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Remediating Unattached EBS Volumes (7+ Days)

Overview​

This tutorial demonstrates how to remediate unattached EBS volumes that have been idle for over 7 days. Unattached volumes continue to accrue storage charges even though they're not in use, making them a prime target for cost optimization.

Cost Impact: For an 8 GiB gp3 volume, you'll save $0.64/month ($7.68/year). For larger volumes, savings scale proportionally - a 500 GB gp3 volume would save $40/month or $480/year.

Prerequisites​

  • Access to the AWS Console
  • Appropriate IAM permissions to view and delete EBS volumes
  • Understanding of whether the volume contains data you need to preserve

Step 1: Navigate to EBS Volumes​

Navigate to the EBS Volumes console at: https://us-east-1.console.aws.amazon.com/ec2/home?region=us-east-1#Volumes:

This will display all EBS volumes in your AWS account for the us-east-1 region.

Step 2: Locate the Unattached Volume​

Search for the specific volume ID (in this case, vol-0e4945de6fe24e446) using the search bar, or filter by State: "available" to find all unattached volumes.

Step 3: Select and Verify the Volume​

Select the checkbox next to the unattached volume. The volume details panel on the right will show:

  • Volume state: Available (confirming it's unattached)
  • Attached resources: "-" (no instances attached)
  • Type: gp3
  • Size: 8 GiB
  • Created: Date/time of volume creation

Selected Volume

Verify that:

  1. The State shows "Available" (not "in-use")
  2. The Attachment information is empty
  3. Check any tags to ensure the volume isn't serving a specific purpose

If you want to preserve the data before deletion, create a snapshot:

  1. With the volume selected, click Actions → Create snapshot

Create Snapshot

  1. Enter a description like "Backup before deletion - vol-0e4945de6fe24e446"
  2. Add tags if needed for organization
  3. Click Create snapshot

Cost Consideration: Snapshots cost $0.05/GB-month instead of $0.08/GB-month for gp3 storage - a 37.5% reduction. For this 8 GiB volume, you'll pay $0.40/month for the snapshot versus $0.64/month for the live volume.

Wait for the snapshot to reach "completed" status before proceeding with deletion. For an 8 GB volume, this typically takes 1-2 minutes.

Step 5: Delete the Volume​

  1. With the volume still selected, click Actions → Delete volume

Delete Volume

  1. A confirmation dialog will appear warning that this action cannot be undone

Confirm Deletion

  1. Type delete in the confirmation field
  2. Click Delete to confirm

Step 6: Verify Deletion​

After deletion:

  • The volume will immediately disappear from the volumes list
  • The monthly charge of $0.64/month will stop within the hour
  • The volume cannot be recovered (unless you created a snapshot)

Alternative Approaches​

AWS CLI Method​

For scriptable deletion:

aws ec2 delete-volume --volume-id vol-0e4945de6fe24e446

Automation with Lambda​

Implement a Lambda function triggered by CloudWatch Events to automatically:

  1. Identify volumes unattached for >7 days
  2. Create snapshots (optional)
  3. Delete the volumes
  4. Send notifications via SNS

AWS Data Lifecycle Manager​

Use Data Lifecycle Manager to automate snapshot creation and retention policies, ensuring backups are maintained according to your retention requirements.

Re-attachment Option​

If the volume contains needed data and you have an appropriate instance:

  1. Navigate to Actions → Attach volume
  2. Select the target instance and device name
  3. Click Attach

Note: Only re-attach if the volume will be actively used. Keeping unused volumes attached still incurs the same storage costs.

Summary​

  • Immediate savings: $0.64/month for 8 GiB gp3 volume
  • Annual savings: $7.68/year
  • Snapshot alternative: $0.40/month (37.5% savings vs live volume)
  • Scaled example: 500 GB gp3 volume saves $40/month or $480/year

Regularly auditing and removing unattached volumes is a simple yet effective way to reduce AWS costs without impacting running infrastructure.