​If you're making decisions on AWS instance types—whether for RDS, EC2, or anything else—don't assume Reserved Instance (RI) discounts are proportional across families.
I recently ran into an unexpected pricing quirk:

• On-Demand pricing for db.r7g and db.r6g is nearly identical.
• But a 1-year No Upfront RI on db.r7g had a significantly lower discount than db.r6g.

Most who have been working with AWS for a long time assume the latest generation instances are the obvious choice--newer, faster, same price… but that assumption can cost you.
Key Takeaways:

• Always double-check RI pricing before making a decision.
  
• The most cost-effective option isn't always the newest instance family.
  
• AWS pricing has nuances, and small oversights can lead to significant cost differences.
  

Have You Noticed Pricing Inconsistencies?
Have you run into any surprising RI pricing differences? Let’s compare notes. Join the conversation over on LinkedIn, or connect with me directly on my LinkedIn page to explore how we can help your team make smarter AWS infrastructure decisions and optimize costs effectively.

Late last year, AWS launched support for Valkey—a fully open-source, drop-in replacement for Redis—bringing significant cost savings to ElastiCache users.
For those who missed the announcement, here are the key takeaways:

• 33% lower cost for serverless Valkey compared to Redis OSS serverless.
• 20% savings on node-based Valkey vs. Redis node-based.
• Reserved Instance (RI) flexibility and prorated RI transfer to Valkey.
• Zero-downtime migration from Redis OSS.

Now, with Valkey 8, AWS users have even more reasons to consider migrating.

What’s New in Valkey 8?
The latest version introduces several performance, security, and efficiency improvements:

• 10% memory savings from key storage optimizations, reducing resource usage without impacting performance
• Over 4x the ElastiCache Serverless scaling speed, handling 5 million requests per second in just 13 minutes
• Stronger security with fixes for ACL issues and Lua vulnerabilities
• Better observability with per-slot and per-client insights, including event loop latency, rehash memory tracking, and traffic breakdowns

With ElastiCache now supporting Valkey 8 (version 8.0.1), there’s no reason to wait.

Considering a Migration?
At Brandorr Group, we help teams optimize AWS spend and performance—including seamless Redis to Valkey migrations. If you’re exploring cost-saving opportunities or considering the switch, let’s chat! Join the conversation over on LinkedIn, or connect with me directly on my LinkedIn page.

​You don’t need a CloudWatch agent to provide EC2 Memory utilization stats to AWS Compute Optimizer—and you haven’t for a while! 

Third-Party Integrations for Compute Optimizer
Since 2022, AWS has supported third-party integrations with popular observability tools, like Datadog, Dynatrace, and New Relic.

This means you don’t need a CloudWatch agent to monitor EC2 memory usage--Compute Optimizer can pull data from these external tools to provide performance insights and right-sizing recommendations.

Optimize Your AWS Compute Costs with Any Monitoring Setup
Whether you’re monitoring with CloudWatch agents or using third-party observability tools, AWS Compute Optimizer helps you:

• Right-size EC2 instances based on actual utilization patterns.
• Optimize costs by identifying over-provisioned resources.
• Make smarter scaling decisions to improve efficiency.

If you’ve been holding back from leveraging Compute Optimizer because of your monitoring setup, now’s the time to dive in!
​
Read more in Amazon's official announcement.

Have You Tried These Compute Optimizer Integrations?
How has Compute Optimizer helped your AWS cost management efforts? Join the conversation over on LinkedIn, or connect with me directly on my LinkedIn page to explore how you can use Compute Optimizer with your existing monitoring tools to optimize performance and reduce costs.

AWS Cost Anomaly Detection is a game-changer for managing cloud costs, but many teams struggle to use it effectively. Without a structured approach, cost anomaly alerts can become overwhelming and difficult to act on.

Common Pitfalls in Cost Anomaly Detection
Many organizations run into the same challenges when setting up anomaly detection:

• Information Overload – Too many alerts without clear prioritization.
• Alerts Not Reaching the Right Teams – Critical notifications are missed or ignored.
• Lack of a Formal Review Workflow – No clear process for investigating and resolving anomalies.

To make AWS Cost Anomaly Detection truly effective, teams need a well-defined workflow.

​A Simple Workflow to Improve Cost Anomaly Detection

1. Route Notifications to a Dedicated Channel
   Use simple email integration to get started quickly, funneling alerts into Slack, Teams, or your preferred chat platform. For tighter AWS integration, consider using AWS Chatbot.
2. Set Compound Alert Thresholds
   Avoid alert fatigue by setting compound thresholds that catch critical issues while limiting noise. A good starting point is anomalies over $1,000 AND 10% of spend—adjust based on your AWS bill size.
3. Create an “Anomaly On-Call” Role
   Assign a technical team member to investigate alerts. They should trace the root cause and coordinate with the responsible team to resolve or justify the anomaly.

Pro Tip: Treat Cost Anomalies Like an Incident Response
Quick action can lead to major cost savings. The faster your team can identify, investigate, and resolve anomalies, the more effectively you can control cloud spend.

How Does Your Team Manage AWS Cost Anomalies?
Have you implemented a workflow for AWS Cost Anomaly Detection? What strategies have worked best for your team? Join the conversation over on LinkedIn, or connect with me directly on my LinkedIn page to explore how we can help you optimize AWS costs and respond to cost anomalies effectively. 

For years, AWS’s native billing tools lacked a crucial feature for large shops: the ability to delegate custom billing views that crossed account boundaries or showed only a subset of resources. The only options were either granting full access, providing non-aggregated and/or non-filtered access, or using third-party tools. Now you can with Custom Billing Views!

​​What You Can Do with Custom Billing Views
With Custom Billing Views, you can now:

• Group – Create consolidated billing views for specific  groups of accounts or allocation tag s
• Share – Grant access to these views without exposing all accounts in the organization
• Tools – Use AWS Cost Explorer and other native tools for analysis and forecasting

Why This Matters
It's great to see AWS continuing to invest in their native cost and billing toolchain. This empowers customers to take command of their data and infrastructure without relying on third-party solutions. Big shout-out to the AWS team for making this happen!

Have You Tried Custom Billing Views Yet?
What do you think of this new feature? Have you tested custom billing views yet? Join the conversation over on LinkedIn, or connect with me directly on my LinkedIn page  to explore how this update can help you cost-effectively manage your AWS infrastructure!