The Frugal Architect's FinOps Journey: A Series of Cost-Saving Adventures - Part 4

 

Optimize

LAW VI  - Cost Optimization is Incremental

Dr. Werner’s Cloud FinOps Insights

The pursuit of cost efficiency is an ongoing journey. Even after deployment, we must revisit systems to incrementally improve optimization. The key is continually questioning and diving deeper. Programming languages provide profiling tools to analyze code performance, and while these require setup and expertise, they enable granular analyses that can lead to changes that shave milliseconds. What may seem like small optimizations accumulate into large savings at scale.

In operations, most time is spent running existing systems. There are opportunities to profile resource usage and identify waste reduction. At Amazon, we continuously monitor services in production to understand patterns and trim inefficiencies. Frugality takes persistence – by incrementally reducing latencies and infrastructure costs, we can optimize the cost to serve.

There is always room for improvement… if we keep looking. The savings we reap today fund innovation for tomorrow.

(excerpt from https://thefrugalarchitect.com/)

 

Let’s delve deeper

·      Cost efficiency is an ongoing process that requires continual improvement.

·      Revisiting systems post-deployment helps identify areas for optimization.

·      Programming languages offer tools for code analysis, aiding in pinpointing areas for improvement.

·      Small optimizations can lead to significant cost savings over time.

·      In operations, monitoring resource usage and patterns is crucial for waste reduction.

·      Continuous monitoring and optimization help in trimming inefficiencies.

·      Persistence in reducing latencies and infrastructure costs leads to optimized service costs.

·      Constant improvement ensures that today's savings can fuel tomorrow's innovation.

 

Apply FinOps principles and AWS Examples

Here's how you can apply FinOps Foundation principles with AWS examples:

1. Cost Efficiency through Continual Improvement:
• FinOps Principle: Regularly revisit systems to identify areas for optimization.
• AWS Example: Use AWS Cost Explorer to analyze spending patterns and identify opportunities for cost savings. Regularly review Reserved Instance usage to ensure cost-effectiveness.
2. Code Analysis for Optimization:
• FinOps Principle: Programming languages provide tools for code analysis to pinpoint areas for improvement.
• AWS Example: Use AWS CodeGuru to automatically review code and suggest optimizations, leading to more efficient use of resources and potential cost savings.
3. Monitoring for Waste Reduction:
• FinOps Principle: Monitoring resource usage and patterns is crucial for waste reduction.
• AWS Example: Use AWS CloudWatch to monitor resource utilization and set up alarms to alert you of any inefficiencies or potential waste.
4. Continuous Monitoring and Optimization:
• FinOps Principle: Continuous monitoring and optimization help in trimming inefficiencies.
• AWS Example: Use AWS Trusted Advisor to continuously monitor your AWS environment for cost optimization opportunities, such as underutilized resources or unoptimized configurations.
5. Persistence in Cost Reduction:
• FinOps Principle: Persistence in reducing latencies and infrastructure costs leads to optimized service costs.
• AWS Example: Use AWS Lambda for serverless computing, which can help reduce infrastructure costs by running code in response to events without provisioning or managing servers.
6. Constant Improvement for Future Innovation:
• FinOps Principle: Constant improvement ensures that today's savings can fuel tomorrow's innovation.
• AWS Example: Use AWS Cost Anomaly Detection to identify anomalous spending patterns and take corrective actions to optimize costs and free up resources for future innovation.

 

A FinOps Odyssey

 

LAW VII Unchallenged Success Leads to Assumptions.

Dr. Werner’s Cloud FinOps Insights

When software teams achieve significant success without facing major failures or roadblocks, complacency can set in. There is a dangerous tendency to become overconfident in the methods, tools, and practices that led to those wins.

Software teams often fall into the trap of assuming their current technologies, architectures, or languages will always be the best choice, simply because they have worked in the past. This can create a false sense of security that discourages questioning the status quo or exploring new options which could be more efficient, cost-effective, or scalable.

You see this frequently when it comes to programming languages. “We’re a Java shop” is a phrase I’ve heard too often – and it can stifle innovation. Unchallenged success breeds complacency through assumptions. We must always look for ways to question, optimize and improve.

As Grace Hopper famously stated, one of the most dangerous phrases in the English language is: “We’ve always done it this way.”

(excerpt from https://thefrugalarchitect.com/)

A FinOps Odyssey

Conclusion

In conclusion, "The FinOps Odyssey" series has shed light on the crucial role of FinOps principles in modern cloud architecture. From aligning costs with business models to optimizing resource usage and fostering a culture of continual improvement, each part of the series has highlighted key strategies, best practices and AWS services for achieving cost efficiency and operational excellence in the cloud. By applying the insights gained from this series, businesses can navigate the complexities of cloud cost management more effectively and drive greater value from their cloud investments.

The Frugal Architect's FinOps Journey: A Series of Cost-Saving Adventures - Part 3

Measure

LAW IV  - Unobserved Systems Lead to Unknown Costs

Dr. Werner’s Cloud FinOps Insights

Without careful observation and measurement, the true costs of operating a system remain invisible. Like a utility meter tucked away in a basement, lack of visibility enables wasteful habits. Making meters more visible can profoundly shift behaviors.

