Viewing Aurora and RDS database recommendations
Compute Optimizer generates DB instances, RDS DB instance storage, and Aurora DB cluster storage recommendations for RDS for MySQL, RDS for PostgreSQL,
Amazon Aurora databases. These recommendations are displayed on the Recommendations for Aurora and RDS databases
and Aurora and RDS databases details pages of the Compute Optimizer console. Both of these pages are
divided into two separate tabs: Instance and Storage.
-
Recommendations for Aurora and RDS databases page
Instance
This tab displays each of your current Aurora and RDS DB instances, finding classifications,
finding reasons, current instance type, estimated savings, and saving opportunities. The top recommendation from
Compute Optimizer is listed next to each of your instances. This recommendation includes the recommended instance
type, On-Demand pricing, and the price difference between your current instance. Use the
recommendations page to compare your current instances with the top recommendation. Doing this
can help you to decide if you want to upsize or downsize your instances.
Storage
This tab displays each of your current RDS instance storage volumes and Aurora DB cluster storage configurations, finding classifications,
current storage type, and current price. The top recommendation from Compute Optimizer is listed next to each of your volumes or
clusters. For RDS DB instance storage, it includes the recommended volume type, recommended IOPS, the price of the recommendation, and
the price difference between your current volume and the recommendation. For Aurora DB clusters, it includes the recommended
storage type, estimated cluster costs (instance, storage, and I/O), and potential savings. You can use the recommendations page to compare your current
storage configurations with their top recommendation, which can help you to decide if you should change your storage type.
For more information about how to view your Aurora and RDS database recommendations, see
Accessing Aurora and RDS database recommendations and details.
-
Aurora and RDS database details page
Instance
This tab displays optimization recommendations for a specific RDS DB instance or Aurora DB instance. It lists the
specifications for each recommendation including performance risk, price difference, and On-Demand pricing.
Storage
This tab displays the optimization recommendation for an RDS DB instance storage or Aurora DB cluster storage. For RDS DB
instance storage, it lists the specifications for each recommendation including allocated storage, provisioned IOPS, throughput, and
storage price difference. For Aurora DB clusters, it shows storage type recommendations with estimated costs broken down by
instance, storage, and I/O components, along with I/O cost variability information when enhanced infrastructure metrics is enabled.
Both detail pages display utilization metric graphs that you can use to compare the current instance or storage with
the projected utilization metrics for the recommendation options. The graphs can help you to better understand the
impact of these recommendations.
For more information about how to view your Aurora and RDS database details, see
Accessing Aurora and RDS database details page.
The recommendations are refreshed daily and they can take up to 12 hours to generate. Keep in mind that
Compute Optimizer requires at least 30 hours of Amazon CloudWatch metrics to generate recommendations for Amazon RDS
DB instances. For more information, see Resource requirements.
Finding classifications
The Finding column on the Recommendations for
Aurora and RDS databases page provides a summary of how your Amazon Aurora and RDS DB instances, RDS DB instances storage, and Aurora DB clusters
performed during the lookback period.
- Aurora and RDS DB instances
-
The following findings classifications apply to DB instances.
| Classification |
Description |
|
Under-provisioned
|
When Compute Optimizer detects that there isn't enough CPU, memory, network bandwidth, EBS IOPS, or EBS throughput,
an RDS DB instance is considered under-provisioned. Compute Optimizer displays finding reasons, such as
CPU under-provisioned,
Memory under-provisioned,
EBS IOPS under-provisioned, and
Network bandwidth under-provisioned.
