Idle Static IPs Inflate GCP Bills

Dozens of unused static external IPs were left unattached across GCP projects, incurring $450/month in idle costs. EazyOps scanned networking resources, flagged orphaned IPs, and automated their release—cutting waste by 93%.

"Why are we paying for all these IPs that aren't even being used?" That was the question from our CFO that kicked off a week-long deep dive into our GCP networking costs. We knew we had some idle resources, but the sheer scale of the waste caught us completely off guard.

As a platform team, we're always juggling competing priorities: performance, security, and cost. It's easy for cost optimization to slip down the list, especially when dealing with the dynamic nature of cloud infrastructure. We had focused on optimizing compute and storage costs, but networking had become a blind spot.

An abstract image representing numerous unconnected nodes, symbolizing idle IP addresses.

The Illusion of Control

We thought we had a handle on our networking costs. We used reserved IPs for critical services, and we assumed the rest were being dynamically allocated and released as needed. We were wrong.

Our initial investigation revealed a tangled web of static IP addresses scattered across multiple projects. Some were attached to decommissioned VMs, others were remnants of failed deployments, and many were simply orphaned – allocated but never attached to anything. It was a classic case of "out of sight, out of mind." These idle IPs were silently draining our budget, month after month.

Manual Cleanup: A Sisyphean Task

Our first instinct was to tackle the problem manually. We assigned engineers to comb through each project, identify orphaned IPs, and release them. This quickly proved to be an unsustainable approach. The process was time-consuming, error-prone, and frankly, soul-crushing.

We needed an automated solution. Something that could continuously monitor our networking resources, identify idle IPs, and release them without manual intervention.

A visual metaphor depicting a tangled web of connections, representing the complexity of managing cloud networking resources.
An abstract image showing a streamlined, organized network, symbolizing the efficiency gained through automation.

EazyOps: Automating the Solution

That's where EazyOps came in. We integrated EazyOps into our GCP environment, and within minutes, it had identified dozens of orphaned static IPs across our projects. The platform provided a clear, concise dashboard showing exactly which IPs were idle, how long they had been unused, and the associated costs. Even better, EazyOps offered the ability to automate the release of these idle resources.

With a few clicks, we configured EazyOps to automatically release any static IP that remained unattached for more than 24 hours. We also set up alerts to notify us of any newly orphaned IPs, allowing us to proactively address potential waste.

The Impact: Reclaiming Wasted Dollars

The results were immediate and impressive. Within the first month, EazyOps had automatically released over 80 idle static IPs, reducing our monthly networking costs by $415 – a 93% reduction in wasted spend. We went from bleeding money on unused resources to having a lean, efficient networking setup.

Beyond the immediate cost savings, EazyOps also gave us something even more valuable: peace of mind. We now have confidence that our networking resources are being used efficiently, and we no longer have to worry about hidden costs lurking in the shadows.

A visual representation of cost savings, such as a downward-sloping graph or a minimized financial chart.

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.