Reduce RDS Costs with ParkMyCloud

Thanks to the ability to shut down instances with a start/stop scheduler, users of Amazon’s database service can finally save time and reduce RDS costs. Until June 2017, the only way to accomplish this feat was by copying and deleting instances, running the risk of losing transaction logs and automatic backups. While Amazon’s development of the start/stop scheduler is useful and provides a level of cost savings, it also comes with issues of its own.

For one, the start/stop scheduler is not foolproof. The process for stopping and starting non-production RDS instances is manual, relying on the user to create and consistently manage the schedule. Having to manually switch off when instances are not in use, and then restart when access is needed again, is a helpful advantage but also leaves room for human error. Complicating things further, RDS instances that have been shut down will automatically be restarted after seven days, again relying on the user to switch those instances back off if they’re not needed at the time.

Why Scripting is not the Best Answer

One way of minimizing potential for error is by automating the stop/start schedule yourself with writing your own scripts. While that could work, you would need to consider the number of non-production instances deployed on AWS RDS, and plan for a schedule that would allow developers to have access when needed, which could very well be at varying times throughout the day. All factors considered, the process of writing and maintaining scheduling scripts is one that takes extra time and costs money as well. Ultimately, setting up and maintaining your own schedule could increase your cloud spend more than it reduces RDS costs.

When you start thinking about the cost of paying developers, the amount of scripts that would have to be written, and the ongoing maintenance required, buying into an automated scheduling process is a no-brainer.

How ParkMyCloud Reduces RDS Costs

Automated Scheduling

ParkMyCloud saves you time and money by automating the scheduling process of stopping and starting AWS RDS instances (in addition to Microsoft Azure VMs and Google Cloud Compute instances, but that’s another post). At the same time, you get total visibility and full autonomy over your account.

The process is simple. With you as the account manager, ParkMyCloud conducts a discovery of all the company accounts, and determines which instances are most suitable for parking. From there, you have the option of implementing company-wide schedules for non-production instances, or giving each development team the ability to create schedules of their own.

Flexible Parking

ParkMyCloud takes saving on RDS costs to a whole new level with parking schedules. Different schedules can be applied to different instances, or they can be parked permanently and put on “snooze” when access is needed. Amazon’s seven-day automatic restart of switched off instances is a non-issue with our platform, and snoozed instances can be re-parked when access is no longer needed, so there’s no more relying on the user to do it manually.

For the most part, we find that companies will want to park their non-production instances outside the normal working hours of Monday to Friday, let’s say from 8:00am to 8:00pm. By parking your instances outside of those days and hours, ParkMyCloud can reduce your cloud spend by 65% — even more if you implement a parking schedule and use the snooze option.

Valuable Insight

Because you have total visibility over the account, you can reduce RDS costs even further by having a bird’s eye view of your company’s cloud use. You’ll be able to tell which of your instances are underused, terminate them, and possibly benefit further from selecting a cheaper plan (really soon). You’ll be able to see all RDS instances across all regions and AWS accounts in one simple view. You can also view the parking schedules for each instance and see how much each schedule is saving, potentially reducing costs even further. The viewability of your account and access to information provides a great resource for budgeting and planning.

Conclusion

The AWS start/stop scheduler is useful, but has to be done manually. Writing your own scripts sounds helpful, but it’s actually time consuming, and not fully cost-effective. ParkMyCloud automates the process while still putting you in control, reducing RDS costs and saving you time and money.

See the benefits of ParkMyCloud for yourself by taking advantage of our two-week free trial. Test our cloud cost control platform in your own environment, without any need for a credit card or signed contract, and see why our simple, cost-effective tool is the key to reducing RDS costs. We offer a variety of competitive pricing plans to choose from, or a limited-function version that you can continue to use for free after the trial ends.

To start your free trial today, sign up here.

Originally published at www.parkmycloud.com on September 26, 2017.