Which solution will provide this information with the LEAST amount of operational effort?
Use Cost Explorer to perform one-time queries for each Region and create a report that filters by project.
Use the AWS Billing and Cost Management details page to see the actual usage costs of the resources by project.
Use AWS Systems Manager to group resources by project and monitor each project’s resources and cost.
Use AWS Billing and Cost Management to activate cost allocation tags and create reports that are based on the project tags.
Explanations:
While Cost Explorer allows for one-time queries, it requires manual filtering and reporting for each Region and project, which can become labor-intensive and is not efficient for ongoing cost tracking.
The AWS Billing and Cost Management details page provides overall usage costs but lacks granularity for separating costs by individual projects, making it insufficient for detailed project cost identification.
AWS Systems Manager is more focused on resource management and operational tasks rather than cost management. It does not directly provide cost information based on projects and would involve additional setup.
Activating cost allocation tags in AWS Billing and Cost Management allows for detailed tracking and reporting of costs associated with specific projects. This method provides automated, ongoing insights into costs with minimal operational effort.
In my experience, the answer is:
Use AWS Billing and Cost Management to activate cost allocation tags and create reports that are based on the project tags.