Difficulty: Easy
Description
These databases still use gp2 storage. gp3 is the newer generation: same price per GB, with a performance baseline that no longer depends on volume size.
Selection Criteria
RDS instance uses gp2 storage type.
Instance has been running for at least 7 days.
Expected annualized savings exceed $10.
Expected Saving
gp2 and gp3 cost the same per GB ($0.115/GB/month) for RDS. The savings opportunity lies in reducing over-provisioned storage: customers who inflated gp2 volume size to get more IOPS (3 IOPS/GB) no longer need to do so with gp3's fixed 3,000 IOPS baseline.
Operational Impact
Storage type changes are applied online — no instance restart or downtime required. The modification runs in the background.
⚠️ Warning — One modification at a time: RDS only allows one storage modification at a time per instance. If another modification is already in progress, the gp3 migration must wait.
⚠️ Warning — 6-hour cooldown: After a storage modification completes, a 6-hour cooldown applies before another storage change can be initiated on the same instance.