Beware of Extended Support Costs for EKS and RDS

The Hidden Cost of Tech Debt
In the fast-evolving landscape of cloud computing, staying current is more than just good practice—it’s a financial imperative. Running outdated versions of Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service (EKS) and Relational Database Service (RDS) can lead to unexpected and substantial costs in the form of extended support fees. These fees kick in once a version reaches its end of support (EoS) and, in some cases, can even exceed the cost of the underlying resources.

This "high interest rate" on tech debt can be a significant drain on your budget, particularly if it goes unnoticed. Let’s explore how to avoid these unnecessary expenses.

Steps to Mitigate Extended Support Costs

1. Track EoS Dates for Your Service Maintain a clear and up-to-date inventory of all your AWS services, including their lifecycle timelines. Use AWS tools or third-party solutions to monitor upcoming EoS milestones.
2. Plan Proactive Upgrades Treat upgrades as a part of your regular operational rhythm rather than last-minute emergencies. Schedule upgrade windows to minimize disruptions to your workloads.
3. Automate Upgrades Where Possible Leverage automation tools to streamline upgrades for EKS clusters and RDS instances. Reduce downtime and the risk of manual errors with scripted or managed upgrade processes.
4. Involve Your FinOps Team Collaborate with your FinOps (Cloud Financial Management) team to factor support costs into your budget planning. Ensure cost-effectiveness by weighing the benefits of extended support versus proactive updates.
   

Why This Matters
Extended support costs can accumulate rapidly, turning what might seem like a small oversight into a significant budgetary issue. By proactively managing EKS and RDS lifecycle events, you not only save money but also maintain the security and performance of your infrastructure.

Let’s Collaborate
Have questions or insights about managing extended support costs?  Join the conversation over on LinkedIn, or connect with me directly on my LinkedIn page if you’d like to explore how we can work together on optimizing your AWS environment.