Configure Optimize CPU on Amazon RDS for SQL Server
Database Blog
This article explains how to configure the Optimize CPU feature on Amazon RDS for SQL Server to reduce licensing costs while maintaining performance.
- Optimize CPU allows control over vCPU allocation through core count modification settings
- Three implementation options: create new instance, modify existing instance, or restore from snapshot
- SQL Server licensing costs charged per vCPU, making CPU optimization directly cost-beneficial
- Performance testing shows 7th gen instances with 50% fewer vCPUs match throughput of 6th gen instances
- CPU utilization remained below comfortable thresholds (40-80%) across test scenarios
- Enterprise Edition pricing reduced 41-54% by halving vCPU count on 7th generation instances
- Particularly beneficial for development/test environments and right-sizing production workloads
The Optimize CPU feature enables significant SQL Server licensing cost savings without compromising performance for OLTP workloads.
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