Overview Dashboard
The Overview dashboard is accessed in the Cloud Cost Management (CCM) section of the Virtana Platform console. Using various filtering options, you can segment your cloud environment so you can view only the subset of cloud spend relevant to a specific application, business unit, etc.
You can also analyze costs in multiple dimensions. Easily compare your cloud costs for the current month and previous months, as well as identify whether costs are trending up or down.
Note
Support for GCP is currently an Early Access feature. It is available to all Virtana Cloud Cost Management customers. Contact your Account Representative or cloudcostsavings@virtana.com to enable GCP for your account.
Summary area
The Summary area of the Overview dashboard page provides an overall view of your cloud costs. There are various ways that you can filter the data you are viewing.
The Cloud selector on the Overview dashboard allows you to choose one or more cloud providers. Data displayed in the Summary will change to reflect which cloud providers are selected.
Monthly Cost Card
The <Month> Cost card compares the current month's cost-to-date with the same time period for the previous month. It also displays the projected total spend for the current month. You can view more detail about the current month costs by clicking Show More.
Cost Trend Chart
The Cost Trend bar chart provides a visual comparison of monthly costs and the average monthly cost, as well as projected total cost for the current month. Move your cursor over any bar in the chart to see a popup showing the numbers for total cost, cost delta, and projected cost.
This 13-month trend provides users with predictive insights into future expenses. It relies on artificial intelligence for cost estimation and trend analysis.
You can zoom in on a section of the chart by clicking and dragging your cursor across an area of the chart. A "reset zoom" popup allows you to return to the standard display.
Cost Trend Settings
Go to the Cost Trend Settings section, which will open the Forecast Parameters window.
Set up Forecast Parameters by specifying the fiscal start year and entering annual budget figures.
Verify the settings for accuracy and save the changes using the software's interface.
Tip
Due to chart scaling, some data might not display in the chart when the data point is too small. If you don't see data in the chart that you expect to see, use the legend under the chart to filter the data.
Cost Details
The Cost by cards provides a breakdown of cloud cost based on various groupings, such as Business Unit, Application, Service, Account or Resources Group. They display the top 5 resources by cost.
Tip
To display cost data for Business Unit and Application, you must configure the Resource Groups under Settings>Policies. Data on other widgets will display automatically.
The information provided on each card includes the name or type of resource, the month-to-date cost per resource, and cost trend. Cost trend indicates whether costs are trending up or down compared to the previous month. A green down arrow indicates costs have decreased, while a red up arrow indicates increasing costs.
Clicking Show More on any card opens a Bill Analysis page with further details.
Choosing a Widget to Display in Cost Details
In Virtana's Cost Details section, you have the flexibility to select which widgets you want to display. The widgets you choose will automatically adjust in size to occupy the entire row width. It's essential to understand that the widget selections you make will be applied to all users within your account, ensuring consistency in the information presented.
Follow the steps to select the Widgets:
Click the Widget icon.
After clicking the Widget icon, the "Select Widgets to Show in Cost Details" pane opens.
From the available widgets, select the ones that are most pertinent to your analysis and decision-making process.
Click "Apply" to save the settings you've chosen.
Click "Cancel" if you want to discard any changes and return to the previous configuration.
Bill Analysis Side Panel
From the Overview dashboard you can click Show More on any card widget to access a side panel with more detail.
On the Bill Analysis fly-out, side panel you can choose different filtering options using Filters such as Filter by Account, Filter by Group, Filter by Resources and Group Costs by selectors. These selectors provide a way to adjust the report data to get a more precise view of your costs. These filters provide a way to adjust the report data to get a more precise view of your cloud costs providers. You can now filter the CSO widget by Account or Resource Group.
Filtering Options:
By Service: This filter pertains to cloud services within this category, such as EC2, EKS, and CE.·
Lists of resources within the selected service, like EC2_Name_1 and EC2_Name_2.
By Account: Filter by individual accounts.
Lists the services available within the chosen account.
Provides details of resources associated with each service.
By Resource Group: Group resources based on specific criteria.
Displays services with an indication of their cloud origin.
Lists resources organised within each resource group.
Cloud Platform: Top-Level Filter
Use the top-level filter to determine which cloud platforms or other segments are included in your view. This serves as the overarching filter for the entire system.
Group Cost By: These selectors provide a way to adjust the report data to get a more precise view of your costs by service, and cost by accounts. Users can categorize resources either by Service or Account. Depending on the chosen grouping method, users can delve into individual resource details.
Time Range: You can also use the time range selector to choose from a list of time ranges or set a custom date range. The report can display data for up to 13 previous months.
Download: Click to download the document in PDF or XLS format.
Schedule Emails: Schedule CSO reports for emailing.
Help: Click to access the online help.
| Quick Filter Search box |
| The Quick Filter search box is designed to search for high-level items, including options like filtering by services, filtering by accounts, and browsing through resources. When you initiate a search for services, the table will dynamically reveal a 'Group by Service' feature, showcasing a list of services. Each service entry will include an expansion icon, allowing you to expand and explore the associated resources within that service category. |
You can also use the time range selector to choose from a list of time ranges or set a custom date range. The report can display data for up to 13 previous months.
