Difficulty: Easy
Description
We identified several RDS instances in your account that are idle. Deleting unused RDS instances eliminates their compute and storage costs.
Selection Criteria
The maximum
DatabaseConnectionsmetric for the RDS instance has been less than 1 for the last 30 daysThe instance is not a read replica — replicas may show 0 connections even when actively used by the primary
⚠️ Warning — Aurora clusters: For Aurora, validate metrics at the individual instance level, not only at the cluster level, to avoid false positives
Expected Saving
Deleting an idle RDS instance eliminates 100% of its compute cost. Storage costs are also eliminated upon deletion.
Example: A db.t3.medium instance running 24/7:
Compute: $0.068/hr × 730 hrs/month = ~$49.64/month
Storage: 20 GB gp2 × $0.115/GB = ~$2.30/month
Total savings: ~$51.94/month per instance
Operational Impact
Downtime: Yes — deletion is irreversible. The instance and all its data are permanently deleted.
⚠️ WARNING — Data loss: Deleting an RDS instance without a final snapshot results in permanent, unrecoverable data loss. Always take a final snapshot before proceeding.
⚠️ WARNING — Final snapshot: The AWS Console offers a "Create final snapshot" option during deletion. This should always be enabled unless the data is confirmed as expendable.
⚠️ WARNING — Automated backups: Automated backups are deleted along with the instance unless "Retain automated backups" is explicitly enabled.
Recovery: Only possible if a snapshot was taken prior to deletion. Restore from the snapshot to recreate the instance — note that the new instance will have a different endpoint.