Which AWS Tool Generates EBS Volume Cost Optimization Recommendations?
Short answer
D Use AWS Compute Optimizer to generate EBS volume recommendations with estimated monthly savings.
Question
Key Takeaways
The exam tests which service turns EBS utilization data into cost-saving recommendations; the trap is selecting a monitoring or security tool that lacks native optimization output.
AWS Compute Optimizer analyzes EBS volume utilization and generates right-sizing recommendations with estimated monthly savings. This SAA-C03 question establishes that Compute Optimizer—not CloudWatch, Systems Manager, or Inspector—is the correct tool for EBS cost optimization.
Common mistake: Picking Amazon CloudWatch because it collects EBS volume metrics, but CloudWatch only reports raw utilization and does not produce optimization recommendations or estimated monthly savings.
Expert Analysis
Why the Answer Is Correct
AWS Compute Optimizer is the only listed service designed to analyze resource utilization metrics and return optimization recommendations for Amazon EBS volumes, including estimated monthly savings. It ingests CloudWatch metrics such as volume read/write operations and throughput, identifies volumes that are over-provisioned relative to the workload, and recommends changes to volume type, size, or provisioned IOPS. The service explicitly supports EC2 instance types, EBS volumes, ECS services on AWS Fargate, and Lambda functions, so EBS cost analysis is a native capability. Because the question requires both cost analysis and quantified savings opportunities, Compute Optimizer's recommendation output satisfies both requirements in one place. Therefore D is correct.
Why the Other Options Are Wrong
Amazon Inspector is a vulnerability management service that scans EC2 instances, container images, and Lambda functions for software vulnerabilities and unintended network exposure; it does not analyze EBS costs or produce savings estimates. AWS Systems Manager provides operational capabilities such as inventory, patching, and automation, and while it can report on managed instance data, it does not generate EBS right-sizing recommendations with monthly savings. Amazon CloudWatch collects and visualizes EBS metrics like VolumeReadBytes and VolumeWriteBytes, but it only provides raw monitoring data; any cost conclusion would require manual analysis and would not include estimated dollar savings. None of A, B, or C delivers the required recommendations and estimated monthly saving opportunities.
Community Comment Notes
Scheldon cites the official Compute Optimizer page and notes it "helps avoid overprovisioning and underprovisioning four types" of resources, including EBS volumes. Awsbeginner87 posted the same vendor description, reinforcing that EBS is within Compute Optimizer's supported resource list. KennethNg923 reasoned that because the task is to analyze current EBS volume cost and recommend optimizations, Compute Optimizer is required. All visible votes and comments agree on D, so there is no dissenting community evidence to weigh. The consensus aligns with the AWS documentation rather than relying on vote count alone.
Official Reference
https://aws.amazon.com/compute-optimizer/
This link opens the official vendor documentation in a new tab.
Exam Strategy
When a question asks for recommendations plus estimated monthly savings, eliminate monitoring and security services immediately—they observe or protect resources but do not produce cost-optimization actions. AWS Compute Optimizer is the SAA-C03 keyword for right-sizing recommendations across EC2, EBS, ECS on Fargate, and Lambda.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is Amazon CloudWatch not enough for EBS volume cost optimization?
Does AWS Compute Optimizer provide estimated monthly savings for EBS volumes?
Community Votes
100% of anonymous learners picked answer D. Votes are pick records left by other test-takers — they are not the verified answer.
Discussion 4 contributions
Compiled from public community threads and reader submissions, lightly edited for clarity. Handles and vote tallies are shown as recorded, and comments reflect the views of individual contributors.
From public community threads 4
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Scheldon 👍 4 Answered DAnswerD AWS Compute Optimizer helps avoid overprovisioning and underprovisioning four types of AWS resources—Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) instance types, Amazon Elastic Block Store (EBS) volumes, Amazon Elastic Container Service (ECS) services on AWS Fargate, and AWS Lambda functions—based on your utilization data. https://aws.amazon.com/compute-optimizer/
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Hkayne 👍 3 Answered DGet recommendations to optimize your use of AWS resources
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Awsbeginner87 👍 2 Answered DAWS Compute Optimizer helps avoid overprovisioning and underprovisioning four types of AWS resources—Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) instance types, Amazon Elastic Block Store (EBS) volumes, Amazon Elastic Container Service (ECS) services on AWS Fargate, and AWS Lambda functions—based on your utilization data.
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KennethNg923 👍 2 Answered DSince need analyze the current EBS volume cost and to recommend optimizations, so have to use AWS compute optimizer
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