An under-provisioned RDS DB instance might result in poor application performance.
|
|
Over-provisioned
|
When Compute Optimizer detects that there is excessive CPU, EBS IOPS, network bandwidth, or EBS throughput, an RDS DB instance
is considered over-provisioned. Compute Optimizer displays finding reasons, such as
CPU over-provisioned,
EBS IOPS over-provisioned,
Network bandwidth over-provisioned, and
EBS throughput over-provisioned. An over-provisioned RDS DB instance might result
in additional infrastructure costs.
|
|
Optimized
|
When the specifications of your RDS DB instance meet the performance requirements
of your workload, the RDS DB instance is considered optimized. For optimized instances, Compute Optimizer might
recommend a new generation DB instance class or that a new engine version is available.
|
- RDS DB instance storage
-
The following findings classifications apply to RDS DB storage.
| Classification |
Description |
|
Under-provisioned
|
When Compute Optimizer detects that there isn't enough allocated storage or EBS throughput, an
RDS storage volume is considered under-provisioned. Compute Optimizer displays a finding reason of
EBS volume allocated storage under-provisioned or
EBS volume throughput under-provisioned.
An under-provisioned RDS DB instance storage volume might result in poor application performance.
|
|
Over-provisioned
|
When Compute Optimizer detects that there is excessive IOPS or EBS throughput, an RDS DB instance storage volume is
considered over-provisioned. Compute Optimizer displays a finding reason of
EBS volume IOPS over-provisioned or
EBS volume throughput over-provisioned. An over-provisioned DB
instance storage volume might result
in additional infrastructure costs.
|
|
Optimized
|
When the specifications of your RDS DB instance storage volume meet the performance requirements of your workload,
the storage is considered optimized. For optimized DB instance storage, Compute Optimizer might recommend a new generation storage type.
|
For more information about under and over-provisioned RDS DB instances, see
Finding reasons in the Viewing Aurora and RDS database recommendations topic.
- Aurora DB clusters
-
The following findings classifications apply to Aurora DB clusters.
| Classification |
Description |
|
Optimized
|
Compute Optimizer found the configurations of your Aurora DB cluster storage to be optimized from a cost perspective.
|
|
Not optimized
|
Compute Optimizer found potential cost savings if you switch your Aurora DB cluster from Aurora Standard storage
to Aurora I/O-Optimized storage. Compute Optimizer displays a finding reason of DBClusterStorageSavingsAvailable
when Aurora I/O-Optimized is identified as the top option.
|
For more information about Amazon Aurora DB clusters, see Amazon Aurora
storage in the Amazon Aurora User Guide for Aurora.
Finding reasons
The Finding reasons column on the Recommendations for
RDS DB instances and RDS DB instance details pages shows the
specifications of Compute Optimizer findings for Amazon Aurora and RDS DB instances, RDS DB instances storage, and Aurora DB clusters.
- Aurora and RDS DB instances
-
The following finding reasons apply to RDS DB instances:
| Finding reason |
Description |
|
CPU over-provisioned
|
The DB instance’s CPU configuration can be sized down and also meet the performance
requirements of your workload. This is identified by analyzing the
CPUUtilization metric of the current instance during the lookback
period.
|
|
CPU under-provisioned
|
The DB instance’s CPU configuration doesn't meet the performance requirements of your
workload and there is an alternative instance type that provides better CPU performance. This
is identified by analyzing the CPUUtilization metric of the current instance
during the lookback period.
|
|
Memory under-provisioned
|
The DB instance’s memory configuration doesn't meet the performance requirements of your
workload and there isn't an alternative instance type that provides better memory performance.
For RDS MySQL and RDS PostgreSQL DB instances, this is identified by analyzing the
os.swap.in and os.swap.out metrics of the
current instance if Amazon RDS Performance Insights is enabled. To enable Performance Insights for Aurora, see
Turning Performance Insights on and off for Aurora
in the Amazon Aurora User Guide.