Though observation requires investment, not implementing adequate monitoring is shortsighted. The adage warns, “If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it.” Tracking utilization, spending, errors, and more, is crucial for cost management.

When critical cost metrics are placed front-and-center before engineers and their business partners, more sustainable practices emerge organically. Ongoing inspection lets you spot excess spend and tune operations to trim expenses. The return on investment in observability typically far outweighs the expense.

Most importantly, keeping costs in the forefront encourages sustainable practices.

(excerpt from https://thefrugalarchitect.com/) 

Let’s delve deeper

• Lack of visibility into system costs can lead to wasteful habits and inefficiencies.
• Investing in monitoring tools is essential for effective cost management.
• Tracking metrics such as utilization, spending, and errors is crucial for controlling costs.
• Making cost metrics easily accessible to engineers and business partners promotes sustainable practices.
• Ongoing monitoring helps identify excess spending and allows for adjustments to reduce costs.
• The return on investment in visibility tools is significant, leading to more sustainable cost management practices.

 

Apply FinOps principles and AWS Examples

To apply FinOps Foundation principles and AWS services for cost optimization, consider the following:

1. Visibility into System Costs:
• FinOps Principle: Lack of visibility into system costs can lead to wasteful habits and inefficiencies.

·       AWS Example: 

• Use AWS Cost Explorer and AWS Budgets to gain insights into your AWS spending and identify areas for optimization. By understanding your costs, you can make informed decisions to reduce waste and improve efficiency. 
• Implement AWS Organizations and AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) to manage and govern your AWS accounts effectively. This helps ensure that resources are used efficiently and securely.
1. Investing in Monitoring Tools:
• FinOps Principle: Investing in monitoring tools is essential for effective cost management.

·       AWS Example: 

• Use AWS CloudWatch to monitor your AWS resources and applications in real-time. By setting up alarms and monitoring metrics, you can quickly detect and respond to any cost anomalies or inefficiencies. 
• Utilize AWS Trusted Advisor and AWS Cost Anomaly Detection to identify cost-saving opportunities, such as rightsizing instances, using reserved instances, and leveraging spot instances.
2. Tracking Cost Metrics:
• FinOps Principle: Tracking metrics such as utilization, spending, and errors is crucial for controlling costs.
• AWS Example: Use AWS Cost Explorer to track your AWS spending over time and analyze usage patterns. By monitoring these metrics, you can identify areas where costs can be optimized and take action to reduce unnecessary spending.
3. Making Cost Metrics Accessible:
• FinOps Principle: Making cost metrics easily accessible to engineers and business partners promotes sustainable practices.
• AWS Example: Use AWS Budgets to set custom cost and usage budgets that are easily accessible to your team. By providing visibility into budgeted versus actual spending, you can ensure that everyone is aware of cost targets and can work towards them effectively.
4. Ongoing Monitoring for Cost Reduction:
• FinOps Principle: Ongoing monitoring helps identify excess spending and allows for adjustments to reduce costs.
• AWS Example: 
• Use AWS Cost Explorer to create custom cost reports and analyze spending trends. By regularly reviewing these reports, you can identify opportunities for cost reduction and make informed decisions to optimize your AWS costs.
• Continuously monitor and optimize your costs using AWS Cost Explorer, AWS Budgets, and AWS Cost Anomaly Detection. Regularly review your architecture and usage patterns to identify new optimization opportunities.
• Use AWS Lambda and AWS CloudFormation to automate cost management tasks, such as starting and stopping instances based on usage patterns, and provisioning resources using infrastructure as code.
5. Return on Investment in Visibility Tools:
• FinOps Principle: The return on investment in visibility tools is significant, leading to more sustainable cost management practices.
• AWS Example: 
• Implement AWS Cost Management tools like AWS Budgets, AWS Cost Explorer, and AWS Trusted Advisor to gain visibility into your costs and optimize them. By investing in these tools, you can effectively manage your costs and drive business growth.

 

 A FinOps Odyssey

 

LAW V Cost Aware Architectures Implement Cost Controls.

Dr. Werner’s Cloud FinOps Insights
The essence of frugal architecture is robust monitoring combined with the ability to optimize costs. Well-designed systems allow you to take action on opportunities for improvement. For this to work, decompose applications into tunable building blocks.

A common approach is tiering components by criticality. Tier 1 components are essential; optimize regardless of cost. Tier 2 components are important but can be temporarily scaled down without major impact. Tier 3 components are “nice-to-have”; make them low-cost and easily controlled.

Defining tiers enables trade-offs between cost and other requirements. Granular control over components optimizes both cost and experience. Infrastructure, languages, databases should all be tunable. Architect and build systems with revenue and profit in mind. Cost optimization must be measurable and tied to business impact.

(excerpt from https://thefrugalarchitect.com/)

A FinOps Odyssey

 

Stay tuned for Part – 4 of The FinOps Odyssey