Opportunity Name
WorkSpaces Terminate Idle
AWS Resource Type
Amazon WorkSpaces (WorkSpaces Personal)
Opportunity Description
Amazon WorkSpaces is billed per WorkSpace, whether or not anyone logs into it. An AlwaysOn WorkSpace carries a fixed monthly fee for a desktop that runs 24/7. An AutoStop WorkSpace is billed hourly for compute, but it also carries a fixed monthly storage/root-volume fee that keeps billing even while the desktop is stopped. Either way, a provisioned seat generates a bill until it is terminated.
CloudFix identifies WorkSpaces that have recorded no user connection over a configurable lookback window (default - 30 days) and recommends terminating them. Candidates come from your Cost and Usage Report, so the cost reflects your actual bundle, running mode and negotiated rates. The idle decision is made from the CloudWatch UserConnected metric for each WorkSpace.
If CloudFix cannot prove that a WorkSpace is both old enough to judge and unused, it does not recommend terminating it.
Criteria for Identifying the Opportunity
A WorkSpace must pass four criteria to be recommended.
|
# |
Criteria |
Configuration key (default) |
|---|---|---|
|
1 |
The WorkSpace ID from the CUR is still returned by DescribeWorkspaces. If it has already been terminated, the recommendation is closed as a deleted resource. |
— |
|
2 |
The WorkSpace user name does not match your protected-WorkSpaces regular expression. Matching is case-insensitive. If the pattern is not valid regular-expression syntax, it is ignored and no protection is applied. |
protectedWorkspacesPattern (no pattern set by default) |
|
3 |
The WorkSpace is old enough for the idle signal to be meaningful. CloudFix uses the earliest UserConnected datapoint in the queried window as the age proxy; it must fall at or before the minimum-age cutoff. A WorkSpace with no UserConnected metric data at all fails here, because neither its age nor its idleness can be proven. |
minResourceAgeDays (default 30 days; minimum 0, maximum 365 — set to 0 to disable the age guard) |
|
4 |
Three conditions, all required: the WorkSpace is in a steady, terminable state (AVAILABLE or STOPPED); UserConnected metric data exists for it; and no 1-day bucket with a connection falls at or after the idle cutoff. A WorkSpace that has metric data but has never been connected qualifies, as does one whose last connection predates the window. |
idleDays (default 30 days; minimum 15, maximum 90) |
Notes on the criteria:
-
idleDays, minResourceAgeDays and protectedWorkspacesPattern are all configurable per tenant in the CloudFix finder settings, within the minimum and maximum bounds shown above.
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The idle signal is the AWS/WorkSpaces namespace metric UserConnected, requested per WorkSpace with the WorkspaceId dimension, the Maximum statistic and a 1-day period. A day counts as a connected day when its Maximum is 1 or more.
Potential Savings
Annual savings equal the full annualized amortized cost of the WorkSpace as reported in your CUR. Terminating an abandoned seat removes the entire charge — compute, storage and any per-WorkSpace software charges — so the projected new cost is zero.
Because the figure comes from your own CUR rather than a list price, it already reflects your bundle (instance family, root and user volume sizes), your running mode, and any EDP or private-pricing discounts. Two drivers determine how large the number is:
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Running mode. An idle AlwaysOn seat bills its full fixed monthly fee, so it is the most expensive form of this waste. An idle AutoStop seat bills mainly the fixed monthly storage/root-volume fee, which is smaller but still recurring.
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Bundle size. Larger compute bundles and larger root and user volumes carry higher monthly rates.
The recommendation report shows the WorkSpace's current annual cost, the annual savings and the resulting new cost, alongside the WorkSpace ID, directory, user, bundle, running mode, and the length of the analysis window that produced the idle finding.
What Happens When the Fixer Is Executed?
Note: This is a Finder-only opportunity. CloudFix does not perform an automated fix. There is no fixer runbook for this opportunity. CloudFix produces a recommendation containing the activity evidence and the savings, and you carry out the termination yourself.
To remediate manually:
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Open the recommendation and note the WorkSpace ID, directory, user, bundle and running mode.
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Confirm the seat is genuinely abandoned. Check with the WorkSpace's owner or the directory administrator and confirm the user has left or no longer needs the desktop.
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Back up anything you need from the user volume before proceeding. Terminating a WorkSpace permanently deletes the desktop and, depending on your configuration, the user volume.
- Terminate the WorkSpace from the Amazon WorkSpaces console (select the WorkSpace and delete it, see Delete a WorkSpace) or with the AWS CLI: aws workspaces terminate-workspaces --terminate-workspace-requests WorkspaceId=ws-xxxxxxxxx --region <region>
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If a WorkSpace should be kept even though it is idle — an executive, break-glass or seasonal seat; either add its user name to the protectedWorkspacesPattern configuration, or tag the WorkSpace cloudfix:dontFixIt so it is excluded once the tag reaches your CUR.
Is It Possible to Roll Back Once CloudFix Implements the Fixer?
Not applicable: this is a Finder-only recommendation and CloudFix does not apply any change. Note that the manual action itself is not reversible: terminating a WorkSpace permanently deletes the desktop and, depending on your configuration, the user's volume. Take a backup before you terminate, and re-provision from a bundle if the seat is needed again later.
Can CloudFix Implement the Fix Automatically Once I Accept the Recommendation?
No. This opportunity is recommendation-only. You must terminate the WorkSpace yourself through the AWS Console, CLI or API after reviewing the evidence in the recommendation.
Does This Fix Require Downtime?
There is no downtime for any other resource, and no restart or maintenance window is involved. The action is a permanent removal rather than an interruption: the WorkSpace and its desktop cease to exist immediately, along with the user volume where your configuration deletes it. Verify the seat is no longer needed before acting.
Bill Gleeson
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