# AOSSUS02-BP02 Use the minimum number of instances necessary to meet your workload requirements
<a name="aossus02-bp02"></a>

 Reduce costs, improve resource utilization, and eliminate unnecessary resource usage by using the minimum number of instances necessary to meet your workload requirements. 

 **Level of risk exposed if this best practice is not established**: Medium 

 **Desired outcome:** Your workload uses the minimum number of instances necessary to meet requirements, reducing unnecessary resource usage. 

 **Benefits of establishing this best practice:** 
+  Reduced costs and increased cost efficiency 
+  Improved resource utilization and reduced waste 

## Implementation guidance
<a name="implementation-guidance-59"></a>

 Use the minimum amount of hardware to meet your workload and business needs efficiently. 
+  **Determine the required instance type:** Based on your workload characteristics, such as query volume, document size, indexing needs, and storage requirements, select a suitable Graviton instance type that meets your performance requirements. 
+  **Estimate instance capacity:** Estimate the total capacity required to meet your workload demands. For detail on sizing OpenSearch Service domains, see [Performance efficiency](performance-efficiency.md) and [Cost optimization](cost-optimization.md). 

## Resources
<a name="resources-59"></a>
+  [Sizing OpenSearch Service domains](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/opensearch-service/latest/developerguide/sizing-domains.html)