Amazon AWS subscription costs optimisation

Here are some key strategies to reduce your Amazon AWS subscription costs

1. Utilize Reserved Instances and Savings Plans

Reserved Instances and Savings Plans can provide significant discounts of up to 72% compared to on-demand pricing. They require a 1-3 year commitment but offer substantial savings for steady-state workloads. Use AWS Cost Explorer to get recommendations on which instances are suitable for Reserved Instances or Savings Plans based on your usage patterns.

2. Optimize EC2 Instance Usage

Regularly monitor your EC2 instances and right-size them based on actual usage. Downsize instances that are over-provisioned and stop instances that are idle. Use AWS Auto Scaling to automatically adjust capacity based on demand. Leverage Spot Instances for fault-tolerant workloads that can handle interruptions - this can save up to 90% compared to on-demand.

3. Manage EBS Volumes Effectively

Unattached or unused EBS volumes can incur unnecessary storage costs. Regularly audit your EBS volumes and delete any unused ones. Utilize EBS optimization features like Amazon Data Lifecycle Manager to automate volume snapshots and deletion based on policies.

4. Optimize S3 Storage Tiers

Match your S3 storage to the appropriate tier based on access patterns. Infrequently accessed data should be stored in the cheaper Glacier or Glacier Deep Archive tiers. Enable S3 Intelligent-Tiering to automatically move objects between access tiers without performance impact.

5. Leverage AWS Cost Explorer and Budgets

Use AWS Cost Explorer to get detailed visibility into your costs by service, account, region etc. Set budgets and alarms to be notified when you are approaching budget limits. Cost Explorer also provides recommendations for Reserved Instances, Savings Plans and Rightsizing.

6. Optimize Lambda and Container Services

For serverless workloads on AWS Lambda, ensure you are optimizing memory allocation to the minimum required. This will reduce your bill as you are charged based on memory usage and duration. For containers, use AWS Fargate which allows you to run containers without managing servers. Fargate is billed based on vCPU and memory usage.

7. Automate Cost Optimization

IUse AWS tools like Instance Scheduler, Auto Scaling, and Data Lifecycle Manager to automate instance scheduling, scaling and EBS volume management. This ensures your resources are always optimized based on demand without manual intervention.

By implementing these strategies, you can significantly reduce your AWS subscription costs while still taking advantage of the cloud's scalability and flexibility. Continuous monitoring, optimization and automation are key to maintaining cost efficiency.

Citations:

[1] https://engineering.deptagency.com/reducing-aws-cost

[2] https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/compute/10-things-you-can-do-today-to-reduce-aws-costs/

[3] https://modlogix.com/blog/7-foolproof-ways-to-reduce-your-aws-costs-in-2022/

[4] https://aws.amazon.com/savingsplans/

[5] https://www.bacancytechnology.com/blog/aws-cost-optimization