When you launch a new master DB instance, it will be initialized with the contents from the most recent backup in S3. The server template will choose the backup file that matches the S3 bucket name and key that's specified by the server template's input variables: BACKUP_S3_BUCKET and BACKUPFILE_PREFIX. If there are multiple matches, the most recent backup file will be chosen. The most recent backup file will have the latest appended number, which corresponds to the date it was taken.
If no matching files exist, the boot process will fail and manual initialization of the DB will be required. This latter case should only happen the first time you boot the master DB. Manual installation of the initial DB contents is explained in Initialize Slave-DB from Master-DB.
A notification on the Recent Events pane should indicate that the master DB image is pending.
To confirm it, we can:
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