For Aurora DB instances, this is identified by analyzing the os.memory.outOfMemoryKillCount
metric of the current instance if Amazon RDS Performance Insights is enabled. For Aurora MySQL DB instances, Compute Optimizer
also analyzes Aurora memory health state metrics. To enable Performance Insights for Aurora, see
Turning Performance Insights on and off for Aurora
in the Amazon Aurora User Guide.
|
|
EBS throughput over-provisioned
|
The DB instance’s EBS throughput configuration can be sized down and also meet the
performance requirements of your workload. This is identified by analyzing the
VolumeReadBytes and VolumeWriteBytes metric of EBS volumes
attached to the current instance during the lookback period.
|
|
EBS throughput under-provisioned
|
The DB instance’s EBS throughput configuration doesn't meet the performance requirements
of your workload and there is an alternative instance type that provides better EBS
throughput performance. This is identified by analyzing the VolumeReadBytes and
VolumeWriteBytes metric of EBS volumes that are attached to the current
instance during the lookback period.
|
|
EBS IOPS over-provisioned
|
The DB instance’s EBS IOPS configuration can be sized down and also meet the performance
requirements of your workload. This is identified by analyzing the
VolumeReadOps and VolumeWriteOps metrics of EBS volumes attached
to the current instance during the lookback period.
|
|
EBS IOPS under-provisioned
|
The DB instance’s EBS IOPS configuration doesn't meet the performance requirements of
your workload and there is an alternative instance type that provides better EBS throughput
performance. This is identified by analyzing the
VolumeReadOps and VolumeWriteOps metrics of EBS volumes attached
to the current instance during the lookback period.
|
|
Network bandwidth over-provisioned
|
The DB instance’s network bandwidth configuration can be sized down while still meeting
the performance requirements of your workload. For RDS MySQL and RDS PostgreSQL DB instances, this is identified by analyzing the
NetworkIn and NetworkOut metrics of the current instance during
the lookback period.
|
|
Network bandwidth under-provisioned
|
The DB instance’s network bandwidth configuration doesn't meet the performance
requirements of your workload and there is an alternative instance type that provides
better network bandwidth performance.
For RDS MySQL and RDS PostgreSQL DB instances, this is identified by analyzing the
NetworkIn and NetworkOut metrics of the current instance during
the lookback period.
For Aurora DB instances, this is identified by analyzing the NetworkThroughput and StorageNetworkThroughput
metrics of the current instance during the lookback period.
|
|
Instance storage read IOPS under-provisioned
|
The DB instance's instance storage read IOPS limit doesn't meet the performance requirement
of your workload and there is an alternative instance type that provides better performance. For Aurora DB instances, this is identified
by analyzing the ReadIOPSEphemeralStorage metric during the lookback period.
|
|
Instance storage write IOPS under-provisioned
|
The DB instance's instance storage write IOPS limit doesn't meet the performance requirement of
your workload and there is an alternative instance type that provides better performance. For Aurora DB instances, this is identified
by analyzing the WriteIOPSEphemeralStorage metric during the lookback period.
|
|
DB cluster writer under-provisioned
|
This indicates that Compute Optimizer has synchornized the recommendation for this Aurora DB instance read replica
with the DB cluster's writer because it has a promotion tier < or = to 1. Compute Optimizer does this to help
you maintain your failover capacity.
|
|
New generation DB instance class available
|
If the current DB instance is a previous generation instance type, Compute Optimizer generates this
finding reason to indicate that there is a new generation DB instance type available. We
encourage you to use current generation instance types to get the best performance.
|
|
New engine version available
|
If the current engine version is deprecated, Compute Optimizer generates this finding reason to
indicate that there is a new engine version available.
|
- RDS DB instance storage
-
The following finding reasons apply to RDS DB instance storage.
| Finding reason |
Description |
|
EBS volume allocated storage under-provisioned
|
The amount EBS volume allocated storage space attached to the DB instance doesn't meet
the performance requirements of your workload and there is an alternative volume type that
provides better allocated storage performance. This is identified by analyzing the
VolumeReadOps and VolumeWriteOps metrics of EBS volumes attached to the current instance
during the lookback period.
