The methods for launching various open-source SQL databases described in the preceding two sections present just one way of connecting R to data stored in these databases. An alternative approach is offered by Amazon RDS - a managed and highly-scalable solution for database management. In fact, Amazon RDS is probably the easiest and fastest method of deploying a fully-operational SQL database, as it requires very minimal input from users. It also allows support for remote connectivity from RStudio, ensuring that users can quickly connect to the database in the cloud from the comfort of their local computer.
Setting up and launching the database instance on Amazon RDS is generally very user friendly. The following instructions will guide you through the process and will let you create a small, Free Usage Tier (as of April 2016) t2.micro RDS instance with a PostgreSQL database ready for use: