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AWS Cost Explorer: Overview and Configuration Example

AWS Cost Explorer is a service that allows you to analyze your AWS usage and costs. It provides a range of tools for visualizing, understanding, and managing your AWS spending. Cost Explorer helps you identify cost drivers, optimize resources, and make informed decisions to control and manage your AWS expenses. Here's a detailed overview of AWS Cost Explorer along with a configuration example:

Features of AWS Cost Explorer:

1. Cost Visualization:

   • Visualizes your AWS costs and usage over time with interactive charts and graphs.
2. Custom Reports:
   • Allows you to create custom reports to analyze costs based on specific dimensions, such as service, region, or instance type.
3. Forecasting:
   • Provides cost forecasts to estimate future spending based on historical data.
4. Usage and Cost Breakdown:
   • Breaks down costs by AWS service, linked account, or custom-defined resource tags.
5. Cost Anomaly Detection (with AWS Cost Anomaly Detection):
   • Identifies unusual spending patterns or anomalies that may require attention.

Configuration Example:

Let's create a simple configuration for analyzing AWS costs using AWS Cost Explorer:

1. Login to AWS Console:

   • Navigate to the AWS Management Console.
2. Open Cost Explorer:
   • Click on the "Cost Explorer" service in the console.
3. Select Time Range:
   • Choose the time range for which you want to analyze costs. You can select predefined periods or specify custom dates.
4. Explore Cost and Usage Data:
   • In the Cost Explorer console, explore the default dashboards and visualizations that provide an overview of your costs and usage.
5. Create Custom Reports:
   • Click on "Create report" to generate custom reports. Define report parameters, such as time range, granularity, and grouping dimensions.
6. Analyze Cost by Service:
   • Use the "Costs by Service" report to analyze spending on individual AWS services.
7. Forecast Future Costs:
   • Explore the "Forecast" feature to estimate future spending based on historical data.
8. Analyze Cost Anomalies (Optional):
   • If using AWS Cost Anomaly Detection, explore the "Anomalies" tab to identify unusual spending patterns.
9. Break Down Costs by Tags (Optional):
   • If you've tagged resources, use the "Tags" tab to break down costs by specific tags associated with your resources.
10. Export Data (Optional):
    • Export cost and usage data to CSV or parquet files for further analysis or integration with external tools.
11. Configure Budgets (Optional):
    • Set up AWS Budgets to receive alerts when costs exceed predefined thresholds.
12. Modify or Delete Reports (Optional):
    • Modify existing reports or delete reports through the Cost Explorer console if they are no longer needed.