AWS

Amazon S3 Vectors now evaluates metadata filters before executing similarity search, which can increase recall by up to 5x for selective queries. The update introduces a prefix match operator for filtering paths and URLs, enhancing precision for RAG and semantic search workloads. New vector buckets enable this pre-filtering by default without requiring code changes to existing vector writes.

• Pre-filtering runs before similarity search to boost recall for selective metadata filters.
• New $startsWith operator enables efficient prefix matching on paths and URLs.
• Improves RAG and agentic app relevance by returning more complete filtered results.
• Enabled by default on new vector buckets with no code changes required.

Amazon Aurora Serverless now increases capacity in 16 ACU increments within a single second, supporting up to 256 ACUs. This acceleration is optimized for agentic AI applications characterized by unpredictable traffic and long idle periods. The feature is active by default on Platform Versions 3 and 4, requiring no configuration changes.

• Supports 16 ACU scaling steps per second for faster response to traffic bursts.
• Ideal for agentic AI workloads with high variability and idle windows.
• Enabled by default on Aurora Serverless Platform Versions 3 and 4.
• Existing workloads must upgrade to Platform Version 4 to utilize this feature.

Amazon Aurora and RDS now support R8a instances powered by 5th generation AMD EPYC processors, offering one physical core per vCPU for consistent per-core performance. These instances leverage sixth-generation Nitro Cards and provide up to 75 Gbps network bandwidth and 60 Gbps EBS bandwidth. Support extends to Aurora PostgreSQL, Aurora MySQL, RDS PostgreSQL, MySQL, and MariaDB across multiple regions.

• R8a instances map vCPUs to physical cores, ensuring predictable per-core latency for CPU-bound workloads.
• High I/O workloads benefit from 75 Gbps network and 60 Gbps EBS bandwidth on Nitro-based hardware.
• Broad compatibility covers Aurora PostgreSQL, Aurora MySQL, and RDS for PostgreSQL, MySQL, and MariaDB.
• Available in US East, US West, Canada, and Asia Pacific regions for immediate deployment.

Fleet impact: For Oracle ExaCC/RAC fleets, this is an AWS-native alternative for horizontal scaling; monitor licensing costs if migrating from Oracle. For Aurora PostgreSQL/MySQL on RDS, R8a instances offer consistent per-core performance ideal for latency-sensitive OLTP; verify AMI compatibility and test IOPS scaling with the new Nitro bandwidth limits.

Amazon CloudWatch Logs now automatically identifies and indexes fields used in filtering operations like equals and IN, eliminating the need for manual configuration. This dynamic indexing adapts to changing query patterns over a 30-day window, allowing queries to run faster by scanning less data. These auto-created indexes are temporary and do not consume the 20-field-per-log-group limit.

• Auto-indexing targets fields used in = and IN filters for faster Insights queries.
• Temporary indexes last 30 days and do not count against the 20-field limit.
• Promote persistent fields to a field index policy for permanent indexing.
• Reduces manual ops overhead as query patterns evolve over time.

AWS Systems Manager now allows sharing SSM Documents with entire AWS Organizations or specific Organizational Units through AWS Resource Access Manager. This replaces the previous limitation of sharing only publicly or with individual account IDs. The integration ensures automatic updates as accounts are added or removed from the target scope, eliminating manual tracking. Access control is handled via standard AWS RAM resource-based policies.

• Share SSM Documents org-wide or by OU, removing per-account manual management.
• RAM integration automates propagation when accounts join or leave target scopes.
• Use standard resource-based policies for consistent access control.
• Replaces legacy public or individual account ID sharing methods.