AWS EC2 Rightsize Demo - Terraform Repository

This Terraform repository creates an EC2 instance that matches the configuration from AWS Trusted Advisor's "Amazon EC2 cost optimization recommendations for instances" check. It demonstrates various rightsizing scenarios and cost optimization opportunities.

🎯 Purpose

This repository is designed to:

• Demonstrate AWS Trusted Advisor rightsizing recommendations
• Provide a practical example of cost optimization opportunities
• Show how to implement monitoring for rightsizing decisions
• Serve as a testing ground for different instance types and configurations

📊 Rightsize Recommendations Context

Based on the AWS Trusted Advisor data, this instance represents several optimization scenarios:

Scenario	Current Type	Recommended Type	Action	Monthly Savings
Rightsize	t3.large	t2.large	Downgrade	$48.00 (60%)
Upgrade	t2.large	t3.large	Upgrade	$48.00 (60%)
Stop	Any	N/A	Stop unused	$48.00 (60%)
Graviton Migration	m4.4xlarge	x8g.xlarge	Migrate	$48.00 (60%)

Trusted Advisor Check ID: c1z7kmr00n
Current Monthly Cost: ~$80.00
Potential Savings: ~$48.00 (60%)

🏗️ Infrastructure Components

This Terraform configuration creates:

• VPC with public subnet and internet gateway
• EC2 Instance (t3.large by default) with detailed monitoring
• Security Group with SSH, HTTP, and HTTPS access
• CloudWatch Alarms for CPU utilization monitoring
• Key Pair for SSH access
• Web Server with rightsizing information dashboard

🚀 Quick Start

Prerequisites

• AWS CLI configured with appropriate credentials
• Terraform >= 1.0 installed
• SSH key pair for EC2 access

Deployment Steps

1. Clone and navigate to the repository:

   git clone <repository-url>
   cd test-repo

2. Configure variables:

   cp terraform.tfvars.example terraform.tfvars

   Edit terraform.tfvars and update:

   • public_key: Your SSH public key
   • aws_region: Your preferred AWS region (default: us-east-1)
   • instance_type: Instance type to deploy (default: t3.large)

3. Initialize and deploy:

   terraform init
   terraform plan
   terraform apply

4. Access the instance:

   # SSH access
   ssh -i ~/.ssh/your-key ec2-user@<public-ip>
   
   # Web dashboard
   http://<public-ip>

📈 Monitoring and Rightsizing

CloudWatch Alarms

The configuration includes CloudWatch alarms for:

• High CPU utilization (>80%) - indicates potential need for larger instance
• Low CPU utilization (<10%) - indicates rightsizing opportunity

Monitoring Script

A monitoring script is installed at /home/ec2-user/monitor.sh that provides:

• CPU usage statistics
• Memory utilization
• Disk usage
• Network statistics
• Top processes

Run manually or check hourly logs at /var/log/instance-monitoring.log.

Web Dashboard

Access the web dashboard at http://<instance-public-ip> to view:

• Instance information and current configuration
• Rightsizing recommendations
• Key metrics (simulated)
• Best practices for cost optimization

🔧 Testing Different Instance Types

To test rightsizing recommendations, modify the instance_type variable:

# In terraform.tfvars
instance_type = "t2.large"    # Test downgrade recommendation
instance_type = "t3.medium"   # Test smaller alternative
instance_type = "t3.xlarge"   # Test larger alternative
instance_type = "m5.large"    # Test different family

Then apply the changes:

terraform plan
terraform apply

💰 Cost Optimization Strategies

1. Right-sizing Based on Utilization

• Monitor CPU, memory, and network utilization over 2-4 weeks
• Look for consistent patterns of low utilization (<10% CPU)
• Consider burstable instances (T3/T4g) for variable workloads

2. Instance Family Optimization

• T3/T4g: Burstable performance for variable workloads
• M5/M6i: Balanced compute, memory, and networking
• C5/C6i: Compute-optimized for CPU-intensive applications
• R5/R6i: Memory-optimized for memory-intensive applications

3. Graviton Migration

• Consider ARM-based Graviton processors for up to 40% better price performance
• Test application compatibility before migration
• Use instance types like M6g, C6g, R6g

4. Scheduling and Automation

• Use AWS Instance Scheduler for dev/test environments
• Implement auto-scaling for variable workloads
• Consider Spot Instances for fault-tolerant workloads

📋 Outputs

After deployment, Terraform provides:

terraform output

Key outputs include:

• instance_id: EC2 instance identifier
• instance_public_ip: Public IP for SSH/web access
• ssh_connection_command: Ready-to-use SSH command
• rightsize_recommendations: Summary of optimization opportunities
• cloudwatch_alarms: Monitoring alarm ARNs

🧹 Cleanup

To avoid ongoing costs:

terraform destroy

📚 Additional Resources

• AWS Trusted Advisor Cost Optimization
• AWS Compute Optimizer
• EC2 Instance Types
• AWS Cost Optimization Hub
• CloudZero Cost Intelligence

🏷️ Tags and Metadata

All resources are tagged with:

• Environment: demo
• Project: rightsize-example
• ManagedBy: terraform
• CostCenter: engineering
• Owner: cloudzero-demo

Additional instance-specific tags include rightsizing metadata for cost tracking and optimization analysis.

⚠️ Important Notes

• Security: The security group allows SSH access from anywhere (0.0.0.0/0). In production, restrict this to your IP range.
• Costs: Remember to destroy resources when not needed to avoid charges.
• Monitoring: Enable detailed monitoring in production for better rightsizing decisions.
• Backup: Consider EBS snapshots for important data.

🤝 Contributing

This is a demonstration repository. For improvements or issues:

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Submit a pull request

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Disclaimer: This is a demonstration environment. Always follow your organization's security and compliance requirements in production deployments.