Difficulty: Medium
Description
We identified several RDS instances in your account that are using older generation instance types. Modernizing these instances can help reduce your RDS bill.
Selection Criteria
The RDS instance uses one of these older generation families:
db.t2,db.t3,db.m3,db.m4,db.m5,db.m6i,db.c3,db.c4,db.c5,db.c6i,db.r3,db.r4,db.r5,db.r6iThe instance has been running for at least 30 days
A newer generation equivalent instance type is available in the instance's region
⚠️ Warning — SQL Server: Graviton is not supported for SQL Server RDS instances. Only Intel/AMD equivalent upgrades apply.
Expected Saving
Savings depend on the target generation and architecture:
Upgrade path | Example | Typical savings |
Same arch, newer gen (e.g. db.m5 → db.m6i) | db.m5.large $0.190/hr → db.m6i.large $0.184/hr | ~5–10% |
AMD equivalent (e.g. db.m5 → db.m6a) | db.m5.large $0.190/hr → db.m6a.large $0.173/hr | ~9% |
Graviton (e.g. db.m5 → db.m7g) | db.m5.large $0.190/hr → db.m7g.large $0.173/hr | ~10–20% |
Example: db.m5.large → db.m7g.large in us-east-1:
Before: $0.190/hr × 730 hrs = $138.70/month
After: $0.173/hr × 730 hrs = $126.29/month
Savings: ~$12.41/month (~9%)
Operational Impact
Downtime: Required — changing the RDS instance type requires a DB modification with a maintenance window. Can be applied immediately or deferred to the next scheduled maintenance window.
Breaking changes: Generally none for same-architecture upgrades (Intel → Intel or Intel → AMD). For Graviton, verify DB engine and version compatibility before proceeding.
⚠️ Warning — Multi-AZ deployments: A failover/promotion will occur automatically for Multi-AZ instances — expect a brief interruption (~30–60 seconds).
⚠️ Warning — SQL Server: Graviton is not available for SQL Server. Ensure the recommended target is an Intel/AMD type.
Recovery: Revert to the previous instance type via another modification — no data is affected.