Amazon EC2 Basics

Overview

Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) is a core AWS service that offers scalable computing power in the cloud. This section explores essential EC2 concepts, including instance types, purchasing options, and geographic deployment strategies.

Instance Types and Families

Amazon EC2 offers a variety of instance types, each tailored for specific applications.

• General Purpose instances provide a balance of compute, memory, and networking resources, making them suitable for tasks like web servers and development environments.

• For computing-intensive tasks, Compute Optimized instances deliver enhanced processing capabilities, ideal for high-performance web servers or batch computing.

• Memory Optimized instances, with their high memory-to-CPU ratio, are perfect for in-memory databases, big data analytics, and real-time processing.

• When applications demand high, consistent I/O performance, Storage Optimized instances are the go-to choice, supporting data warehousing and high-frequency online transaction processing systems.

• Lastly, Accelerated Computing instances leverage hardware accelerators for compute-heavy workloads, including graphics, video encoding, and machine learning.

Selecting the appropriate instance type is essential for achieving a balance between performance and cost.

Purchasing Options

EC2 provides several purchasing models to meet diverse cost and flexibility requirements.

• On-Demand instances allow you to pay for compute capacity by the hour or second, making them ideal for applications with unpredictable or short-term needs.

• Reserved instances offer significant cost savings for predictable workloads when you commit to a one- or three-year term.

• For flexible, interruptible workloads, Spot instances utilize spare EC2 capacity at steep discounts, suitable for tasks like batch job processing.

• Savings Plans provide discounts for committing to a consistent amount of compute usage, offering more flexibility than Reserved Instances.

Choosing the right purchasing option based on workload patterns is crucial for cost optimization.

Regions and Availability Zones (AZs)

EC2 services are distributed globally to enhance performance and reliability. Regions are geographic areas that contain multiple, isolated Availability Zones (AZs), designed to minimize latency for users worldwide. Each AZ is a physically separate and independent infrastructure within a region, ensuring high availability and fault tolerance. By deploying across multiple AZs within a region, you can maintain application operations even if one AZ fails. Strategically placing EC2 resources across regions and AZs significantly boosts application resilience and performance.

Key Takeaways

• Instance Selection: Align EC2 instance types with workload requirements for optimal performance.
• Purchasing: Choose EC2 purchasing options that match your workload's predictability and flexibility needs to manage costs effectively.
• Geographic Deployment: Utilize multiple regions and AZs to ensure high availability, fault tolerance, and proximity to users for enhanced application performance.