|
|
EBS volume IOPS over-provisioned
|
The EBS volume IOPS configuration attached the DB instance can be sized down and also meet the
performance requirements of your workload. This is identified by analyzing the
VolumeReadBytes and VolumeWriteBytes metrics of EBS volumes attached to the
current instance during the lookback period.
|
|
EBS volume throughput under-provisioned
|
The size of the EBS volume throughput attached the DB instance doesn't meet the performance
requirements of your workload and there is an alternative volume type that provides better volume
throughput performance.
|
|
EBS volume throughput over-provisioned
|
The EBS volume throughput attached the DB instance can be sized down and also meet the performance
requirements of your workload.
|
|
New generation storage type available
|
If the current DB instance storage is a previous generation storage type, Compute Optimizer generates this
finding reason to indicate that there is a new generation storage type available. We encourage you
to use current generation storage types to get the best performance.
|
- Aurora DB clusters
-
The following finding reasons apply to Aurora DB clusters.
| Classification |
Description |
|
DBClusterStorageSavingsAvailable
|
Potential cost savings were found by switching your Aurora DB cluster from Aurora Standard storage to
Aurora I/O-Optimized storage. Your cluster's I/O usage pattern suggests that the predictable pricing model
of Aurora I/O-Optimized would be more cost-effective than the variable I/O costs of Aurora Standard. This
finding reason appears when I/O Optimized is identified as the top recommended option for your cluster.
|
|
DBClusterStorageOptionAvailable
|
Aurora I/O-Optimized was found to be a viable alternative storage option for your Aurora DB cluster.
While your current storage configuration is considered optimized from a cost perspective, switching to
Aurora I/O-Optimized could provide benefits such as more predictable monthly costs and simplified budgeting
by eliminating variable I/O charges. This finding reason appears when I/O-Optimized is displayed as the
second recommended option for your cluster.
|
AWS Graviton-based instance
recommendations
When viewing Amazon RDS DB instance recommendations, you can view the price and performance impact
of running your workload on AWS Graviton-based instances. To do so, choose Graviton
(aws-arm64) in the CPU architecture preference dropdown.
Otherwise, choose Current to view recommendations that are based on the same
CPU vendor and architecture as the current RDS DB instance.
The Current price, Recommended price,
Price difference, Price difference (%), and
Estimated monthly savings columns are updated to provide a price
comparison between the current DB instance type and the instance type of the selected CPU
architecture preference. For example, if you choose Graviton (aws-arm64),
prices are compared between the current DB instance type and the recommended Graviton-based
instance type.
Estimated monthly savings and savings
opportunity
Estimated monthly savings (after discounts)
Instance tab
This column lists the approximate monthly cost savings that you experience by migrating your
workloads from the current DB instance or type to the recommended type under the
Reserved Instances pricing models. To receive recommendations with Reserved Instances
discounts, activate the savings estimation mode preference.
Storage tab
This column lists the approximate monthly cost savings that you experience by migrating your RDS DB instance
storage volumes from the current specifications to the recommended specifications under specific discounts. For
Aurora DB clusters, this represents the savings from changing between Aurora Standard and Aurora I/O-Optimized
storage types, considering all cost components (instance, storage, and I/O costs). To receive recommendations
with specific discounts, activate the savings estimation mode preference.
For more information, see Savings estimation mode.
If you don't activate the savings estimation mode preference, this column on both the
Instance and Storage tabs display the default On-Demand pricing discount information.
Estimated monthly savings (On-Demand)
Instance tab
This column lists the approximate monthly cost savings that you experience by migrating your workloads
from the current DB instance type to the recommended instance type under the On-Demand pricing model.
Storage tab
This column lists the approximate monthly cost savings that you experience by migrating your RDS DB
instance storage volumes from the current specifications to the recommended specifications. For Aurora DB
clusters, this includes the difference in total costs between your current storage type and the recommended
storage type, considering instance, storage, and I/O cost components.
