**What is Amazon RDS?**
Amazon RDS (Relational Database Service) is a cloud-based service offered by Amazon Web Services (AWS) that simplifies the setup, operation, and scaling of relational databases. It provides managed database solutions for popular database engines like MySQL, PostgreSQL, Oracle, SQL Server, and MariaDB, handling tasks such as provisioning, patching, backup, recovery, and scaling, allowing users to focus on their applications rather than database management.