Determining whether you are using the EC2-VPC or EC2-Classic platform
Your Amazon account and the Amazon Region you choose determines which of the two RDS platforms your DB instance is created on: EC2-VPC or EC2-Classic. The type of platform determines if you have a default VPC, and which type of security group you use to provide access to your DB instance.
The legacy EC2-Classic platform is the original platform used by Amazon RDS. If you are on this platform and want to use a VPC, you must create the VPC using the Amazon VPC console or Amazon VPC API. Accounts that only support the EC2-VPC platform have a default VPC where all DB instances are created, and you must use either an EC2 or VPC security group to provide access to the DB instance.
If you are a new Amazon RDS customer, if you have never created a DB instance before, or if you are creating a DB instance in an Amazon Region you have not used before, in almost all cases you are on the EC2-VPC platform and have a default VPC. Also, if your DB instance was created after 2013, it is probably in a VPC. For information about working with DB instances in a VPC, see Working with a DB instance in a VPC.
You can tell which platform your Amazon account in a given Amazon Region is using by looking at
the dashboard on the RDS console
EC2-VPC platform in the console
If Supported platforms indicates only VPC
, as shown following in the
RDS console, your Amazon account in the current Amazon Region uses the EC2-VPC
platform, and uses a default VPC.

Similarly, if Supported platforms indicates only VPC
, as shown following in the
EC2 console, your Amazon account in the current Amazon Region uses the EC2-VPC
platform, and uses a default VPC.

In both the RDS and EC2 console, the name of the default VPC is shown below the supported platform. To provide access to a DB instance created on the EC2-VPC platform, you must create a VPC security group. For information about creating a VPC security group, see Tutorial: Create an Amazon VPC for use with a DB instance (IPv4 only).
EC2-Classic platform in the console
In both the RDS and EC2 console, if Supported platforms
indicates both EC2
and VPC
, your Amazon account in the current Amazon Region uses the
EC2-Classic platform, and you do not have a default VPC. To
provide access to a DB instance created on the EC2-Classic
platform, you must create a DB security group. For information about creating a DB
security group, see Creating a DB security
group.
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You can create a VPC on the EC2-Classic platform, but one is not created for you by default as it is on accounts that support the EC2-VPC platform.
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If you want to move an existing DB instance into a VPC, you can use the Amazon Web Services Management Console to do it easily. For more information. see Moving a DB instance not in a VPC into a VPC.