Networking
Uncover costs from unattached networking assets and idle connectivity resources.
ec2:DescribeAddresses, ec2:DescribeNatGateways, elasticloadbalancing:DescribeLoadBalancers, elasticloadbalancing:DescribeTargetGroups, cloudwatch:GetMetricStatistics.Elastic IP Addresses (EIP)
AWS Doctor identifies EIPs that are not currently associated with an instance or network interface.
The Cost of Idle IPs
AWS charges for all public IPv4 addresses, including Elastic IPs. While an associated IP provides connectivity, an unassociated (idle) EIP is pure waste—you are paying the hourly rate for a resource that isn’t providing any value to your infrastructure.
- Action: Release any EIP that isn’t actively mapped to a service.
Elastic Load Balancers (ELB)
AWS Doctor identifies Application (ALB) and Network (NLB) Load Balancers that are either unassociated or idle.
Unused Load Balancers
Flags ELBs that are not associated with any target group.
- Reason: An ELB without target groups is an entry point to nowhere, yet it continues to bill at the full hourly rate.
- Action: Delete any Load Balancer that has no target group association.
Idle Load Balancers
Flags ELBs that have processed zero requests or connections over the last 7 days.
- Reason: Load Balancers carry a fixed hourly cost regardless of traffic volume (~$16-20/month base cost).
- Action: Delete or consolidate services into shared LBs.
NAT Gateways
AWS Doctor identifies NAT Gateways that have processed zero bytes of data over the last 7 days.
Why it’s waste
NAT Gateways have a high hourly cost (~$32.85/month in most regions) even when they are not processing any traffic. If a NAT Gateway is idle, it is often a leftover from a previous architecture or an improperly decommissioned environment.
- Action: Delete any NAT Gateway that shows no activity and is no longer required for outbound connectivity.