EC2 Instance Types

Amazon Web Services (AWS) offers a variety of EC2 instance types tailored for different use cases. Understanding these options can help you choose the most efficient and cost-effective instance for your application.

General Purpose Instances

These instances offer a balance of compute, memory, and networking resources. They are ideal for a variety of diversified workloads.

Types

• t4g: These instances are powered by Graviton2 processors. They offer a cost-effective option for moderate workloads.
• t3: Best for burstable performance and cost savings. Used for small databases and development environments.
• m5: A good choice for web applications, gaming servers, and app servers. Provides a good balance for memory, storage, and compute.
• m4: Previous generation, still relevant for various applications. Suitable for servers that require a balance of resources.

Compute Optimized Instances

These instances are designed for compute-intensive applications. They offer high-performance processing power.

Types

• c6g: Powered by Graviton2 processors. Great for high-performance computing (HPC) workloads.
• c5: Ideal for batch processing, distributed analytics, and high-performance web servers. Provides high-performance processing power at a lower cost.
• c4: Previous generation but still useful for some compute-bound apps.

Memory Optimized Instances

Designed for applications that require a lot of memory. Suitable for in-memory databases and data processing.

Types

• r5: Suitable for high-performance databases and big data processing.
• r4: Previous generation. Still useful for similar workloads as r5.
• x1e: Offers high memory capacities. Used for in-memory databases.

Storage Optimized Instances

These instances are suited for workloads that require high, sequential read and write access to large data sets on local storage.

Types

• i3: Best for workloads that require high, low-latency local storage. Examples include NoSQL databases and data warehousing.
• d2: Ideal for applications that need high disk throughput. Suitable for data warehousing and log processing.

Accelerated Computing Instances

Accelerated computing instances include instances that use hardware accelerators, or co-processors, to perform functions such as floating-point number calculations, graphics processing, or data pattern matching more efficiently.

Types

• p4: Highest performance GPUs. Ideal for Machine Learning and AI.
• p3: Still good for ML and AI workloads, but at a lower cost.
• g4: Good for graphics-intensive applications.

Pricing Options

EC2 instances offer several pricing models. Understanding these can further optimize both performance and costs.

• On-Demand: Pay for the instance by the second with no long-term commitments.
• Reserved: Commit to using an instance for a one or three-year period. Save up to 75% over on-demand pricing.
• Spot Instances: Purchase unused EC2 capacity at a discounted rate up to 90%. Ideal for time-flexible tasks.
• Dedicated Hosts: Physical servers dedicated for your use. Helps to reduce costs by allowing you to use your existing server-bound software licenses.

Use Cases

Each EC2 instance type has a variety of use cases.

• Web Servers: General-purpose instances like t3 and m5 work well.
• Databases: Memory-optimized instances such as r5 or x1e are suitable.
• Machine Learning: Accelerated computing instances like p4 and g4 are ideal.
• Big Data Processing: Compute-optimized instances (c5) or storage-optimized instances (i3) are recommended.
• Gaming Servers: Balanced resources from m5 instances fit well.

Instance Features

Various features enhance the functionality and utility of EC2 instances.

• Elastic Block Store (EBS): Persistent block storage for your instances. Snapshotting becomes easy, and data is persistent.
• Elastic Load Balancing (ELB): Distributes incoming application traffic across multiple targets to increase availability.
• Auto Scaling: Automatically adjusts the number of instances to handle loads. Reduces costs and maintains performance.

Best Practices

To make the best use of EC2 instances, practice these strategies.

• Regularly monitor and analyze instance usage and performance.
• Perform cost and usage audits.
• Utilize auto-scaling to handle variable traffic.
• Choose the right instance type for your specific workload.
• Take advantage of Reserved Instances for predictable workloads.

By deeply understanding EC2 instance types, you’ll be better equipped to make informed decisions that align with your needs and budget.