These filters and selections are not persistent. Additionally, they do not impact the filters set on the main Overview dashboard.
The Bill Analysis panel displays data in both a chart and a table. In the bar chart, move your cursor over any bar to see a popup with details. These details include Cost Delta (previous period to the current date), Current Period, Previous Period to Date, and Previous Period Total. You can also use the Actions (hamburger) menu for view, print, and download options.
You can zoom in on a section of the chart by clicking and dragging your cursor across an area of the chart. A "reset zoom" popup allows you to return to the standard display.
The bill analysis data is presented in a table format with the following details:
Service type
Cloud type
Entity Count
Current Period total cost
Cost from Previous Period to Date
Cost Delta from previous month to current month
Delta %
Previous Period Total cost
The table can be reordered by clicking on most column headers.
Note
You may find different entity counts due to the Group by Clause used in the Select query. While the cost remains unchanged, the entity count may vary.
Cost Savings Opportunities
In the "Cost Saving Opportunities" section, you can gain valuable insights into potential savings for your cloud resources. This feature helps you identify areas where you can optimize your cloud costs and reduce your monthly expenditure.
On the dashboard, you see:·
Total Monthly Savings: The prominently displayed figure at the top of the section represents your potential monthly savings. Current Cost gives you a comparison of the current month's and the previous month's overall cost in US dollars. Also indicates the percentage that costs have increased or decreased. A red "up" arrow indicates increased costs and a green "down" arrow indicates decreased costs.
Comparison to Last Month: The percentage value denoting "Change from Last Month" offers a quick comparison between your potential savings and the costs from the previous month's bill.
Selecting "Show More" provides you with an in-depth breakdown of potential cost savings.
Idle Resources displays in US Dollars how much you can save per month by eliminating unused cloud resources, along with the percentage of increase or decrease compared to last month.
Right Sizing indicates the monthly cost savings in US dollars that would result from modifying your resources per the recommendations, along with the percentage of increase or decrease compared to last month.
You can observe the count of opportunities and their associated potential savings.
Cost Saving Opportunities Side Panel
From the Cost Saving Opportunity dashboard, you can click Show More on any card widget to access a side panel with more details.On the Bill Analysis fly-out, side panel you can choose different filtering options using Filters such as Filter by Account, Filter by Group, and Filter by Resources. These filters provide a way to adjust the report data to get a more precise view of your cloud costs providers. You can now filter the CSO widget by Account or Resource Group.
Filtering Options: Click the Filter icon to select your Filter, available filters include, Account, Service, Resource Group.
By Service: This filter pertains to cloud services within this category, such as EC2, EKS, and CE.·
Lists of resources within the selected service, like EC2_Name_1 and EC2_Name_2.
By Account: Filter by individual accounts.
Lists the services available within the chosen account.
Provides details of resources associated with each service.
By Resource Group: Group resources based on specific criteria.
Displays services with an indication of their cloud origin.
Lists of resources are organised within each resource group.
Cloud Platform: Top-Level Filter
Use the top-level filter to determine which cloud platforms or other segments are included in your view. This serves as the overarching filter for the entire system.
Idle Resources displays in US Dollars how much you can save per month by eliminating unused cloud resources, along with the percentage of increase or decrease compared to last month.
Right Sizing indicates the monthly cost savings in US dollars that would result from modifying your resources per the recommendations, along with the percentage of increase or decrease compared to last month.
Total Savings Available reflects the combined monthly savings in US dollars that could be achieved by eliminating idle resources and implementing right sizing recommendations.
Download: Click to download the document in PDF or XLS format.
Schedule Emails: Schedule CSO reports for emailing.
Help: Click to access the online help.
Quick Filter Search box: The Quick Filter search box is designed to search for high-level items, including options like filtering by services, filtering by accounts, and browsing through resources.
Group By: To effectively manage your resources, you can utilize the Group by feature to organize them based on either Account or Resource Group. By default, the report is structured by Entity, displaying all recommendations. To gain a summarized overview of savings for each Account or Resource Group, simply click the arrow icon adjacent to the respective Account or Resource Group. This action will highlight all the recommendations linked to that particular Account or Resource Group. For more detailed insights on a specific recommendation, you can click the arrow icon next to that individual recommendation.
Action: Click Action to create all change requests or you can create change requests for selected entities.
Manage your scheduled emails
Go to the CCM Overview.
Access the Email Panel.
Click "Add Scheduled Report."
Select "Cost Savings Opportunities Report."
Configure your report settings as needed.
Save your newly created emailed report.
Note
Note that this feature is available from any Email panel on the Overview Dashboard, not limited to the CSO widget.
Add Cost Overview Report
Go to the CCM Overview.
Access the Email Panel.
Click "Add Scheduled Report."
Select "Cost Overview Report."
Adjust your report preferences, including providing a username or email address, selecting a scheduling frequency (daily, weekly, monthly), and incorporating cloud filters.
Save your newly created report.
Add Details Report
Go to the CCM Overview.
Access the Email Panel.
Click "Add Scheduled Report."
Select "Cost Overview Report."
Customize your report preferences by specifying a username or email address, choosing a scheduling frequency (daily, weekly, monthly), defining the date range and cost details, and integrating cloud filters.
Save your newly created report.
