RDS instance CPU below 10% average for 7 days — rightsizing candidate
- Severity
- Medium
- Service
- RDS
- Check ID
- RDS_OVERSIZED
What this check finds
An RDS instance with less than 10% average CPU utilization over 7 days is likely over-provisioned. Downsizing to a smaller instance class can reduce costs by 30–50% without impacting read/write latency for low-utilization workloads.
Passing looks like: RDS instances right-sized.
How to fix it
Modify the instance class to a smaller size after verifying memory and IOPS requirements are still met.
AWS CLI
aws rds modify-db-instance --db-instance-identifier DB_ID --db-instance-class db.t3.medium --apply-immediately
Names in capitals are placeholders for your own resource. Review a command before you run it.
AWS console
RDS → Databases → select → Modify → DB instance class.
Compliance controls it is evidence for
A failing result counts against these controls in KloudLytics; a passing one is evidence towards them. How compliance mapping works
| Framework | Controls |
|---|---|
| ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A |
|
Checked on every scan
KloudLytics runs this check each time it scans a connected AWS account, through a read-only role, and lists every affected resource with its region. On Pro and Business a fix is written for the specific resource rather than the general case above. The exact access it needs
More RDS checks
- HighAurora/RDS cluster storage is not encrypted at rest
- HighRDS automated backups are disabled
- HighRDS instance does not have automatic minor version upgrades enabled
- HighRDS instance has zero database connections for 7 days
- HighRDS instance storage is not encrypted at rest
- HighRDS security group allows broad CIDR ingress (broader than /16)
- HighRDS snapshot is public
- MediumAurora/RDS cluster has automated backups disabled