Automatically Clean Up Orphaned EBS Volumes with AWS Config and Systems Manager

In this lesson, we’ll cover how to choose the right Amazon EBS volume type, manage snapshots effectively, and clean up unused resources to reduce costs and minimise environmental impact. You’ll learn how to select between SSD- and HDD-backed volumes based on workload needs, automate snapshot management, and use AWS Config with Systems Manager to detect and remove orphaned EBS volumes. 

Intended Audience 

This lesson is for cloud engineers, architects, and DevOps professionals who want to cut EBS storage costs while maintaining performance, reliability, and compliance. 

Learning Objectives 

• Identify the cost and performance characteristics of SSD- and HDD-based EBS volume types 

• Select the most cost-effective EBS volume type for your workload 

• Implement best practices for snapshot management and archival 

• Automate orphaned volume cleanup with AWS Config and Systems Manager 

• Apply governance strategies to maintain long-term cost and sustainability goals 

Prerequisites 

To get the most out of this lesson, you should have a basic understanding of Amazon EC2 and EBS concepts such as volumes, snapshots, and volume attachment.