Using the Reserved Instance Cost Reports

Using the Reserved Instance Cost Reports

#380590

Overview

Densify provides a set of reports addressing optimization of both, your AWS reserved instance and savings plans. These reports are based on the analysis of both billing data and CloudWatch data. Refer to AWS Data Collection Prerequisites for an IAM Role (CloudWatch and Billing) for details on collecting both billing and CloudWatch data.

Open these reports from the AWS RI and Savings Plans drop down menu:

The following reports are provided:

• Coverage—This report shows historical usage hours of EC2 instances, comparing on-demand and usage hours covered by reserved instances and savings plans.
• RI Utilization—This report shows historical utilization of EC2 and RDS reserved instances. EC2 Host RIs are not included in this report.
• Savings Plans Utilization—This report shows historical utilization of your savings plans.
• Recommended RI Exchanges—This report lists sets of under-used RIs that can be exchanged for RIs that can be used more effectively in your environment.
• Recommended RI Purchases—This report lists RIs that can be purchased to improve your coverage and optimize spending on RIs.
• Recommended Savings Plans Purchases—This report lists SPs that can be purchased to improve your coverage and optimize spending on SPs.

You can use a combination of these reports to:

• Optimize the utilization of your existing RIs and /or SPs.
• Exchange your existing RIs to provide better coverage.
• Purchase RIs to reduce your monthly costs.

Exporting Data

You can export the graphical reports to a .PDF file format and the tabular reports to .CSV file format. Click the Export button in the upper right corner of the page to see the export options for the displayed reports. See Exporting Cloud Cost Reports .

Filtering Data

You can filter the scope of systems on which the report is based, using the filtering options on the left side of the page. See Filtering Billing Data for details on selecting and applying the filters.

RI Utilization Report

This report shows you how effectively your purchased EC2 and RDS reserved instances (RIs) are being used. You can select EC2 and RDS using the radio buttons on the filtering menu.

In the bar chart, each bar shows you the percentage of purchased RI hours used by your instances during the specified period of time. The line across the top indicates 100% utilization, meaning all of your RIs are fully utilized.

You can use this report to view opportunities to increase your RI usage by either modifying the RIs or moving workloads to better match your active RIs.

There are 3 options to configure this report:

Table: RI Utilization and Coverage Report Options

Setting	Default	Description
Show RI Usage as | Show Coverage as	% Hours	Use the following options to select how you want to view your usage data in the Reserved Instance Utilization and Coverage reports. These options show you the portion of usage hours being covered by RIs and SPs. % Normalized Hours— RI utilization is shown as the percentage of RI hours compared to the total normalized on-demand hours used. The value is calculated as the number of hours that you used, in normalized units, divided by the total number of available hours in normalized units. The Coverage report shows % of normalized usage hours that are covered by RI discounts and SP coverage. % Hours—RI usage is shown as the actual RI hours divided by the total on-demand hours used. i.e. discounted usage /total usage. The value is calculated as the number of hours that you have used divided by the total number of available RI hours. The Coverage report shows % usage hours that are covered by RI discounts and SP coverage. Hours—RI usage is shown as stacked bar chart with discounted RI hours at the bottom and on-demand hours at the top, on the same bar in a different colour. This view provides a clear indication of the actual values of your RI hours that are providing coverage. The Coverage report shows usage hours broken down by on-demand vs. RI discounts vs. SP coverage Normalized Hours—The number of hours that you used, in normalized units, for size-flexible RIs. RI usage is shown in normalized hours and on-demand hours are shown in the same bar in a different colour. The Coverage report shows normalized usage hours broken down by on-demand vs. RI discounts vs. SP coverage The following option is only available for the Coverage report. % Coverage Cost—This option shows you how much of your on-demand costs are covered by RIs and SPs, whereas the above options show usage hours that are covered. The value is calculated as (on-demand - unblended cost) / on-demand cost The normalization factor allows you to convert various instance sizes to a single "base size" and then apply the discount accordingly. The base instance is a Small and each type is a fraction of the that base, as follows: Nano = 0.25, Micro = 0.5, Small = 1, Medium = 2, Large = 4, etc. Instance size flexibility is applied from the smallest to the largest instance size within the instance family based on the normalization factor. Refer to the AWS documentation for details of the normalization factor. The legend at the bottom of the chart defines the coloured bars.
View by	7 Days	The unit of time on which to base the report. Select Daily, Weekly, Monthly, Quarterly or Yearly. Note: Weekly is not available for the Coverage report.
Period	Daily	Select the period on which you want to report. There are a number of pre-defined options as well as the option to customize a date range.

