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Amazon SAP-C02: Identifying and Downsizing Underutilized EC2 Instances with AWS Cost Explorer

Learn how to efficiently identify and downsize underutilized Amazon EC2 instances across multiple AWS accounts using AWS Cost Explorer and AWS Systems Manager.

Table of Contents

Question

A company uses AWS Organizations to manage its AWS accounts. The company needs a list of all its Amazon EC2 instances that have underutilized CPU or memory usage. The company also needs recommendations for how to downsize these underutilized instances.

Which solution will meet these requirements with the LEAST effort?

A. Install a CPU and memory monitoring tool from AWS Marketplace on all the EC2 instances. Store the findings in Amazon S3. Implement a Python script to identify underutilized instances. Reference EC2 instance pricing information for recommendations about downsizing options.
B. Install the Amazon CloudWatch agent on all the EC2 instances by using AWS Systems Manager. Retrieve the resource optimization recommendations from AWS Cost Explorer in the organization’s management account. Use the recommendations to downsize underutilized instances in all accounts of the organization.
C. Install the Amazon CloudWatch agent on all the EC2 instances by using AWS Systems Manager. Retrieve the resource optimization recommendations from AWS Cost Explorer in each account of the organization. Use the recommendations to downsize underutilized instances in all accounts of the organization.
D. Install the Amazon CloudWatch agent on all the EC2 instances by using AWS Systems Manager. Create an AWS Lambda function to extract CPU and memory usage from all the EC2 instances. Store the findings as files in Amazon S3. Use Amazon Athena to find underutilized instances. Reference EC2 instance pricing information for recommendations about downsizing options.

Answer

B. Install the Amazon CloudWatch agent on all the EC2 instances by using AWS Systems Manager. Retrieve the resource optimization recommendations from AWS Cost Explorer in the organization’s management account. Use the recommendations to downsize underutilized instances in all accounts of the organization.

Explanation

Installing the Amazon CloudWatch agent on all EC2 instances using AWS Systems Manager allows for centralized monitoring of CPU and memory usage across the entire organization. AWS Cost Explorer, when accessed from the organization’s management account, provides resource optimization recommendations for all accounts within the organization. These recommendations include identifying underutilized EC2 instances and suggesting appropriate downsizing options.

This solution requires the least effort compared to the other options:

  • Option A involves manual installation of monitoring tools, custom scripting, and referencing pricing information, which is more time-consuming and error-prone.
  • Option C requires retrieving recommendations from each individual account, which is less efficient than accessing them from the management account.
  • Option D involves creating a custom Lambda function, storing data in S3, and using Athena for analysis, which is more complex and requires additional setup compared to using AWS Cost Explorer directly.

By leveraging AWS Systems Manager and AWS Cost Explorer, the company can easily monitor EC2 instances across all accounts, identify underutilized resources, and obtain downsizing recommendations to optimize costs with minimal effort.

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