RDS Database Setup

Set up a managed PostgreSQL database for Hivel services to connect to.

Provision RDS PostgreSQL Instance

1. Go to AWS RDS Console and create a PostgreSQL database with these settings:

   • Engine: PostgreSQL 12–15 (tested versions for this deployment)

   • Instance Class: db.t3.medium or larger (minimum supported)

   • Storage: 20GB+ (gp3)

   • Master Username: postgres (fixed, do not change)

   • Master Password: Choose a strong password and save it securely (see Security and Secrets)

2. Configure the DB Parameter Group:

   • Create a custom parameter group for your PostgreSQL version

   • Set rds.force_ssl to 0 (this deployment uses network-level isolation as the security boundary)

   • Attach the parameter group to your RDS instance

   • Reboot if AWS requires it

3. Note these values for later:

• RDS Endpoint (e.g., mydb.xxxxx.ap-south-1.rds.amazonaws.com)

• Port (usually 5432)

• Master Username

• Master Password

Expected result: RDS console shows status as Available.

1. Configure RDS Security Group

RDS must be accessible only from your VM. No external access.

1. Go to RDS Console → Your Database → Connectivity & security

2. Click on the Security Group

3. Edit inbound rules and add:

   • Type: PostgreSQL

   • Port: 5432

   • Source: VM Security Group ID

Expected result: connection test from the VM to RDS succeeds on port 5432.

Important: Credentials and Two-Phase Approach

Hivel uses a two-phase credential approach for security:

Phase 1 (Database Migration):

• Use the RDS master (postgres) credentials to run the Flyway migration.

• Flyway needs elevated privileges to create schemas, tables, and users.

• Include master credentials in .env for the migration step only.

Phase 2 (Services):

• After migration completes, Flyway creates an application user with limited privileges

• Switch .env to use the application user credentials for all services

• This follows the least-privilege security principle

For credential management details, see Security and Secrets.

Create the "insightly" Database

You must create the insightly database before deploying services. ("insightly" is Hivel's legacy internal product name. This is the correct database name, not a placeholder to rename.)

Option A: Using psql (Direct Connection)

Use this if you have network access from your VM (or your machine) to RDS:

# Connect to RDS
psql -h <your-rds-endpoint> -U <rds-username> -d postgres

# Create the database
CREATE DATABASE insightly;

# Exit
\q

Expected result: CREATE DATABASE executes with no error.

Option B: Using AWS RDS Query Editor

Use this if you only have AWS console access:

1. Go to AWS RDS Console → Your Database → Query Editor

2. Connect to your database

3. Run: CREATE DATABASE insightly;

Expected result: Query Editor reports successful execution.

If either option fails, see Troubleshooting.

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Project Setup and Environment Configuration