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🛡️ AWS RDS Instance is overutilized🟢

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Description

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Description

This policy identifies Amazon RDS database instances that operate at high utilization levels, which may indicate that they are overburdened and require scaling or workload tuning to maintain optimal performance. An instance is flagged as overutilized when its 30-day average CPU utilization exceeds 90% and database connection or disk I/O metrics indicate workload activity.

Rationale

Overutilized RDS database instances often struggle to meet workload demands, leading to degraded application performance and potential downtime. Proactively identifying these instances allows for timely resizing to a more appropriate instance class, ensuring optimal performance, reliability, and a better user experience for applications relying on the database.

Impact

Scaling or resizing incurs additional costs. Implementing scaling strategies allows workloads to adapt dynamically to changing demand, preventing performance bottlenecks.

Audit

This policy evaluates an AWS RDS Instance based on its 30-day performance metrics.

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Remediation

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Remediation

Right-Size Overutilized Instances

Key considerations
  • Ensure that the new instance class supports your workload and storage requirements.
  • Review database performance metrics, slow queries, connection patterns, and disk I/O before resizing.
  • Coordinate with application owners before resizing to avoid unexpected availability or performance issues.
  • Prefer applying changes during a maintenance window for production workloads to minimize downtime.
Scale the DB instance
From AWS CLI

To apply during the next maintenance window (recommended for production):

aws rds modify-db-instance \
--db-instance-identifier {{db-instance-id}} \
--db-instance-class {{new-instance-class}} \
--apply-immediately false

To apply immediately (causes a brief outage while resizing):

aws rds modify-db-instance \
--db-instance-identifier {{db-instance-id}} \
--db-instance-class {{new-instance-class}} \
--apply-immediately true

policy.yaml

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Linked Framework Sections

SectionSub SectionsInternal RulesPoliciesFlagsCompliance
💼 Cloudaware Framework → 💼 Resource Right-Sizing18no data
💼 Cloudaware Framework → 💼 Workload Efficiency24no data