news.ycombinator.com• Aug 20, 2026• 1 min read
Is this AWS RI/SP simulation engine interesting / valuable?TLDR; This AWS RI/SP tool we built might have unique features that are important especially for companies running large, high-variability workloads with high coverage targets. We want feedback on how true that is and whether we should open this up to others, possibly even for free or as OSS.Setup: We're a small cloud cost consultancy, but not a tools vendor. We do build a lot of internal tooling for our own use. We serve companies spending 7- to 9-figures (USD) annually.One of the internal tools we built over the past several years is a simulation engine for RIs/SPs that can do a number of things, some of which we believe might be one-of-a-kind in the space today and could be valuable to others.1.) Visualize the entire commitment savings/discount curve for any commitment type (any RI, any SP, of any flavor), showing the exact savings achieved and the marginal discount rate at every level of commitment. This unlocks what we feel is the best purchasing strategy: "buy SP dollars or RI uni