This service from Amazon provides secure, resizable compute capacity in the cloud as Amazon EC2 instances.
With an Amazon EC2 instance you can use a virtual server to run applications in the AWS Cloud, where you can:
Provision and launch Amazon EC2 instances within minutes
Stop using it when you have finished running a workload.
Pay only for the compute time you use when an instance is running, not when it is stopped or terminated.
Save costs by paying only for server capacity that you need or want.
Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) instances are optimized for different tasks. To choose from the right one for you, take into consideration the types and characteristics of each one:
General purpose instances provide a balance of compute, memory, and networking resources. Use this type of EC2 for applications that do not require optimization in any single resource area.
Compute optimized instances are ideal for compute-bound applications that benefic from high-performance processors. These EC2 are ideal for high-performance web-servers, compute-intensive applications servers, and dedicated gaming servers.
Memory optimized instances are designed to deliver fast performance for workloads that process large datasets in memory (temporary storage area). The memory holds are the data and instructions that a central processing unit (CPU) needs to be able to complete actions. Ideal for workload that requires large amounts of data to be preloaded before running an application.
Accelerated computing instances use hardware accelerators, or coprocessors, to perform some functions more efficiently than is possible in software running on CPUs. Accelerated computing instances are ideal for workloads such as graphics applications, game streaming, and application streaming.
Storage optimized instances are designed for workloads that require high, sequential read and write access to large datasets on local storage. Examples of workloads suitable for storage optimized instances include distributed file systems, data warehousing applications, and high-frequency online transaction processing (OLTP) systems.
On demand instances are ideal for short-term, irregular workloads that cannot be interrupted. The instances run continuously until you stop them, and you pay for only the compute time you use.
Reserved instances are a billing discount applied to the use of On-demand instances in your account. There are two available types of Reserved instances:
Standard Reserved Instances: These are EC2 instances with static characteristics.
Convertible Reserved Instances: These EC2 instances can be change to different Availability Zones or different instance types. Trade flexibility in exchange of a higher cost.
EC2 Instance Savings Plans are commitments to an instance family and Region for a 1-year or 3-year term. The EC2 Instances Saving Plans are a good option if you need flexibility in your Amazon EC2 usage over the duration of the commitment term.
Spot Instances are ideal for workloads with flexible start and end times, or that can withstand interruptions.
If you make a Spot request and Amazon EC2 capacity is available, your Spot Instance launches. However, if you make a Spot request and Amazon EC2 capacity is unavailable, the request is not successful until capacity becomes available. The unavailable capacity might delay the launch of your background processing job.
Dedicated Hosts are physical servers with Amazon EC2 instance capacity that is fully dedicated to your use.
You can use your existing per-socket, per-core, or per-VM software licenses to help maintain license compliance. You can purchase On-Demand Dedicated Hosts and Dedicated Hosts Reservations. Of all the Amazon EC2 options that were covered, Dedicated Hosts are the most expensive.
