AWS CUR (Cost Usage Report) explained
Blog post from Stream.Security
The AWS Cost and Usage Report (CUR) is an essential tool that offers detailed insights into AWS usage and expenses, enabling users to make informed decisions regarding resource allocation, budgeting, and cost optimization. This report provides a comprehensive breakdown of costs and usage at hourly, daily, or monthly intervals, including information on specific AWS services, accounts, and resources. Users can access and configure the CUR through the AWS Management Console, with customization options for report frequency, file format, and delivery location, typically to an Amazon S3 bucket. The CUR offers granular data, allowing users to identify inefficiencies like idle EC2 instances or underutilized EBS volumes. It also supports cost allocation tags, which help categorize and track expenses by project, department, or environment. AWS provides additional tools, such as AWS Cost Explorer, AWS Budgets, and Amazon QuickSight, to analyze and visualize CUR data, facilitating the creation of custom reports and dashboards for actionable insights into spending and usage patterns.