Hello everyone! This is Jon from Beyond GTA Inc, and today we will be reviewing how to reduce the running costs of your servers. Originally, this blog was written by Nakagawa who works as a salesman at our headquarters in Japan.
1. Review of server specifications (CPU, Memory)
Occasionally check the CPU and Memory load status, and when the specifications are excessive, reduce the specifications of the server machine to reduce costs.
This is a cost-lowering method for cloud servers that can flexibly modify the machine size.
■ Notice
— If you do not adjust the size by referring to the resource status of several months, the server may not be able to withstand the high load.
— In most clouds, it is required to restart the server to apply new server specifications.
2. Review the disc
Costs can be reduced by transferring log data, backup data, large video files, image files, etc. that are not normally used but need to be stored for a long period to a storage service.
As an example, if you move from disk to cloud storage on AWS, GCP, and Azure, you can accomplish the following reductions. ■ AWS (about 74% OFF) EBS (standard SSD) ⇒ S3 (standard) ■ GCP (about 56% OFF) Standard disk ⇒ Cloud Storage ■ Azure (about 74% OFF) Managed Disks (Standard SSD) ⇒ Blob Storage (Standard ) storage)
If you use a disk in TB (terabyte) units, the charge will be reasonable, so you may want to reconsider how to use the disk.
■ Notice
Most storage services cannot execute dynamic content, so static files such as video files and image files are targeted.
3. Review the server configuration
There are other ways to reduce costs by consolidating servers with different functions, such as combining WEB servers and DB servers into one.
■ Notice
Since the WEB and DB functions are executed by one unit, the load on the server increases. Furthermore, since the server configuration will change, it may be necessary to rebuild the server or modify some programs.
4. Migrate from on-premises to the cloud
By migrating from on-premises to the cloud, maintenance of physical equipment such as CPU, memory, and disk replacement becomes unnecessary, and it is possible to reduce the cost of server management.
Since the cloud uses a pay-as-you-go model in which you are charged only for what you use, you can reduce unnecessary costs.
■ Notice It is necessary to estimate whether cost reduction is possible by comparing with the current server usage.
5. Review of Contract Plan
There are various contract plans for each cloud. By paying in advance, you can reduce costs by signing up for a plan that can be used at a lower cost than usual.
As an example, AWS, GCP, and Azure have the following contract plans.
■ AWS (up to 72% OFF)
■ GCP (up to 70% OFF)
■ Azure (up to 72% OFF)
■ Notice
The contract plan mentioned above is a service that allows you to use the server cheaply by paying in advance, if you do not expect to operate it for a long period of time, you may incur unnecessary charges.
Summary
It is not recommended to implement everything just because it is cheaper, due to the possibility that items necessary for stable operation, such as redundancy and availability, may go down in order to reduce the running costs of servers. Being able to reduce the running cost of servers will bring benefits to the company's profit, but it is not advised to enforce everything simply because it is more inexpensive. It is a good idea to understand the advantages and disadvantages before making appropriate cost reductions.