Cost optimization pillar in AWS - Commands & Configuration

Introduction

Managing cloud costs is important to avoid paying more than needed. The cost optimization pillar helps you use resources efficiently and save money while keeping your applications running well.

When you want to reduce your monthly cloud bill without affecting performance

When you need to choose the right type of cloud resources for your workload

When you want to track and monitor your cloud spending regularly

When you want to automate turning off unused resources to save money

When you want to plan your cloud usage to avoid surprises in costs

Commands

This command fetches your AWS cost data for May 2024, showing how much you spent in total. It helps you understand your current spending.

Terminal

aws ce get-cost-and-usage --time-period Start=2024-05-01,End=2024-05-31 --granularity MONTHLY --metrics BlendedCost

Expected Output

{

  "ResultsByTime": [

    {

      "TimePeriod": {

        "Start": "2024-05-01",

        "End": "2024-05-31"

      },

      "Total": {

        "BlendedCost": {

          "Amount": "123.45",

          "Unit": "USD"

        }

      }

    }

  ]

}

→

--time-period - Specifies the date range for the cost data

→

--granularity - Sets the detail level of the cost data (DAILY, MONTHLY)

→

--metrics - Chooses which cost metric to show

This command lists all running EC2 virtual machines. Knowing which instances run helps identify unused or oversized resources to save costs.

Terminal

aws ec2 describe-instances --filters Name=instance-state-name,Values=running

Expected Output

{

  "Reservations": [

    {

      "Instances": [

        {

          "InstanceId": "i-0abcd1234efgh5678",

          "InstanceType": "t3.medium",

          "State": {"Name": "running"}

        }

      ]

    }

  ]

}

→

--filters - Filters instances by their state to show only running ones

This command stops a running EC2 instance that is not needed right now, helping reduce costs by not paying for compute time when idle.

Terminal

aws ec2 stop-instances --instance-ids i-0abcd1234efgh5678

Expected Output

{

  "StoppingInstances": [

    {

      "InstanceId": "i-0abcd1234efgh5678",

      "CurrentState": {"Name": "stopping"},

      "PreviousState": {"Name": "running"}

    }

  ]

}

→

--instance-ids - Specifies which instance to stop

This command lists your S3 storage buckets. Reviewing storage helps find unused or large buckets that can be cleaned up to save storage costs.

Terminal

aws s3 ls

Expected Output

2024-05-15 10:00:00 my-app-logs

2024-05-15 10:05:00 my-backups

2024-05-15 10:10:00 my-temp-files

Key Concept

If you remember nothing else from this pattern, remember: regularly check your cloud usage and stop or resize resources you don't need to save money.

Common Mistakes

Ignoring unused resources that keep running

You keep paying for resources even when they are not used, wasting money

Regularly list running resources and stop or delete those not needed

Not monitoring cost data regularly

You miss spikes or unexpected charges that can grow your bill

Use cost reports and alerts to track spending every month

Choosing large instance types without checking workload needs

Oversized resources cost more but may not improve performance

Match instance size to actual workload requirements and adjust as needed

Summary

Use AWS Cost Explorer CLI to check your monthly cloud spending.

List running EC2 instances to find resources that can be stopped or resized.

Stop unused EC2 instances to reduce compute costs.

List S3 buckets to identify storage that can be cleaned up.