# Outdated Elasticsearch Version Triggering Extended Support Charges

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# Outdated Elasticsearch Version Triggering Extended Support Charges

## Explanation

Many legacy workloads still run on older Elasticsearch versions - particularly 5.x, 6.x, or 7.x - due to inertia, compatibility constraints, or lack of ownership. Once these versions exceed their standard support window, AWS begins charging an hourly Extended Support fee for each domain. These fees are often missed in cost reviews, especially in environments that are inactive but still provisioned. In aggregate, outdated Elasticsearch clusters contribute to significant silent spend unless proactively addressed.

## Relevant Billing Model

Elasticsearch domains are billed per hour based on:

- Instance size and count

- Storage (EBS or UltraWarm)

- Extended Support Charges - applied per domain per hour for versions outside standard support

## Detection

- Inventory all Elasticsearch domains running on Amazon OpenSearch Service

- Identify engine versions using the AWS Console or API

- Review cost reports for Extended Support line items

- Flag domains that are inactive or non-critical but still incurring support costs

## Remediation

- Upgrade to a supported version of OpenSearch

- Be aware that upgrading from Elasticsearch 7.x may require reindexing or application compatibility changes

- Where possible, consolidate or delete unused domains to eliminate unnecessary charges

- Establish a lifecycle policy review process to ensure domains stay within standard support timelines

## Relevant Documentation

- [AWS Blog: OpenSearch Version Support Model](https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/big-data/amazon-opensearch-service-announces-standard-and-extended-support-dates-for-elasticsearch-and-opensearch-versions//%22)

- [Amazon OpenSearch Pricing](https://aws.amazon.com/opensearch-service/pricing//)

[Submit Feedback](https://hub.pointfive.co/inefficiencies/outdated-elasticsearch-version-triggering-extended-support-charges)

## At a glance

Reference

CER-0147

Cloud provider

AWS

Service

AWS ElasticSearch

Category

[Databases](https://www.pointfive.co/efficiency-hub/service-category/databases)

Inefficiency type

Inefficient Configuration

## Contributed by

- ### Yulia Perlis

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