​
Pelanor Cost Allocation Strategies

Cost Allocation Strategies Image

​
Cost Allocation Strategies Overview

Cost Allocation Strategies (CAS) in Pelanor let you distribute shared costs across the dimensions that matter to your business. Typical uses include:
  • Splitting recurring CSP costs (licensing, support fees) evenly across departments
  • Allocating shared networking costs to product lines based on proportional usage
  • Spreading data-warehouse costs to departments by query volume or runtime
Once activated, CAS adjustments appear in every report and dashboard.

​
Viewing and Editing Cost Allocation Strategies

Cost Allocation Strategies Image
If you’re inside a specific workspace, only that workspace’s strategies appear. Switch to the Default Workspace to view or edit cross-workspace strategies. See Workspaces and User Management for details on role-based access.
Open Settings → Cost Allocation Strategies to manage strategies.

​
Custom vs. Predefined Strategies

TypeDescription
PredefinedMaintained by Pelanor to handle nested entities (e.g., databases → VMs). Read-only.
CustomCreated by users with Admin / Workspace Admin roles. All others are read-only.

​
Strategy Execution Order

Strategies run top-to-bottom. Re-order them using Strategies Order. Example:
  1. Distribute Specific Network Costs by Usage – allocate VPC/ELB costs to departments
  2. Allocate Remaining Costs Equally – split licensing/support fees among departments
Reversing the order changes the outcome and may distort allocations.

​
Allocation Types

Pelanor supports three types of cost allocation:

​
Segment Allocation (most common)

Splits costs to custom dimension segments (e.g., departments, product lines). When to use:
  • You need a high-level breakdown by org units
  • Simplicity is more important than fine-grained accuracy
Example: Three product lines share resources; costs are split proportionally. Key parameters:
SettingNotes
Allocation MethodProportional, Fixed, or Metric-based
DimensionDimension whose segments receive the allocation

​
Relational Allocation

Maps costs among interdependent resources (e.g., DB costs to workloads). When to use:
  • You need usage-based splits that follow cross-service relationships
Example: A database serves 3 workloads → split costs by query count. Key parameter:
  • Filter (optional) – limits the source cost pool

​
Scope Allocation

Allocates costs by cloud scopes: Billing Account, Subaccount, Region, AZ. When to use:
  • You need visibility by infra/geography rather than business team
Example: Break down costs per region to surface hot zones Key parameters:
SettingNotes
Distribution ScopeBilling Account, Subaccount, AZ, Region
Allocation MetricDetermines how costs are proportioned
Filter (optional)Restricts source costs

​
Creating a Cost Allocation Strategy

1

Define Source Costs

Cost Allocation Strategies Image
  • Select allocation conditions – e.g., filter for aws_networking, VPC, ELB
  • Configure waste allocation – default: Include Unutilized Capacity
  • Choose usage subcategories – e.g., Cross AZ Traffic
  • Core vs. Associated – use Associated unless it’s baseline (e.g., control plane)
2

Cost Recipient Configuration

Cost Allocation Strategies Image
See Allocation Types section above for detailed explanations.
  • Select Allocation Type
  • Choose Allocation Method
  • Specify Parameters – dimension, metric, or fixed shares
3

Simulate and Save Strategy

  • Click Simulate to preview the resource graph and flows
  • Click Save to activate
By following these steps, you’ll enable accurate and meaningful cost distribution across departments, product lines, or any custom dimension in your Pelanor environment.