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AWS resource rightsizing tools for optimal savings

Are you paying too much for your AWS resources? Most businesses are. In fact, many AWS users can reduce their cloud costs by up to 40% through proper resource rightsizing without sacrificing performance. Rightsizing is one of the most effective yet underutilized strategies for AWS cost optimization.

What is AWS rightsizing?

Rightsizing is the process of matching instance types and sizes to your workload performance and capacity requirements at the lowest possible cost. It’s about finding that sweet spot where your resources are neither over-provisioned (wasting money) nor under-provisioned (risking performance issues).

The concept applies primarily to EC2 instances but extends to other AWS resources like EBS volumes, RDS instances, and more. Think of it as finding the right fit for your workload – just as you wouldn’t wear shoes three sizes too big, you shouldn’t run your applications on instances that are unnecessarily large.

Why rightsizing matters for your bottom line

Before diving into tools and methods, let’s understand why rightsizing deserves your attention:

  • Immediate cost reduction: Properly sized resources can reduce your AWS bill by 30-40% with minimal effort
  • Ongoing optimization: Once implemented, automated rightsizing tools continue to find savings as your workloads evolve
  • Performance improvements: Right-sized resources often perform better than over-provisioned ones due to optimized resource allocation and reduced overhead
  • Environmental impact: Efficient resource usage reduces your carbon footprint, supporting sustainability goals

Consider this: an unnecessarily oversized EC2 instance is like keeping a V8 engine running to power a desk lamp. You’re paying for capacity you’ll never use while simultaneously wasting energy and resources.

Key AWS tools for automated rightsizing

AWS Compute Optimizer

AWS Compute Optimizer is Amazon’s native ML-powered service that analyzes your resource utilization patterns and recommends optimal configurations. It’s particularly effective for:

  • EC2 instances
  • Auto Scaling groups
  • EBS volumes
  • Lambda functions

Compute Optimizer provides risk assessments, migration effort estimates, and projected savings. For example, it might recommend migrating from a t3.xlarge to an r6g.large instance for potential savings of 40% while maintaining performance.

The service uses machine learning to analyze utilization metrics across multiple dimensions – not just CPU but memory, storage I/O, and network throughput – to ensure recommendations maintain performance while reducing costs.

AWS Cost Explorer

While Compute Optimizer focuses on specific recommendations, AWS Cost Explorer provides visualization and analysis of your spending patterns. It helps identify:

  • Over-provisioned resources
  • Usage trends over time
  • Cost allocation by service, tag, or region
  • Rightsizing opportunities based on historical usage

Cost Explorer’s rightsizing recommendations feature specifically targets EC2 instances that have been consistently underutilized, offering a quick way to identify low-hanging fruit for optimization.

The tool’s visualization capabilities make it particularly valuable for presenting cost-saving opportunities to stakeholders. You can generate reports showing potential savings and track your optimization progress over time.

CloudWatch for data-driven decisions

Effective rightsizing requires solid metrics. AWS CloudWatch collects and tracks:

  • CPU utilization
  • Memory usage
  • Network throughput
  • Disk I/O

When evaluating rightsizing opportunities, focus on instances showing:

  • Less than 40% CPU/memory usage over 4+ weeks
  • Running at least 50% of the observation period

CloudWatch provides the foundational data needed to make informed rightsizing decisions. Without accurate utilization metrics, rightsizing becomes guesswork rather than a data-driven strategy.

Best practices for successful rightsizing

1. Establish a data collection baseline

Before making any changes:

  • Enable detailed monitoring in CloudWatch
  • Collect at least 2 weeks of performance data (4 weeks is ideal)
  • Ensure you capture both peak and normal usage periods
  • Monitor all key performance indicators, not just CPU usage

This baseline gives you confidence that your rightsizing decisions account for typical workload patterns and peak demands, not just averages or snapshots.

2. Prioritize high-impact resources

Not all resources offer equal savings potential. Focus first on:

  • Instances with the highest hourly rates
  • Resources running 24/7
  • Non-production environments
  • Instances with consistently low utilization

A single m5.4xlarge instance running 24/7 might offer more savings opportunity than dozens of t3.small instances that only run during business hours. Prioritization ensures your rightsizing efforts deliver maximum ROI.

