Explanation
Why the waste happens and who it affects.
As a result, files replicated to the destination will remain in the Standard storage class unless a new lifecycle policy is explicitly configured. Over time, this can lead to significantly higher storage costs, particularly in DR environments where data is rarely accessed but still replicated in full.
Billing model
The pricing dimensions that drive this cost.
EFS charges are based on the amount of data stored in each storage class (Standard, Infrequent Access and Archive). Transitioning infrequently accessed files to the IA or Archive tiers reduces storage costs significantly. However, if a lifecycle policy is not applied, all files remain in the more expensive Standard tier, including on replicated file systems.
How to detect
5 checks to find it in your estate.
- Review whether the destination EFS file system has a lifecycle policy applied following replication
- Determine if the destination file system contains large volumes of infrequently accessed or untouched data
- Evaluate whether the data in the DR region is being accessed regularly or retained only for redundancy purposes
- Confirm whether the storage class distribution (Standard vs. IA) is optimized for access patterns in the replicated environment
- Assess if lifecycle policies were applied manually post-replication or were omitted entirely
How to fix
4 ways to remove the waste.
- Manually apply a lifecycle policy to the destination EFS file system after replication is configured
- Align the policy with the source file system or tune it based on expected access frequency in the DR region
- If the policy transitions data to Archive, make sure the destination file system uses Elastic throughput, and account for the 90-day minimum storage duration in Archive
- Periodically audit replicated EFS environments to ensure lifecycle policies remain in place as environments evolve
Documentation
Vendor references for pricing and configuration.