AWS EBS Cost Optimization using Lambda & Boto3

In screenshots ec2-runnings.png contains the before lambda function trigggering the instance and in ec2-stopped.png contains after lambda triggering the instance .

Project Overview

This project focuses on optimizing AWS EBS storage costs by automatically identifying and deleting unused/stale EBS snapshots.The solution uses AWS Lambda, Boto3 (Python SDK). To perform automated cleanup .

Problem Statement

In AWS environments

• In AWS acc EBS often remain even after volumes or EC2 isntance are deleted
• These stale snapshots ofter incur storage costs

Goal: Automatically detect and delete unused EBS snapshots to reduce AWS costs.

Technologies & Services Used

• AWS Lambda – Serverless execution of cleanup logic
• Amazon EC2 – Source of EBS volumes and snapshots
• Amazon EBS – Block storage snapshots
• AWS IAM – Permissions for secure access
• Python (Boto3) – AWS SDK for automation

Lambda Logic (High-Level)

• Collect running EC2 instance IDs
• Iterate through all snapshots
• Validate snapshot → volume → instance relationship
• Safely delete unused/stale snapshots
• Handle exceptions like deleted volumes

Architecture

• Lambda function runs manual or via schedule
• Lambda fetches all running EC2 instances
• Identifies active instance IDs
• Fetches all EBS snapshots owned by the account
• Checks: -Snapshot without volume -Snapshot linked to deleted volume -Snapshot linked to unused volume
• Deletes eligible snapshots
• Logs actions to CloudWatch

How to Run / Test

• Create an unused EBS volume
• Create a snapshot of that volume
• Delete the volume
• Invoke the Lambda function
• Verify snapshot deletion via CloudWatch logs

Author

Samidha Nitin Wani Cloud Engineer / DevOps Engineer

Key Takeaway

This project demonstrates real-world AWS automation, cost-optimization strategies, and production-ready Lambda development, making it highly suitable for cloud-focused roles.