Database Infrastructure Optimization: $4.8M Annual Savings Through Automated Right-Sizing

The Challenge

The database infrastructure had grown organically over time, resulting in significantly over-provisioned clusters that no longer matched actual workload requirements. Monthly infrastructure costs exceeded $1.14 million ($13.6M annually), with many clusters running at a fraction of their capacity. Manual optimization processes were time-consuming, error-prone, and posed risks of data loss or service disruption. The operations team needed a safe, automated approach to right-size the infrastructure at scale without impacting customer experience.

Our Solution

We designed and implemented a comprehensive automation framework that orchestrated zero-downtime database optimization across the entire infrastructure. The solution featured a five-stage workflow: pre-flight validation, maintenance mode activation with session-based tracking, automated cluster failover, maintenance mode removal, and final validation. Each operation was protected by multiple safety gates, including automatic rollback on failure, state-aware updates to preserve existing configurations, and real-time connection monitoring. The system leveraged parallel execution capabilities to process multiple clusters simultaneously while maintaining strict isolation through unique session identifiers. All operations were fully automated with comprehensive audit trails, eliminating manual intervention and human error.

Results