# Delete-on-termination disabled for EBS volume Canonical: https://www.pointfive.co/efficiency-hub/inefficiencies/delete-on-termination-disabled-for-ebs-volume When EC2 instances are provisioned, each attached EBS volume has a `DeleteOnTermination` flag that determines whether it will be deleted when the... By: Dvir Mizrahi [Cloud Efficiency Hub](https://www.pointfive.co/efficiency-hub) # Delete-on-Termination Disabled for EBS Volume The short version When EC2 instances are provisioned, each attached EBS volume has a \`DeleteOnTermination\` flag that determines whether it will be deleted when the instance is terminated. [Dvir Mizrahi](https://www.linkedin.com/in/dvir-mizrahi/) VP of FinOps @ Wiv.ai AWS service [AWS EBS](https://www.pointfive.co/efficiency-hub/cloud-services/aws-ebs) Category [Storage](https://www.pointfive.co/efficiency-hub/service-category/storage) Reference CER-0154 Type Inefficient Configuration ## Explanation Why the waste happens and who it affects. If this flag is set to \`false\` - often unintentionally in custom launch templates, AMIs, or older automation scripts - volumes persist after termination, resulting in orphaned storage. While detached volumes are easy to detect and clean up after the fact, proactively identifying attached volumes with \`DeleteOnTermination=false\` can prevent future waste before it occurs. ## Billing model The pricing dimensions that drive this cost. EBS volumes are billed per GB-month of provisioned storage. If a volume is not automatically deleted when its EC2 instance is terminated, charges continue to accrue even if the volume is no longer in use. ## How to detect 3 checks to find it in your estate. - The volume is attached to an active EC2 instance - The \`DeleteOnTermination\` flag is set to \`false\` - The instance is not intended to retain persistent data on termination (e.g., ephemeral workloads or stateless apps) ## How to fix 5 ways to remove the waste. - Update the instance configuration to set \`DeleteOnTermination=true\` for non-persistent volumes - Modify infrastructure-as-code templates and launch configurations to use the correct flag by default - Establish policy controls or monitoring to flag instances with unnecessary persistent volume retention - Periodically review long-lived instances for non-root volumes with this misconfiguration - Educate engineering teams on the default behavior and risks of leaving the flag unset ## Documentation Vendor references for pricing and configuration. [Amazon EBS Volume Lifecycle](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/UserGuide/ebs-volumes.html) [ModifyInstanceAttribute - AWS CLI](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/cli/latest/reference/ec2/modify-instance-attribute.html) ## Related inefficiencies [Browse the library](https://www.pointfive.co/efficiency-hub) - AWS EBS CER-0162 ### [Outdated Provisioned IOPS Volume Type for High-I/O Workloads](https://www.pointfive.co/efficiency-hub/inefficiencies/outdated-provisioned-iops-volume-type-for-high-i-o-workloads) Many environments continue using io1 volumes for high-performance workloads due to legacy provisioning or lack of awareness of io2 benefits. io2 volumes provide equivalent or better performance and durability with reduced cost at scale.... Storage - AWS EBS CER-0178 ### [Overprovisioned EBS Volume](https://www.pointfive.co/efficiency-hub/inefficiencies/overprovisioned-ebs-volume) EBS volumes often remain significantly overprovisioned compared to the actual data stored on them. Because billing is based on the total provisioned capacity - not actual usage - this creates ongoing waste when large volumes are only... Storage - AWS EBS CER-0044 ### [Unarchived Long-Term EBS Snapshots](https://www.pointfive.co/efficiency-hub/inefficiencies/unarchived-long-term-ebs-snapshots) EBS Snapshot Archive is a lower-cost storage tier for rarely accessed snapshots retained for compliance, regulatory, or long-term backup purposes. Archiving snapshots that do not require frequent or fast retrieval can reduce snapshot... Storage --- Source: the public page above. Product screenshots and illustrative interfaces are examples, not live customer data.