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DynamoDB Data Connector

Amazon DynamoDB is a fully managed NoSQL database service that provides fast and predictable performance with seamless scalability. This connector enables using DynamoDB tables as data sources for federated SQL queries in Spice.

datasets:
  - from: dynamodb:users
    name: users
    params:
      dynamodb_aws_region: us-west-2
      dynamodb_aws_access_key_id: ${secrets:aws_access_key_id} # Optional
      dynamodb_aws_secret_access_key: ${secrets:aws_secret_access_key} # Optional
      dynamodb_aws_session_token: ${secrets:aws_session_token} # Optional

Configuration​

from​

The from field should specify the DynamoDB table name:

fromDescription
dynamodb:tableRead data from a DynamoDB table named table
note

If an expected table is not found, verify the dynamodb_aws_region parameter. DynamoDB tables are region-specific.

name​

The dataset name. This will be used as the table name within Spice.

Example:

datasets:
  - from: dynamodb:users
    name: my_users
    params: ...
SELECT COUNT(*) FROM my_users;

params​

The DynamoDB data connector supports the following configuration parameters:

Parameter NameDescription
dynamodb_aws_regionRequired. The AWS region containing the DynamoDB table
dynamodb_aws_access_key_idOptional. AWS access key ID for authentication. If not provided, credentials will be loaded from environment variables or IAM roles
dynamodb_aws_secret_access_keyOptional. AWS secret access key for authentication. If not provided, credentials will be loaded from environment variables or IAM roles
dynamodb_aws_session_tokenOptional. AWS session token for authentication

Credential Sources​

If AWS credentials are not explicitly provided in the configuration, the connector will automatically load credentials from the following sources in order:

  1. Environment Variables:

    • AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID and AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY
    • AWS_SESSION_TOKEN (if using temporary credentials)

  2. Shared AWS Config/Credentials Files:

    • Config file: ~/.aws/config (Linux/Mac) or %UserProfile%\.aws\config (Windows)

    • Credentials file: ~/.aws/credentials (Linux/Mac) or %UserProfile%\.aws\credentials (Windows)

    • The AWS_PROFILE environment variable can be used to specify a named profile.

    • Supports both static credentials and SSO sessions

    • Example credentials file:

      # Static credentials
      [default]
      aws_access_key_id = YOUR_ACCESS_KEY
      aws_secret_access_key = YOUR_SECRET_KEY

      # SSO profile
      [profile sso-profile]
      sso_start_url = https://my-sso-portal.awsapps.com/start
      sso_region = us-west-2
      sso_account_id = 123456789012
      sso_role_name = MyRole
      region = us-west-2
    tip

    To set up SSO authentication:

    1. Run aws configure sso to configure a new SSO profile
    2. Use the profile by setting AWS_PROFILE=sso-profile
    3. Run aws sso login to start a new SSO session

  3. Web Identity Token Credentials:

    • Used primarily with OpenID Connect (OIDC) and OAuth
    • Common in Kubernetes environments using IAM roles for service accounts (IRSA)

  4. ECS Container Credentials:

    • Used when running in Amazon ECS containers
    • Automatically uses the task's IAM role
    • Retrieved from the ECS credential provider endpoint

  5. EC2 Instance Metadata Service (IMDSv2):

    • Used when running on EC2 instances
    • Automatically uses the instance's IAM role
    • Retrieved securely using IMDSv2

The connector will try each source in order until valid credentials are found. If no valid credentials are found, an authentication error will be returned.

IAM Permissions

Regardless of the credential source, the IAM role or user must have appropriate DynamoDB permissions (e.g., dynamodb:Scan, dynamodb:DescribeTable) to access the table.

Required IAM Permissions​

The IAM role or user needs the following permissions to access DynamoDB tables:

{
    "Version": "2012-10-17",
    "Statement": [
        {
            "Effect": "Allow",
            "Action": [
                "dynamodb:Scan",
                "dynamodb:DescribeTable"
            ],
            "Resource": [
                "arn:aws:dynamodb:*:*:table/YOUR_TABLE_NAME"
            ]
        }
    ]
}

Permission Details​

PermissionPurpose
dynamodb:ScanRequired. Allows reading all items from the table
dynamodb:DescribeTableRequired. Allows fetching table metadata and schema information

Example IAM Policies​

Minimal Policy (Read-only access to specific table)​

{
    "Version": "2012-10-17",
    "Statement": [
        {
            "Effect": "Allow",
            "Action": [
                "dynamodb:Scan",
                "dynamodb:DescribeTable"
            ],
            "Resource": "arn:aws:dynamodb:us-west-2:123456789012:table/users"
        }
    ]
}

Access to Multiple Tables​

{
    "Version": "2012-10-17",
    "Statement": [
        {
            "Effect": "Allow",
            "Action": [
                "dynamodb:Scan",
                "dynamodb:DescribeTable"
            ],
            "Resource": [
                "arn:aws:dynamodb:us-west-2:123456789012:table/users",
                "arn:aws:dynamodb:us-west-2:123456789012:table/orders"
            ]
        }
    ]
}

Access to All Tables in a Region​

{
    "Version": "2012-10-17",
    "Statement": [
        {
            "Effect": "Allow",
            "Action": [
                "dynamodb:Scan",
                "dynamodb:DescribeTable"
            ],
            "Resource": "arn:aws:dynamodb:us-west-2:123456789012:table/*"
        }
    ]
}
Security Considerations

Examples​

Basic Configuration with Environment Credentials​

version: v1
kind: Spicepod
name: dynamodb

datasets:
  - from: dynamodb:users
    name: users
    params:
      dynamodb_aws_region: us-west-2
    acceleration:
      enabled: true

Configuration with Explicit Credentials​

version: v1
kind: Spicepod
name: dynamodb

datasets:
  - from: dynamodb:users
    name: users
    params:
      dynamodb_aws_region: us-west-2
      dynamodb_aws_access_key_id: ${secrets:aws_access_key_id}
      dynamodb_aws_secret_access_key: ${secrets:aws_secret_access_key}
    acceleration:
      enabled: true

Querying Nested Structures​

DynamoDB supports complex nested JSON structures. These fields can be queried using SQL:

-- Query nested structs
SELECT metadata.registration_ip, metadata.user_agent 
FROM users 
LIMIT 5;

-- Query nested structs in arrays
SELECT address.city
FROM (
    SELECT unnest(addresses) AS address 
    FROM users
)
WHERE address.city = 'San Francisco';
Limitations
  • The DynamoDB connector currently does not support filter push-down optimization. All filtering is performed after data is retrieved from DynamoDB.
  • Primary key optimizations are not yet implemented - retrieving items by their primary key will still scan the table.
  • The DynamoDB connector will scan the first 10 items to determine the schema of the table. This may miss columns that are not present in the first 10 items.

Data Types​

The DynamoDB connector supports the following data types and mappings:

  • Basic scalar types (String, Number, Boolean)
  • Lists and Maps
  • Nested structures
  • Binary data

Example schema from a users table:

describe users;
+----------------+------------------+-------------+
| column_name    | data_type       | is_nullable |
+----------------+------------------+-------------+
| email          | Utf8            | YES         |
| id             | Int64           | YES         |
| metadata       | Struct          | YES         |
| addresses      | List(Struct)    | YES         |
| preferences    | Struct          | YES         |
| created_at     | Utf8            | YES         |
...
+----------------+------------------+-------------+

Performance Considerations​

  • Due to limited support for filter push-down, enable acceleration to prevent scanning the entire table on every query.