3. Consider instance families carefully

Different workloads have different requirements:

  • Compute-optimized (C-family): For CPU-intensive applications like batch processing, scientific modeling, and certain web servers
  • Memory-optimized (R-family): For memory-intensive workloads like in-memory databases, real-time analytics, and caching servers
  • Storage-optimized (D, I-family): For high I/O operations like data warehousing, log processing, and distributed file systems
  • General purpose (T, M-family): For balanced workloads with moderate CPU, memory, and networking requirements

Choosing the right family can often yield greater savings than just downsizing within the same family. For example, a database workload might run more efficiently and cost-effectively on an r6g instance than a c5 instance, even if both have similar CPU configurations.

4. Test before committing

Always validate rightsizing recommendations:

  1. Test changes in non-production environments first
  2. Monitor performance closely after implementation
  3. Have a rollback plan ready if performance degrades
  4. Consider A/B testing to compare original vs. recommended instances

This methodical approach prevents performance issues and builds confidence in your rightsizing strategy. Remember: the goal is cost optimization without sacrificing performance or reliability.

5. Implement a continuous optimization cycle

Rightsizing isn’t a one-time project:

  • Schedule regular rightsizing reviews (monthly or quarterly)
  • Automate the process where possible
  • Update baselines as workload patterns change
  • Document optimization decisions and outcomes for future reference

Workloads evolve, and new instance types are regularly released by AWS. A continuous optimization approach ensures you’re always running on the most cost-effective resources available.

Beyond instance rightsizing: comprehensive optimization

While EC2 rightsizing offers significant savings, don’t overlook other opportunities:

EBS volume optimization

EBS volumes are often over-provisioned. Consider:

  • Switching from gp2 to gp3 volumes for better price/performance
  • Adjusting IOPS and throughput independently
  • Removing unused volumes
  • Implementing lifecycle policies to automatically delete snapshots

Many organizations discover they’re paying for volumes that are no longer attached to any instances, or for excessive provisioned IOPS that their workloads never come close to utilizing.

Reserved Instances and Savings Plans

After rightsizing, lock in additional savings:

  • Use Reserved Instances for steady-state workloads
  • Implement Savings Plans for more flexible commitments
  • Compare AWS Savings Plans with GCP’s discount options if you use multiple clouds

These commitment-based discount options can reduce costs by up to 75% compared to on-demand pricing, but they should only be implemented after rightsizing to avoid committing to oversized resources.

Automated scheduling

For non-production environments:

  • Implement automatic start/stop schedules
  • Shut down resources during nights and weekends
  • Use AWS Instance Scheduler or Lambda functions

A development environment that runs 24/7 but is only used during business hours (approximately 40 hours per week) represents a potential 76% cost reduction opportunity through simple scheduling automation.

Automated rightsizing with third-party tools

While AWS native tools are powerful, third-party solutions can provide additional capabilities:

  • Automated implementation: Tools that not only recommend but execute rightsizing
  • Cross-cloud optimization: For businesses using multiple cloud providers
  • Advanced analytics: More sophisticated utilization analysis
  • Integration with existing workflows: Connecting with CI/CD pipelines or approval processes

These tools can reduce the operational overhead of managing rightsizing efforts, particularly for larger or more complex AWS environments. They often provide a more comprehensive view across all cost optimization dimensions, not just rightsizing.

Getting started with AWS rightsizing today

  1. Enable AWS Compute Optimizer: Go to the AWS Management Console, search for “Compute Optimizer” and opt in
  2. Review initial recommendations: Within 12 hours, you’ll receive your first set of recommendations
  3. Implement low-risk changes first: Start with dev/test environments or non-critical workloads
  4. Document your baseline: Record performance metrics before making changes
  5. Measure and iterate: Track savings and performance after implementation

This phased approach builds confidence in the rightsizing process while delivering immediate savings on low-risk resources.

Conclusion: making rightsizing work for your business

Rightsizing AWS resources represents one of the most effective ways to reduce cloud costs without sacrificing performance. By leveraging AWS’s native tools alongside a methodical approach, most organizations can achieve 30-40% savings on their cloud infrastructure.

For businesses looking to maximize these savings without the ongoing effort, Hykell provides automated cloud cost optimization that can identify and implement rightsizing opportunities continuously. Our platform ensures you’re always running the most cost-effective infrastructure without compromising performance or requiring constant attention from your team.

Remember: every dollar saved through rightsizing goes directly to your bottom line, making it one of the highest-ROI activities for any cloud-focused organization.