---
title: Low disk usage on cold nodes
description: Describes what AutoOps detects and surfaces with the Low disk usage on cold nodes insight: Cold-tier data nodes are using only a small share of provisioned disk over time.
url: https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/autoops-insights/tree/main/elasticsearch/low_disk_usage_on_cold_nodes
products:
  - Elastic Cloud Enterprise
  - Elastic Cloud Hosted
  - Elastic Cloud on Kubernetes
  - Elasticsearch
applies_to:
  - Elastic Cloud Hosted: Generally available
  - Elastic Cloud on Kubernetes: Generally available
  - Elastic Cloud Enterprise: Generally available
  - Self-managed Elastic deployments: Generally available
---

# Low disk usage on cold nodes
Cold-tier data nodes are using only a small share of provisioned disk over time. Paid storage sits idle while monthly disk charges continue.
<note>
  For a complete list of insights, refer to [AutoOps insights](https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/autoops-insights/tree/main/elasticsearch).
</note>


## Insight details


| Field     | Value                              |
|-----------|------------------------------------|
| Component | Elasticsearch                      |
| Severity  | Low                                |
| Scope     | Node                               |
| Domains   | disk-storage, resource-utilization |


## Example: What you might see in AutoOps

The following is an example of what you might see when this insight is triggered. Real insights use live data and links from your deployment or cluster.

### Disk is underutilized on cold nodes


#### What was detected

Disk utilization is low on the cold tier nodes: `es-data-01` and `es-data-02`.
These nodes are using only 85% of available disk space.

#### Recommendations

<note>
  AutoOps shows different recommendations depending on how their conditions match your deployment or cluster.
</note>

<dropdown title="Reduce disk size on data nodes">
  **Condition**: Always shown for this insight.Disk usage on cold nodes is below 48 GB%. Switch to smaller disks to improve utilization while keeping enough headroom for growth.
</dropdown>

<dropdown title="Reduce data node count">
  **Condition**: Always shown for this insight.Disk usage on cold nodes is below 48 GB%. Scale down the tier if remaining capacity still meets your headroom target.
</dropdown>


#### Background and impact

When provisioned disk stays underused for a sustained period, you pay for storage capacity the cluster is not using.
Cold tiers are cost-sensitive. Sustained low utilization usually means volumes or node count exceed what ILM retention and growth require.
If underutilization continues, storage cost remains higher than the current data footprint requires. Keep enough headroom for expected growth before you rightsize.