Running RDS instances can be costly, and while that cost is not a problem when RDS instances are being constantly used, for many businesses that is not the case. Oftentimes, RDS instances are used for non-production environments and there are often long periods of inactivity when RDS instances are being paid for but are not being used. The costs can rack up when multiple RDS instances are needed.
In such cases, it is possible to delete an instance after taking a snapshot, and then restore the instance from the snapshot when needed. Doing this ensures that RDS instances is not being paid for when they are not needed. Unfortunately, this manual process is not efficient and prone to error.
Until recently, that was the only option other than to pay for resources 24/7 as it was not possible to start and stop RDS instances. AWS has now announced that users can now start and stop RDS instances, allowing them to make significant savings.
While the functionality is there, doing this manually can be a time-consuming process especially when multiple RDS instances are used. Further, stopping RDS instances will only last for 7 days, after which the instance will be automatically restarted. Automating the process requires the creation of a script, and that requires technical knowledge. For some organizations that lack appropriately skilled staff, automating the process is not easy.
CloudRanger has announced it has a solution. In addition to being able to schedule EC2 instances, the platform now supports scheduling for RDS instances without the need for in house coding. Provided users know when they will need their RDS instances and have a schedule, automating the process is quick and simple.
Even businesses that have staff with coding skills that can create scripts can benefit from using such a service, since those skilled staff can focus on more important business critical tasks.