Savings opportunity (%)
This column lists the percentage difference between the price of the current instance and the price of
the recommended DB instance type. If savings estimation mode is activated, Compute Optimizer analyzes the
Reserved Instances pricing discounts to generate the savings opportunity percentage. If
savings estimation mode isn’t activated, Compute Optimizer only uses On-Demand pricing information. For more information,
see Savings estimation
mode.
For Aurora DB cluster storage recommendations, this represents the percentage difference in total costs
(instance, storage, and I/O) between the current and recommended storage types.
If you enable Cost Optimization Hub in AWS Cost Explorer, Compute Optimizer uses Cost Optimization Hub data, which includes
your specific pricing discounts to generate your recommendations. If Cost Optimization Hub isn't enabled, Compute Optimizer
uses Cost Explorer data and On-Demand pricing information to generate your recommendations. For more
information, see Enabling
Cost Explorer and
Cost Optimization Hub in the in the AWS Cost Management User Guide.
Estimated monthly savings
calculation
For each recommendation, Compute Optimizer calculate the cost to operate a new RDS DB instance or storage using the recommended
specifications. Estimated monthly savings are calculated based on the number of running hours for the current
instance or storage and the difference in rates between the current specifications and the recommended
specifications. The estimated monthly savings for RDS DB instances and storage that are displayed on the
Compute Optimizer dashboard is a sum of the estimated monthly savings for all over-provisioned findings in the account.
The performance risk columns on the RDS DB instance details page and the RDS DB instance
recommendations page define the likelihood of the
current and recommended instance type not meeting your workload requirements.
Compute Optimizer calculates an individual performance risk score for each specification of the current and recommended instance. This
includes specifications such as CPU, EBS throughput, and EBS IOPS. The performance risk of the current and recommended
instance is calculated as the maximum performance risk score across the analyzed resource specifications.
The values range from very low, low, medium, high, and very high. A very low performance
risk means that the instance type is predicted to always provide enough
capability. The higher the performance risk means that you should validate
whether the instance meets the performance requirements of your workload before migrating
your resource. Decide whether to optimize for performance improvement, for cost reduction, or for
a combination of these two.
Comparison graphs
The Amazon RDS database details page displays utilization metric graphs for
your current and recommended RDS DB instance and storage data for the lookback period. Compute Optimizer
uses the maximum utilization point within each 5-minute time interval to generate RDS DB instance and
storage recommendations.
You can change the graphs to display data for the last 24 hours, three days, one week, or
two weeks. You can also change the statistic of the graphs between average and maximum.
The following comparison graphs are displayed on the Aurora and RDS database details page.
- RDS DB instances
-
The following graphs are displayed for RDS DB instances:
| Graph name |
Description |
|
CPU utilization
|
The percentage of allocated compute units that are in use on the DB instance.
This metric identifies the processing power that's required to run an application on
an instance.
|
|
Database connections (count)
|
The number of client sessions that are connected to the DB instance.
|
|
Network receive throughput (MiB/second)
|
The incoming (receive) network traffic on the DB instance, including both customer
database traffic and Amazon RDS traffic used for monitoring and replication.
|
|
Network transmit throughput (MiB/second)
|
The outgoing (transmit) network traffic on the DB instance, including both customer
database traffic and Amazon RDS traffic used for monitoring and replication.
|
|
EBS read operations (per second)
|
The average number of disk read I/O operations per second.
|
|
EBS write operations (per second)
|
The average number of disk write I/O operations per second.
|
|
EBS read throughput (MiB/second)
|
The average number of bytes read from disk per second.
|
|
EBS write throughput (MiB/second)
|
The average number of bytes written to disk per second.
|
|
EBS IO balance (percent)
|
The percentage of I/O credits remaining in the burst bucket of your
RDS database. This metric is available for basic monitoring only.
|
|
EBS Byte Balance (percent)
|
The percentage of throughput credits remaining in the burst bucket of
your RDS database. This metric is available for basic monitoring only.
|
|
Free storage space
|
The amount of available storage space.
