# Databases cost inefficiencies | Cloud Efficiency Hub Canonical: https://www.pointfive.co/efficiency-hub/service-category/databases 114 documented databases cost inefficiencies across AWS, MongoDB Atlas, Azure and more, each with detection steps and remediation. ## All inefficiencies Each entry explains the waste, the billing model behind it, how to detect it and how to fix it. / 114 inefficiencies - Databricks CER-0332 ### [Missing Partition Pruning in Delta Lake Table Queries](https://www.pointfive.co/efficiency-hub/inefficiencies/missing-partition-pruning-in-delta-lake-table-queries-on-databricks) When Delta Lake tables are partitioned by specific columns - such as date, region, or tenant identifier - the query engine can use partition pruning to limit data scans to only the relevant subset of files. However, when queries against... Databases - MongoDB Atlas CER-0326 ### [Continuous Backup Enabled on Non-Production MongoDB Atlas Clusters](https://www.pointfive.co/efficiency-hub/inefficiencies/continuous-backup-enabled-on-non-production-mongodb-atlas-clusters) MongoDB Atlas offers two backup mechanisms for dedicated clusters: Cloud Backups (scheduled snapshots using the underlying cloud provider's native snapshot functionality) and Continuous Cloud Backup, which adds point-in-time recovery by... Databases - AWS RDS CER-0323 ### [RDS SQL Server Running Bundled Licensing on Older Instance Families](https://www.pointfive.co/efficiency-hub/inefficiencies/rds-sql-server-running-bundled-licensing-on-older-instance-families) Amazon RDS for SQL Server has traditionally used a License Included model where the SQL Server license cost is bundled into a single hourly instance price alongside Windows OS licensing, compute resources, and RDS management capabilities.... Databases - AWS RDS CER-0322 ### [Non-Production RDS SQL Server Using Standard or Enterprise Edition Instead of Developer Edition](https://www.pointfive.co/efficiency-hub/inefficiencies/non-production-rds-sql-server-using-standard-or-enterprise-edition-instead-of-developer-edition) Amazon RDS for SQL Server uses a License Included pricing model where the hourly instance rate bundles Microsoft SQL Server licensing fees on a per-vCPU basis. When non-production workloads - such as development, testing, staging, QA, or... Databases - AWS ElastiCache CER-0321 ### [Suboptimal Cache TTL Strategy Causing Repeated Backend Execution](https://www.pointfive.co/efficiency-hub/inefficiencies/suboptimal-cache-ttl-strategy-causing-repeated-backend-execution) Organizations deploy ElastiCache to reduce load on backend systems - databases, APIs, and compute layers - by serving frequently accessed data from fast in-memory storage. However, when Time-to-Live (TTL) values are misaligned with actual... Databases - AWS RDS CER-0320 ### [Excess vCPU Licensing Costs on RDS for SQL Server Instances](https://www.pointfive.co/efficiency-hub/inefficiencies/excess-vcpu-licensing-costs-on-rds-for-sql-server-instances) Amazon RDS for SQL Server uses a License Included pricing model where SQL Server and Windows OS licensing costs are bundled into the per-instance-hour rate - and those licensing costs scale directly with the number of vCPUs on the... Databases - Azure Cache for Redis CER-0310 ### [Overprovisioned Azure Cache for Redis Instance](https://www.pointfive.co/efficiency-hub/inefficiencies/overprovisioned-azure-cache-for-redis-instance) Azure Cache for Redis is billed at a fixed rate determined entirely by the provisioned tier and cache size - not by actual utilization. A cache instance that consumes only a fraction of its available memory and throughput incurs the same... Databases - AWS RDS CER-0299 ### [Orphaned RDS Backup Storage After Database Deletion](https://www.pointfive.co/efficiency-hub/inefficiencies/orphaned-rds-backup-storage-after-database-deletion) An RDS database instance is deleted but its manual snapshots or retained backups remain. Unlike automated backups tied to a live instance, these backups persist independently and continue generating storage costs despite no longer... Databases - GCP BigQuery CER-0295 ### [Overselecting Data and Misusing LIMIT for Cost Control in BigQuery](https://www.pointfive.co/efficiency-hub/inefficiencies/overselecting-data-and-misusing-limit-for-cost-control-in-bigquery) Analysts use SELECT \* (reading more columns than needed) and/or rely on LIMIT as a cost-control mechanism. In BigQuery, projecting excess columns increases the amount of data read and can materially raise query cost, particularly on wide... Databases - Azure SQL Managed Instance CER-0288 ### [Suboptimal Service Tier Selection in Azure SQL Managed Instance](https://www.pointfive.co/efficiency-hub/inefficiencies/suboptimal-service-tier-selection-in-azure-sql-managed-instance) Azure SQL Managed Instances remain on the original General Purpose architecture, or on the separate premium Business Critical tier when they do not need its capabilities (low-latency local SSD storage and a built-in read-only replica),... Databases - AWS ElastiCache CER-0284 ### [Outdated ElastiCache Engine Version Incurring Extended Support Charges](https://www.pointfive.co/efficiency-hub/inefficiencies/outdated-elasticache-engine-version-incurring-extended-support-charges) ElastiCache clusters continue running engine versions that have moved into extended support. While the service remains functional, AWS charges an ongoing premium for extended support that provides no added performance or capability. These... Databases - AWS Aurora CER-0293 ### [Automatic Restart of Stopped Aurora Clusters Causing Unintended Compute Charges](https://www.pointfive.co/efficiency-hub/inefficiencies/automatic-restart-of-stopped-aurora-clusters-causing-unintended-compute-charges) Amazon Aurora database clusters are intentionally stopped to avoid compute costs but are automatically restarted by the service after the maximum allowed stop period. Once restarted, re-started database instances begin accruing... Databases Showing 12 of 114 --- Source: the public page above. Product screenshots and illustrative interfaces are examples, not live customer data.