How to fix Error: Error creating EBS Volume: VolumeLimitExceeded in Terraform

First, confirm that the error is indeed VolumeLimitExceeded by checking the EC2 instance state reason in the AWS console:

1. Navigate to EC2 Dashboard > Instances
2. Find the failed instance (usually in 'terminated' state)
3. Check the "Instance State Transition Reason" field
4. You should see: "Client.VolumeLimitExceeded: Volume limit exceeded"

Alternatively, use the AWS CLI to inspect the instance:

aws ec2 describe-instances --instance-id <instance-id> --query 'Reservations[0].Instances[0].StateTransitionReason'

This confirms whether the error is volume-related before proceeding with fixes.

The quickest fix is to remove unneeded EBS volumes:

1. Navigate to EC2 Dashboard > Elastic Block Store > Volumes
2. Filter for volumes in your target region
3. Select volumes that are not "in-use" (unattached volumes)
4. Right-click > Delete Volume

You can also delete via AWS CLI:

# List all available volumes in a region
aws ec2 describe-volumes --region us-east-1 --query 'Volumes[?State==`available`].{Id:VolumeId,Size:Size,Type:VolumeType}'

# Delete a specific volume
aws ec2 delete-volume --volume-id vol-1234567890abcdef0 --region us-east-1

Deleting unused volumes immediately frees up quota for new volumes.

If you need more volumes, request a quota increase through the AWS Service Quotas console:

1. Go to https://console.aws.amazon.com/servicequotas/home/services/ec2/quotas/
2. Select your target region from the top-right dropdown
3. Search for quota names like:
- "Storage for General Purpose SSD (gp2) volumes"
- "Storage for General Purpose SSD (gp3) volumes"
- "Number of EBS volumes"
- "IOPS for Provisioned IOPS SSD (io1) volumes"
4. Click the quota name
5. Click "Request quota increase"
6. Enter your desired value
7. Click "Request"

AWS typically processes quota increase requests within a few minutes. You can also use the AWS CLI:

# Get current quota for gp2 volumes
aws service-quotas get-service-quota --service-code ebs --quota-code L-C18FBD6D --region us-east-1

# Request an increase
aws service-quotas request-service-quota-increase --service-code ebs --quota-code L-C18FBD6D --desired-value 150 --region us-east-1

If you have legitimate needs for more volumes, update your Terraform code:

Option 1: Verify volume_type is set correctly

resource "aws_ebs_volume" "example" {
  availability_zone = "us-east-1a"
  size              = 100
  type              = "gp3"  # Explicitly set to gp3 instead of defaulting to io1

  tags = {
    Name = "example-volume"
  }
}

Option 2: Spread resources across regions

# Instead of creating all volumes in one region, distribute across regions
resource "aws_ebs_volume" "example" {
  for_each = toset(["us-east-1a", "eu-west-1a"])

  availability_zone = each.key
  size              = 100
  type              = "gp3"

  tags = {
    Name = "example-volume-${each.key}"
  }
}

Option 3: Use lifecycle policies to clean up old volumes

resource "aws_ebs_volume" "example" {
  availability_zone = "us-east-1a"
  size              = 100
  type              = "gp3"

  tags = {
    Name = "example-volume"
  }

  lifecycle {
    prevent_destroy = false  # Allow Terraform to delete if needed
  }
}

Once you've deleted unused volumes or your quota increase is approved, re-run Terraform:

# Refresh your plan to see current AWS state
terraform plan

# Apply the configuration
terraform apply

If you were deleting volumes manually, Terraform may try to destroy/recreate resources. Use terraform import to sync state if needed, or use terraform state rm to remove resources that no longer exist in AWS.