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Launch this lab in the IP Lab Portal, then follow the steps below in the AWS console. Open IP Lab Portal

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Overview

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Lab details

  1. The objective of this lab is to familiarize users with the Cost Explorer Console, its functionalities, and the various use cases it serves in managing costs within AWS infrastructure
  2. Duration: 1 Hour

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Introduction

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Amazon Cost Explorer

  1. Amazon Cost Explorer is a tool provided by Amazon Web Services (AWS) that allows users to analyze and manage their AWS spending. It provides insights into your AWS usage and costs, helping you understand where your money is being spent and how to optimize your resources for cost efficiency
  2. Amazon Cost Explorer provides detailed visibility into your AWS spending, allowing you to understand where your money is going across different services, regions, and usage patterns.
  3. It offers forecasting capabilities, enabling you to predict future spending based on historical data. This helps in budget planning and resource allocation.
  4. By identifying cost trends and analyzing usage patterns, Cost Explorer helps in optimizing AWS resources to reduce unnecessary spending. Users can identify underutilized resources or areas where costs can be minimized.
  5. Users can customize their cost analysis by applying filters based on various dimensions such as time range, service, region, instance type, and tags. This allows for tailored insights based on specific requirements.
  6. Cost Explorer supports cost allocation tags, which enable users to categorize and track costs based on business attributes or organizational structures. This facilitates cost allocation and accountability within large AWS environments.

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Architecture diagram

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Task details

  1. Sign in to AWS Management Console
  2. Overview of Cost Explorer Console.
  3. Filter the data
  4. Filter specific service
  5. Download the report
  6. Validation of the Lab

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Launching the lab environment

  1. To launch the lab environment, Click on the Launch lab button.
  2. Please wait until the cloud environment is provisioned. It will take less than a minute to provision.
  3. Once the lab is started, you will be provided with IAM user name, Password, Access Key, and Secret Access Key.
You can only start one lab at any given time

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Lab guide

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Lab steps

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Task 1: Sign in to AWS Management Console

  1. Click on the Open console button, and you will get redirected to AWS Console in a new browser tab.
  2. On the AWS sign-in page,
    • Leave the Account ID as default. Never edit/remove the 12 digit Account ID present in the AWS Console. otherwise, you cannot proceed with the lab.
    • Now copy your User Name and Password in the lab Console to the IAM Username and Password in AWS Console and click on the Sign in button.

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Task 2: Overview of Cost Explorer Console

  1. Navigate to Cost Explorer by clicking on the Services menu at the top, then click on Billing and Cost Management in the Cloud Financial Management section.
  2. In the Billing and Cost Management Click on Cost Explorer in the left panel.
“Cost may vary as different accounts have different cost structures and usage patterns. The instructions provided in this lab serve as a general guideline for navigating the Cost Explorer Console and analyzing AWS spending.”
  1. This opens the Cost dashboard that shows you the following:
  • Your Total cost, Estimated average costs for the month and Total number of services used.
  1. A graph of your daily costs: Cost Explorer provides three styles for charting your cost data:
  • Bar charts (Bar)
  • Stacked bar charts (Stack)
  • Line graphs (Line)

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Task 3: Filter the data

With Cost Explorer, you can filter how you view your AWS costs by different values.
  1. Choose the Date Range and select 1 month to filter the last month data and click on apply button
  1. You can also filter based on dimensions such as service, linked account, region etc..

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Task 4: Filter specific service

  1. To Filter for specific service type service name in the service filter and click on Apply button.

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Task 5: Download the report

  1. To Download the report scroll down to the cost and usage breakdown and click on Download as CSV button.
Do you know?Cost Explorer’s intuitive interface and powerful analytics tools make it accessible to users with varying levels of technical expertise. Whether you’re a small startup or a large enterprise, Cost Explorer empowers you to take control of your AWS costs and optimize your cloud spending effectively

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Task 6: Validation of the Lab

  1. Once the lab steps are completed, please click on the Check my work button on the Right side panel.
  2. This will validate the resources in the AWS account and displays whether you have completed this lab successfully or not.
  3. Sample output :

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Completion and conclusion

  1. You have successfully overviewed Cost Explorer Console.
  2. You have successfully filtered data..

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End lab

  1. Sign out of AWS Account.
  2. You have successfully completed the lab.
  3. Once you have completed the steps, click on End lab in the IP Lab Portal.

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What gets checked

When you press Check my work, the platform verifies each of these:
  • Login to AWS Management Console — Check whether the user has logged in to the AWS Management Console.