer-grained, scalable authorization for teams managing multiple applications and environments.

  • Enable ABAC on DynamoDB Streams to reduce IAM policy complexity across teams.
  • Attach up to 50 tags per stream to define granular access conditions.
  • Use tag-based IAM conditions to control read/write actions on specific streams.
  • Simplify access management for multi-application and multi-environment setups.
BY THE NUMBERSTag Capacity for ABAC50Tags per DynamoDB StreamEnable granular, tag-based IAM access control
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AWS What's New awsdatabase

AWS Glue 6.0 cuts prices 30% and adds Iceberg v3 support

AWS Glue 6.0 is generally available, offering a 30% reduction in cost alongside upgraded runtimes for Spark 4.1, Python 3.13, and Scala 2.13. The update introduces full support for Apache Iceberg v3, enabling new data types like VARIANT with automatic shredding and deletion vectors for efficient row-level updates. Additional features include Spark Declarative Pipelines to streamline orchestration and support for newer Hudi and Delta Lake versions.

  • AWS Glue 6.0 reduces pricing by 30% for general availability.
  • Iceberg v3 support adds VARIANT, geometry, and deletion vectors.
  • Runtimes upgraded to Spark 4.1, Python 3.13, and Scala 2.13.
  • Spark Declarative Pipelines simplify repetitive orchestration tasks.
  • New capabilities support Hudi and Delta Lake version updates.
BY THE NUMBERSAWS Glue 6.0 Cuts Prices30%Reduction in costNew general availability pricing
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The Register general

AWS Security quarantines leaked credentials instead of revoking them

AWS has begun quarantining credentials that appear in public code repositories rather than immediately revoking them. This approach allows developers to keep the keys active while they rotate or clean up their environments. Critics argue that this passive stance fails to adequately protect against immediate exploitation of exposed secrets.

  • AWS quarantines leaked keys instead of forcing immediate rotation
  • Active credentials remain usable during the quarantine period
  • Security teams must monitor AWS notifications for exposed secrets
  • Proactive secret scanning tools are still essential for defense
Read at source →
AWS What's New awsdatabase ↺ since 08-21

AWS ARC Region Switch automates Amazon RDS Oracle Data Guard switchover

Amazon Application Recovery Controller now includes an execution block for Amazon RDS Oracle Data Guard, enabling automated role reversal during regional impairments. Previously, recovering RDS databases in multi-region setups required manual promotion of read replicas or manual switchover operations. This new feature integrates RDS recovery directly into the ARC orchestration workflow to help achieve bounded recovery times.

  • Automates Oracle Data Guard role reversal during regional failovers via ARC Region switch
  • Replaces manual read replica promotion steps with programmatic execution blocks
  • Integrates database recovery into broader multi-region application orchestration workflows
  • Helps achieve bounded recovery times by reducing manual intervention in disaster scenarios

Fleet impact: For Oracle ExaCC/RAC fleets using Data Guard, this removes manual switchover toil during regional outages. Verify ARC policies target RDS Oracle instances to ensure automated failover executes as designed.

HOW IT WORKSAutomated RDS Oracle Failover1Regional impairment detected2ARC triggers workflow3Data Guard switchover4Read replica promoted5Service restored
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AWS Database Blog awsdatabase ↺ since 08-19

Stream Aurora DSQL CDC to Apache Iceberg via Firehose

AWS introduces a pattern to stream change data capture events from Amazon Aurora DSQL directly into Apache Iceberg tables on S3 using Amazon Data Firehose. The design supports both full audit trails and current-state views, which can then be queried via Amazon Athena. This approach enables real-time analytics by bridging transactional database changes with analytical data lakes.

  • Aurora DSQL CDC events are streamed to S3 Iceberg tables using Data Firehose
  • Supports dual-table design for maintaining both audit trails and current state
  • Athena provides immediate query capability over the synced Iceberg data
  • Enables real-time analytics pipelines without complex custom ETL logic
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InfoQ generaldevops ↺ since 08-21

S3 Compatibility Lacks S3-Level Security Protections

Wiz researchers audited six neocloud providers offering S3-compatible APIs and found significant security gaps compared to native Amazon S3. While these services mimic S3 storage interfaces, they often omit critical AWS security controls. The study highlights that API compatibility does not equate to equivalent data protection or access governance.

  • S3-compatible APIs do not guarantee AWS-equivalent security postures.
  • Six major neoclouds showed significant missing security controls.
  • API mimicry masks underlying infrastructure security deficits.
  • Audits are essential before migrating sensitive data to clones.
  • Assume weaker defaults when using non-AWS S3-compatible storage.
Read at source →
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