Databases (RDS)
Audit your RDS footprint to eliminate costs from abandoned or underutilized databases.
Permissions Required:
rds:DescribeDBInstances, rds:DescribeDBSnapshots, cloudwatch:GetMetricStatistics.RDS Instances
Stopped Instances
AWS Doctor identifies RDS instances that are in a stopped state.
- Reason: While compute costs are paused, you are still billed for the allocated storage and any associated IOPS or multi-AZ configuration.
- Action: If the instance is no longer needed, consider deleting it after taking a final snapshot.
Idle RDS Instances
Finds instances that are in an available state but have had zero database connections for the last 7 days.
- Reason: These instances are fully operational and billing for compute and storage but are not being utilized by any application.
- Action: Stop the instance if it’s only needed occasionally, or terminate it if it’s no longer used.
RDS Snapshots
Old Manual Snapshots
Identifies manual RDS snapshots that are older than 30 days.
- Reason: Unlike automated snapshots which are deleted according to a retention policy, manual snapshots persist indefinitely until manually deleted, incurring ongoing storage costs.
- Action: Review old snapshots and delete those that are no longer required for compliance or disaster recovery.