You can filter the scope of systems on which the report is based, using the filtering options on the left side of the page. See Filtering Billing Data for details on selecting and applying the filters.

The tabular report allows you to view the detailed data. The table is sorted on the % Utilization and both hours and normalized hours are displayed so you can view and compare the individual RIs. You can also export the report for further review.

Recommended RI Exchanges Report

This report lists proposed changes to your existing convertible reserved instances to increase utilization and coverage to reduce your costs. The proposed changes are based on utilization of your current instances and Densify's recommendations to better align your workloads with the required AWS instance type.

Convertible RIs can be exchanged or modified. You can exchange the RI for another comparable RI or RIs depending on their value. This gives you more flexibility to change the instances to which your RIs can be applied to later.

There are no limits as to how many times you can exchange an RI, but there are a few rules to observe when exchanging your convertible RIs:

Convertible RIs can be exchanged to other RIs at any time with the following considerations:

• One or more RI subscriptions can be exchanged to one type of RI;
• New RIs obtained through the exchange will have the same expiry date as the RI with expiry date furthest in the future;
• All RIs being exchanged in a transaction must have a common account and region;
• The value of the new RIs must be greater than or equal to the RIs being exchanged (total value and upfront value).

When exchanging RIs you will likely incur true up costs. Densify's recommendations and the corresponding exchange transactions attempt to minimize true up costs. There are two types of true up costs:

• Upfront true up costs—Total upfront value of the new RIs minus remaining upfront costs of the RIs being traded in;
• True up cost—Total value of he new RIs minus the value of the RIs being exchanged.

In general, RI exchange recommendations are generated when:

• RI utilization and RI coverage are both less 100% in the same region;
• Underused RIs (%RI utilization is < 100%) can be changed to required RIs (%RI coverage is < 100%).

Densify performs the required exchanges using t3.nano Linux RIs. These are the smallest RIs that are available. This method minimizes true up costs and greatly simplifies the exchange logic and resulting processes.

Summary Bar

A summary of the proposed changes and potential cost savings is provided at the top of the list.

Table: Summary Bar Details

Value	Description
Exchange Sets	The number of exchange sets as determined based on your collected billing data and the settings above. An exchange set is defined based on the purchasing account and the region. These are considered hard constraints. RIs cannot be exchanged to a different payer account or region. Additionally, there are Densify-imposed constraints such as grouping under-used RIs into one or more exchange sets based on purchasing account, region. RI expiry date and RI payment option, to simplify the exchange transactions.
Value of RIs to be Exchanged	This is the total value of your remaining RIs. For example, if you bought a 3-year RI and you have used one year, then the cost of the last 2 years is included in this total.
True Up Costs	The true-up cost is the prorated upfront cost of the difference between the convertible RIs that you have and the convertible RIs that you want to exchange. Each convertible RI has a list value. This list value is compared to the list value of the convertible RIs that you want in order to determine how many instance reservations you can receive from the exchange.
Monthly Savings	This is the total savings that can be achieved if you complete the recommended exchanges. This value is based on the asumption that the existing RI is not being used and the recommended RI to be purchased, will be fully utilized.

Report Configuration Options

Options at the top of page allow you to qualify which RIs are included in your reports.

Table: Recommended Exchanges Report Options

Setting	Default	Description
Usage History	7 Days	The number of days of data on which the exchange recommendation is based.
Exclude RIs Expired in (days)	7 Days	Exclude RIs that are expiring soon. You can specify the number of days that the RI should be considered for exchange, before it expires.

