Taming the Reserved Instance Ghost: Reclaiming $4,500 a Month on EC2

Our finance team had one question: "Why are we paying for thousands of dollars in EC2 Reserved Instances that nobody seems to be using?"

It started with a routine cost analysis. Our AWS bill showed a significant chunk of spending attributed to Reserved Instances (RIs), specifically for our EC2 fleet. The problem? Our actual EC2 usage didn't match the RI coverage. We were paying for capacity we weren't consuming – a classic case of RI underutilization.

Initially, we suspected it was a billing error. But after cross-referencing our EC2 usage reports with the RI inventory, the uncomfortable truth became clear: We had a mismatch. A costly mismatch.

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The Manual Maze of RI Management

Our first attempt to address the issue involved manually comparing RI purchases against actual usage data. Spreadsheets became our battleground. We tried to identify instances where RIs were completely unused or where instance sizes were mismatched. The process was tedious, error-prone, and ultimately unsustainable.

Even if we identified opportunities for optimization, the process of modifying or exchanging RIs through the AWS console was complex and time-consuming. We needed a better way.

EazyOps Enters the Scene

We integrated EazyOps into our AWS environment and within minutes, it had analyzed our EC2 usage and RI inventory. The platform highlighted exactly where our RIs were underutilized, providing specific recommendations for right-sizing instances and exchanging existing RIs for more suitable options.

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From Insight to Action

The recommendations from EazyOps were clear and actionable. We were able to quickly implement the suggested changes, confident that we were making data-driven decisions. The entire optimization process, which previously would have taken weeks of manual effort, was completed in a matter of hours.

The $4,500 Payoff

The results were impressive. EazyOps improved our RI utilization by 85%, directly translating to a monthly saving of $4,500. Beyond the immediate cost savings, we gained valuable insights into our EC2 usage patterns, enabling us to make more informed decisions about future RI purchases and instance sizing.

The finance team was thrilled. More importantly, we were freed from the burden of manual RI management, allowing us to focus on more strategic initiatives.

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About Shujat

Shujat is a Senior Backend Engineer at EazyOps, working at the intersection of performance engineering, cloud cost optimization, and AI infrastructure. He writes to share practical strategies for building efficient, intelligent systems.