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Triage AWS RDS Idle DBInstance Check IDLE_INSTANCE_DETECTED

  1. Configure AWS RDS Idle DBInstance Check
  2. Use Case for AWS RDS Idle DBInstance Check
  3. Triage Guides by Violation Type
    1. Triage AWS RDS Idle DBInstance Check IDLE_INSTANCE_DETECTED

Triage guide for 'IDLE_INSTANCE_DETECTED'

Understand​

You should care about this issue because it may indicate that the AWS RDS DBInstance is underutilized and costing money unnecessarily. It is important to ensure that you're not paying for resources you're not using.

Validate​

To verify the alert is true and accurate, check the CPU and memory utilization metrics in AWS CloudWatch for the past 7 days for the flagged instance. This policy scans on a daily schedule. Use the AWS CloudWatch console or the AWS CLI to manually retrieve the metrics.

Triage​

If left unaddressed, an idle instance will continue to incur costs without providing value. Remediation should not impact other services unless the instance is part of a critical workflow.

Act​

If the instance is truly idle, consider stopping or terminating it, or adjusting its size to a more cost-effective option. Be sure to check for dependencies before taking any action.

Reflect​

If this alert wasn't useful, consider if the thresholds set are reasonable for your use cases or if the instance has periodic spikes of activity that are expected. You may adjust the thresholds or schedule of the policy, or disable the policy for certain instances if they are known to be seasonally used.