What term is used for resources that are not connected to any project and are no longer needed in cloud environments?

The term used for resources that are not connected to any project and are no longer needed in cloud environments is "orphaned resources." This refers specifically to instances, storage volumes, or other assets that were created but are no longer associated with active projects or workloads. Orphaned resources can lead to unnecessary costs as they still consume cloud resources and may require management overhead. Identifying and cleaning up orphaned resources is a crucial aspect of cloud resource management to optimize performance and cost effectiveness.

In contrast, other options do not accurately describe this phenomenon. "Stale services" may imply that a service is outdated but does not specifically convey the idea of disconnection from an active project. "DNS" refers to Domain Name System, which is unrelated to the concept of unutilized resources in cloud environments. The term "dashboard service" generally pertains to a graphical interface for monitoring and managing services, rather than a classification of unused resources. Hence, "orphaned resources" is the term that accurately captures the essence of resources that currently serve no active purpose in a cloud context.