Clean-up Unused AMIs

Opportunity Name:

Clean-up Unused AMIs

AWS Resource Type:

EC2 AMIs

Opportunity Description:

EBS-backed AMIs are based on EBS snapshots, which cost money to store in an AWS account.  If an AMI hasn’t recently been used, it can safely be deregistered.  The underlying resources of that AMI (i.e. EBS snapshots) can then be archived or deleted by other fixers.

Criteria for identifying the opportunity:

If an AMI satisfies the following criteria:

• It has an attached snapshot that costs more than $10 per annum
• It was created more than 31 days ago
• It has not been used to start an instance in the last 31 days
• It was not used to start any currently-running instance

Then it’s safe to deregister.

Potential savings (range in % on annual basis):

This Fixer has no direct savings.  It unlocks savings from downstream fixers that might archive or delete EBS resources that once belonged to the AMI (these can’t be archived or deleted until the AMI is deregistered).

What happens when the Fixer is executed?

The AMI is tagged with Cloudfix-specific tags.  A recycle bin rule is created (based on those tags), which permits restoring the AMI within 31 days of deregistration.  The AMI is then deregistered.

Is it possible to rollback once CloudFix implements the fixer?

Automated rollback is unavailable.  The fixer can be rolled back manually by restoring the AMI from the recycle bin.

Can CloudFix implement the fix automatically once I accept the recommendation?

Yes

Does this fix require downtime?

No

Additional Resources:

• CloudFix Knowledge Base
• AMI Recycle Bin