Amazon RDS Adds Full Snapshot Size Information to Management Console and DescribeDBSnapshots API
Amazon RDS now exposes the full snapshot size for database snapshots, allowing users to view this metric in the AWS Management Console and retrieve it programmatically via the DescribeDBSnapshots API.
Amazon RDS has introduced a capability that displays the full size of RDS database snapshots directly within the management console. In addition to console visibility, a new API field named FullSnapshotSizeInBytes has been added to the DescribeDBSnapshots response. This update allows administrators to programmatically query the exact uncompressed volume size of their backups.
Primary source
Open AWS What's New ↗This article summarizes the source. Check the original for full details and conditions.
Comparison
| Aspect | Before / Alternative | After / This |
|---|---|---|
| Snapshot Size Visibility | Not readily visible in the console or required calculating based on allocated storage | Directly visible as a dedicated metric in the AWS Management Console |
| Programmatic Retrieval | Manual scripting or estimation based on original DB instance storage parameters | Retrieved directly via the DescribeDBSnapshots API using FullSnapshotSizeInBytes |
| Cost and Capacity Planning | Relied on indirect billing metrics to estimate actual backup storage consumption | Precise byte-level snapshot data available for accurate capacity forecasting |
Action Checklist
- Update infrastructure-as-code and monitoring scripts to leverage the new API field The field is named FullSnapshotSizeInBytes in the DescribeDBSnapshots response.
- Review AWS Management Console database backup views to verify the new size metrics Ensure your console user IAM policies allow full RDS read-only permissions.
- Integrate the new size metric into internal database capacity planning workflows This can help optimize storage allocation and manage long-term backup costs.