|
|
DB Load
|
The level of session activity in your database. For more information, see
Database load in the Amazon Relational Database Service User Guide.
|
|
Swap in (KB)
|
The amount of memory, in kilobytes, swapped in from disk.
|
|
Swap out (KB)
|
The amount of memory, in kilobytes, swapped out to disk.
|
The DB Load, Swap in (KB), and Swap out (KB) metrics
are only available if you enabled Amazon RDS Performance Insights. To enable Performance Insights for your DB instances, see
Turning Performance Insights on and off for Amazon RDS
in the Amazon Relational Database Service User Guide.
- Aurora DB instances
-
The following graphs are displayed for Aurora DB instances:
| Graph name |
Description |
|
CPU utilization
|
The percentage of CPU used by an Aurora DB instance.
|
|
Memory utilization
|
The percentage of memory allocated by applications and the operating system as used.
|
|
Database connections (count)
|
The number of client sessions that are connected to the DB instance.
|
|
Network receive throughput (MiB/second)
|
The amount of network throughput received from clients by each instance in the Aurora DB cluster. This throughput doesn't include network traffic between instances in the Aurora DB cluster and the cluster volume.
|
|
Network transmit throughput (MiB/second)
|
The amount of network throughput sent to clients by each instance in the Aurora DB cluster. This throughput doesn't include network traffic between instances in the DB cluster and the cluster volume.
|
|
Storage network read throughput (MiB/second)
|
The amount of network throughput received from the Aurora storage subsystem by each instance in the DB cluster.
|
|
Storage network write throughput (MiB/second)
|
The amount of network throughput sent to the Aurora storage subsystem by each instance in the Aurora DB cluster.
|
|
Aurora memory health state
|
Indicates the memory health state. A value of 0 equals NORMAL. A value of 10 equals
RESERVED, which means that the server is approaching a critical level of memory usage.
This metric applies to Aurora MySQL only. |
|
Aurora memory number of declined SQL queries
|
The total number of queries declined as part of out-of-memory (OOM) avoidance.
This metric applies to Aurora MySQL only. |
|
Aurora memory number of connections closed
|
The total number of connections closed as part of OOM avoidance.
This metric applies to Aurora MySQL only. |
|
Aurora memory number of queries killed
|
The total number of queries ended as part of OOM avoidance.
This metric applies to Aurora MySQL only. |
|
Buffer cache hit ratio
|
The percentage of requests that are served by the buffer cache. This graph is shown when an Optimized Reads DB instance class type is recommended an as option to help you evaluate whether it is the right fit for your workload.
|
|
Read IOPS ephermal storage
|
The average number of disk read operations to Ephemeral NVMe storage.
This metric applies to instances that support locally attached non-volatile
memory express (NVMe) storage. |
|
Write IOPS ephermal storage
|
The average number of disk write operations to Ephemeral NVMe storage.
This metric applies to instances that support locally attached non-volatile
memory express (NVMe) storage. |
|
Read IOPS
|
The average number of disk read operations per second.
|
|
Write IOPS
|
The number of Aurora storage write records generated per second. This is more or less the number of
log records generated by the database. These do not correspond to 8K page writes, and do not correspond to network packets sent.
|
|
DB Load
|
The number of active sessions for the database. Typically, you want the data for the average number of active sessions.
In Performance Insights, this data is queried as db.load.avg.
|
For more information, see
Amazon CloudWatch metrics for Amazon Aurora in the Amazon Aurora User Guide.
- Aurora DB clusters
-
The following graphs are displayed for Aurora DB clusters:
| Graph name |
Description |
|
VolumeBytesUsed
|
The amount of storage used by your Aurora DB cluster.
|
|
VolumeReadIOPs
|
The number of billed read I/O operations from a cluster volume within a 5-minute interval.
|
|
VolumeWriteIOPs
|
The number of write disk I/O operations to the cluster volume, reported at 5-minute intervals.
|
