What is AWS Reserved Instance Reporting?
AWS Reserved Instance Reporting is a collection of reports and dashboards within AWS Cost Management that provide detailed insights into the utilization and effectiveness of Reserved Instances (RIs). Reserved Instances are a pricing model where substantial discounts compared to On-Demand prices are granted in exchange for a one- or three-year commitment.
Proper management of Reserved Instances is critical for cloud cost optimization. Unused RIs incur costs without benefit, while insufficient RI coverage means paying higher On-Demand prices for many workloads. RI Reporting helps find this balance.
The reports show both RI utilization (what portion of purchased RIs is actually in use) and RI coverage (what portion of total usage is covered by RIs). This data forms the basis for informed purchasing decisions for new Reserved Instances.
Core Features
- Utilization Report: Shows the utilization of each Reserved Instance over configurable time periods
- Coverage Report: Analyzes what portion of total usage is covered by RIs
- Recommendations: Automatic purchase recommendations for new RIs based on historical usage
- Time Series Analysis: Visualization of RI utilization and coverage over weeks, months, and years
- Multi-Service View: Consolidated view across all services with RI pricing models
Typical Use Cases
RI Utilization Monitoring: FinOps teams continuously monitor the utilization of purchased Reserved Instances to ensure all RIs are effectively used. Unused RIs can be sold on the RI Marketplace or reallocated to other workloads.
RI Coverage Analysis: Teams analyze which workloads are still paying On-Demand prices and whether additional RI purchases would be economically beneficial. Coverage reports clearly show savings potential.
Cost Optimization: By combining utilization and coverage reports, organizations make informed decisions about RI purchases, Savings Plans, and the optimal mix of different pricing models.
Benefits
- Free service within AWS Cost Management
- Clear visibility into RI utilization and savings potential
- Automatic purchase recommendations based on historical usage
- Support for optimizing cloud cost structure
Integration with innFactory
As an AWS Reseller, innFactory supports you with AWS Reserved Instance Reporting: from analyzing current RI utilization and coverage to developing an RI purchasing strategy to continuously optimizing your Reserved Instance portfolio.
Typical Use Cases
Frequently Asked Questions
What is AWS Reserved Instance Reporting?
AWS Reserved Instance Reporting includes reports and dashboards within AWS Cost Management that show how effectively your Reserved Instances are being used and which On-Demand usage could be covered by additional RIs.
What is the difference between utilization and coverage?
Utilization shows what percentage of your purchased Reserved Instances are actually being used. Coverage shows what percentage of your total usage is covered by Reserved Instances rather than paying On-Demand prices.
Which services have RI reporting?
RI reporting is available in AWS Cost Explorer for Amazon EC2, RDS, Redshift, ElastiCache, and OpenSearch Service, as well as other services that offer Reserved Instance pricing models.
What does AWS Reserved Instance Reporting cost?
The reports are free to use as part of AWS Cost Explorer and AWS Cost Management. There are no additional charges for using the utilization and coverage reports.
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