How I Reduced My AWS Monthly Costs as a DevOps Engineer: Migrating Amazon EBS Volumes from gp2 to gp3 and Saving Up to 20%

Introduction:

As a DevOps engineer, optimizing costs is a crucial aspect of managing cloud infrastructure. In my journey to reduce monthly AWS costs, I discovered a significant opportunity for savings by migrating Amazon Elastic Block Store (EBS) volumes from the gp2 to the gp3 volume type. This migration allowed me to cut costs while maintaining high performance and reliability. In this article, I will share my experience and provide a step-by-step guide on how you can achieve similar cost savings.

Understanding gp2 and gp3 EBS Volumes:

Amazon Elastic Block Store (EBS) provides block-level storage volumes for EC2 instances. The general-purpose SSD (gp2) EBS volume type offers a balance between price and performance. However, Amazon introduced the next-generation general-purpose SSD (gp3) EBS volume type, which provides higher performance and significant cost savings.

Why Migrate from gp2 to gp3?

Migrating from gp2 to gp3 EBS volumes can result in cost savings of up to 20%. Here's why:

Lower Cost per GB: The gp3 volume type offers a lower cost per gigabyte compared to gp2 volumes, making it an attractive option for cost-conscious DevOps teams.

Increased Performance: Despite the cost savings, gp3 volumes maintain the same or better performance than gp2 volumes. They provide a baseline performance of 3,000 IOPS and 125 MB/s throughput, with the ability to burst up to 16,000 IOPS and 1,000 MB/s for short periods.

Flexibility: Gp3 volumes allow you to independently configure IOPS and throughput, giving you more control over performance and cost optimization.

Step-by-Step Guide to Migrate from gp2 to gp3:

Evaluate Your Existing Volumes: Begin by assessing your existing EBS volumes and identifying those using the gp2 volume type. Determine the size, performance requirements, and associated costs for each volume.

Review Performance Metrics: Utilize AWS CloudWatch or other monitoring tools to analyze the performance metrics of your gp2 volumes. Look for any potential bottlenecks or areas where performance improvements can be made.

Create gp3 Volumes: Provision new gp3 volumes with similar size and performance requirements to your existing gp2 volumes. It's recommended to start with a smaller gp3 volume and monitor its performance before migrating all your volumes.

Copy Data: Use the AWS Data Lifecycle Manager or third-party tools like AWS DataSync or Robocopy to copy the data from your gp2 volumes to the new gp3 volumes. Ensure that all data is successfully transferred and verified before proceeding.

Update EC2 Instances: Stop your EC2 instances associated with the gp2 volumes and detach the gp2 volumes. Then, attach the newly created gp3 volumes to the respective EC2 instances.

Test and Validate: Restart your EC2 instances and thoroughly test the performance and functionality of your applications. Monitor the performance metrics to ensure the new gp3 volumes meet your expectations.

Decommission gp2 Volumes: Once you have validated the performance and functionality of your applications with the gp3 volumes, you can safely delete the old gp2 volumes to avoid unnecessary costs.

Conclusion:

Migrating from gp2 to gp3 EBS volumes can be a cost-effective way for DevOps engineers to optimize AWS infrastructure costs without compromising performance and reliability. By following the step-by-step guide outlined in this article, you can successfully reduce your monthly AWS costs by up to 20% while maintaining the necessary performance levels for your applications. Embrace this opportunity to optimize your infrastructure and drive cost savings in your AWS environment.