Amazon EBS · Finder + automated fixer
EBS Clean Up Old Volume Snapshots
Clean UpOld Volume Snapshots
Delete old EBS snapshots beyond your retention period to cut storage costs. CloudFix identifies aged snapshots and safely removes them.
What happens, in order.
Finder · read-only
Finds the opportunity
Scans your connected accounts with a read-only role. It can see resource metadata and usage; it can’t change anything.
You
Approve in Recommendations
It appears in your Recommendations view with what it would save. Approve the resources you choose. Nothing has changed yet.
Fixer
Runs in your account
The fixer runs as an AWS Systems Manager Automation runbook in your AWS account, and acts only on the resources you approved.
Record
Logs the execution
The Systems Manager execution is logged, so every change can be audited.
Finder role
Read-only. It can see resource metadata and usage. It can’t change anything.
Fixer role
A separate, minimal role that acts only on the resources you approved, through AWS Systems Manager.
Saves by
This opportunity identifies and deletes old EBS volume snapshots that are no longer needed, reducing storage costs and simplifying snapshot management. By removing these snapshots, you can achieve significant cost savings, especially in accounts with many old, unused snapshots.
Overview
CloudFix helps you identify and safely delete old EBS volume snapshots that are no longer needed. This feature helps optimize storage costs while maintaining data safety through careful snapshot management.
Key Benefits
- Reduce storage costs by removing unnecessary snapshots
- Maintain data safety through careful snapshot selection
- Automated identification of old snapshots
- Easy rollback process if needed
AWS Services Affected
Dependencies
- AWS CloudWatch (for monitoring)
- AWS CloudTrail (for logging)
How It Works
The Finder works read-only from your cost and usage data and snapshot inventory to find EBS snapshots that are long past their useful life, and calculates the savings from removing them. Each opportunity appears in your CloudFix Recommendations for you to approve. When you approve, the Fixer runs as an AWS Systems Manager Automation runbook in your own account and deletes the eligible snapshots. Every action is logged in AWS CloudTrail.
Safety and Rollback
The Fixer skips snapshots that are unsafe to delete, such as those that other resources still depend on. Snapshot deletions cannot be directly rolled back, so keep good snapshot management practices and consider creating archive copies of critical snapshots before approving.
Related Resources
- CloudFix Blog: Reduce Costs by Removing Old EBS Snapshots
- Support Article: Delete Old EBS Volume Snapshots
- AWS Documentation: Deleting an Amazon EBS Snapshot
- AWS Blog: Cost Optimization with EBS Snapshot Management
Ready to start saving on AWS? See how much you could cut from your cloud bill with a free cost optimization assessment, or explore CloudFix automated Finder/Fixers that eliminate waste across 30+ AWS services.
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