AWS FinOps icon

AWS FinOps

AWS Financial Operations and Cost Analysis
Join our community

Actions3

Overview

The node "AWS FinOps" provides financial operations and cost analysis capabilities for AWS cloud resources. Specifically, the Get Cost Data operation retrieves detailed AWS cost and usage data over a specified time range, optionally grouped by dimensions such as service, region, instance type, or usage type.

This node is beneficial for cloud cost management teams, FinOps practitioners, and developers who want to automate cost reporting and gain insights into their AWS spending patterns. For example, it can be used to generate daily cost breakdowns by AWS service over the last 30 days or analyze costs by region for a custom date range.

Properties

Name Meaning
Time Range Select the period for cost analysis: Last 7 Days, Last 30 Days, Last 90 Days, or Custom Range
Start Date (Shown only if Time Range is Custom) The start date of the custom cost analysis period
End Date (Shown only if Time Range is Custom) The end date of the custom cost analysis period
Group By Dimension to group cost data by: Service, Region, Instance Type, or Usage Type

Output

The output JSON contains the following structure:

  • operation: The string "getCostData" indicating the performed operation.
  • timeRange: An object with startDate and endDate strings in ISO date format representing the analyzed period.
  • groupBy: The dimension used for grouping the cost data.
  • rawResults: The raw response from AWS Cost Explorer API containing detailed cost and usage data by day.
  • processedResults: An array where each element corresponds to a day in the time range, including:
    • date: The date string.
    • total: Total blended cost for that day as a number.
    • groups: Array of grouped cost entries, each with:
      • key: The group key (e.g., service name or region).
      • amount: Cost amount for the group.
      • unit: Currency unit (usually USD).
  • totalCost: The total blended cost summed over the entire time range.
  • currency: The currency unit of the costs (defaulting to USD if not provided).

No binary data output is produced by this operation.

Dependencies

  • Requires valid AWS credentials with permissions to access AWS Cost Explorer API.
  • Uses AWS SDK clients for Cost Explorer (@aws-sdk/client-cost-explorer).
  • Node requires configuration of AWS API credentials (access key ID, secret access key, and optionally region).
  • The node internally retries AWS API calls up to 3 times on failure.

Troubleshooting

  • Common issues:

    • Invalid or missing AWS credentials will cause authentication failures.
    • Insufficient IAM permissions to call Cost Explorer APIs will result in authorization errors.
    • Providing an invalid custom date range (e.g., start date after end date) may cause API errors.
    • Network connectivity issues can cause request timeouts or failures.

  • Error messages:

    • "Failed to fetch cost data: <message>" indicates an error returned from AWS API; check credentials and permissions.
    • "Unknown operation: <operation>" means an unsupported operation was requested.
    • General unknown errors are wrapped and surfaced as node execution errors.

  • Resolutions:

    • Verify AWS credentials and ensure they have Cost Explorer read permissions.
    • Confirm the date inputs are valid and in correct ISO format.
    • Check network connectivity and retry.
    • Use the node's "Continue On Fail" option to handle partial failures gracefully.

Links and References

Discussion