Reviewing Exchange Sets

This report consists of exchange sets. An exchange set is defined based on the purchasing account and the region. These are considered hard constraints. RIs cannot be exchanged to a different payer account or region. Additionally, there are Densify-imposed constraints such as grouping under-used RIs into one or more exchange sets based on purchasing account, region. RI expiry date and RI payment option, to simplify the exchange transactions.

Each block provides the following details for the exchange set:

Table: Exchange Set Details

Value	Description
Exchange Set
Payer Account	The payer account on which the RIs are reported.
Purchasing Account	The account used to purchase the RI.
Region	The region in which the RI can be used.
RIs to exchange have End Date of <date>.	This is end date of the RIs in this set. An exchange set aggregates RIs by instance type, region and end date.
Recommendations
From/To	The number and value of the RIs to be exchanged .
Estimated Cost and Savings
Monthly Savings	This is the dollar amount you will save if you make the proposed changes .
Upfront True Up Costs	The difference in upfront costs when exchanging the RIs.
True Up Costs	Any other fees and charges that will be incurred when exchanging the RIs. Refer to the AWS website for details.

Click Show Details to expand each block to see the details of the changes that are required to obtain the optimal set of RIs.

1. Click on the Show Details link to expand the box and review the details of the required changes.
2. Click the Actions to see the step-by-step modifications an exchange set requires to reach the final set of RIs.
3. Click Export to generate a CSV file that can be used to automate these changes. Contact [email protected] for details.

Recommended RI Purchases Report

Using the optimal set of reserved instances, Densify evaluates your current inventory to determine the number and type of RIs that you could purchase to improve the coverage of your on-demand costs.

Use the report configuration options on the left side of the page to define the type of RIs you prefer to purchase. Densify uses these settings when making the purchase recommendations.

Table: Recommended RI Purchases Report Options

Setting	Description	Default
Term	Specify the term of the reserved instance. Select from 1 or 3 years. The term affects the discount amount.	1 Year
Payment Option	Specify how the RIs are to be paid. All Upfront, Partial Upfront or No Upfront.	Partial
Usage History	Specify the number of days of data on which the purchase recommendations should be based.	30 Days
Offering Class	Specify the offering class, standard or convertible. Refer to the AWS website for details on RI purchasing options and discounts.	Standard

Before purchasing any of the recommended RIs, review the last column in this report, Defer Purchase Until Exchange is Completed. The Yes/No value in this column indicates that there are convertible RIs within that same region and you can exchange to provide the RIs required. By performing the RI exchanges listed in the Recommended Exchanges report and you may address some of the deficiencies listed in this report.

Pre-Defined Reports Tab

A number of commonly used reports are provided in the Reports drop down menu. The data set is not filtered. The data is grouped as indicated in the report title and there are View By and Period selectors set.

These reports can be customized for your specific use case. You can also adjust the filtering criteria as required and then save your report with a new name.

Click the Save As button at the bottom of the page and enter a unique name and then save your custom-filtered reports for later review.

Filter settings are not persisted between reports, so it is highly recommended that you create and save the settings and reports that you commonly use.

These reports are based on your cloud platform selection in the Cost Navigator menu:

The following RI reports are available from this menu:

Table: Pre-Defined Reports for Reserved Instance Utilization

Report Name	Description	Group By	Period
EC2 RI Utilization (Daily)	Percentage of your EC2 Reserved instances that are used daily.	Services=AmazonEC2	Previous Month to Date
EC2 RI Utilization (Monthly)	Percentage of your EC2 Reserved instances that are used monthly.	Services=AmazonEC2	Previous 12 Months
RDS RI Utilization (Daily)	Percentage of your RDS Reserved instances that are used daily.	Services=AmazonRDS	Previous Month to Date
RDS RI Utilization (Monthly)	Percentage of your RDS Reserved instances that are used monthly	Services=AmazonRDS	Previous 12 Months