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CloudTrail Duplicate Trail Detection

Overview

unusd.cloud helps identify and alert on duplicate CloudTrail trails that can lead to unnecessary costs and redundant logging. This detection is particularly important for accounts with high API interaction volumes.

Problem

When multiple CloudTrail trails are configured to log the same management events, it results in:

  • Duplicate event logging
  • Increased storage costs
  • Unnecessary data processing
  • Higher CloudWatch Logs costs
  • Redundant S3 storage usage

Detection

Our platform automatically identifies:

  • Multiple trails logging the same management events
  • Overlapping trail configurations
  • Redundant logging patterns
  • Cost implications of duplicate trails

Impact

Duplicate CloudTrail trails can significantly impact your AWS costs through:

  • Double storage costs in S3
  • Duplicate CloudWatch Logs ingestion
  • Increased data transfer costs
  • Higher processing costs for log analysis

Recommendations

To optimize your CloudTrail configuration:

  1. Consolidate overlapping trails
  2. Configure a single trail for management events
  3. Use trail organization for multi-account setups
  4. Implement proper trail naming conventions
  5. Regularly audit trail configurations

Cost Savings

By addressing duplicate CloudTrail trails, you can:

  • Reduce storage costs by up to 50%
  • Lower CloudWatch Logs ingestion costs
  • Optimize log processing expenses
  • Minimize data transfer charges