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Choices

AWS Server EC2 Tools/Options​

  • AWS Compute Optimizer helps avoid overprovisioning and underprovisioning four types of AWS resources—Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) instance types, Amazon Elastic Block Store (EBS) volumes, Amazon Elastic Container Service (ECS) services on AWS Fargate, and AWS Lambda functions—based on your utilization data.

  • AWS EC2 Instance Type Comparison: This tool allows you to compare the different EC2 instance types and their specifications, such as CPU, memory, storage, and network performance.

  • AWS EC2 Instance Pricing: This tool allows you to compare the hourly and annual prices of different EC2 instance types in different regions.

  • AWS EC2 Instance Recommendations: AWS Trusted Advisor provides recommendations for EC2 instances based on your usage patterns, including best practices for CPU utilization, network, and storage.

Savings Plans​

AWS: "Save up to 72% on EC2, Fargate, and Lambda, when you commit to a consistent amount of usage (measured in $/hour) with a 1 or 3-year term. Savings Plans are similar to Reserved Instances in that they are commitment-based, but offer more flexibility as the savings can be applied across different instance types and Regions."

EC2 Spot Instances​

AWS: "Take advantage of unused EC2 capacity for up to 90% off On-Demand pricing. Spot Instances are perfect for fault-tolerant, stateless applications like containers, big data, AI/ML and more"

EC2 Auto Scaling​

AWS: "Improve application resiliency and availability by automatically adding or removing EC2 instances and by mixing multiple purchase options and instance types. EC2 Auto Scaling ensures you are not over or under-provisioning compute to match application demand."

AWS Compute Optimizer​

AWS: "Take the guess work out of selecting the right instance. AWS Compute Optimizer recommends instances that balance performance and cost for running workloads. By using the rightsizing recommendations you can save up to 25% on EC2 costs."

EC2 Instance Discovery​

AWS: "Rightsize your compute environment before starting your workload. Specify your hardware requirements and EC2 Instance Discovery will serve you a list of compatible instances to compare across CPU, memory, storage, networking performance, regional presence, pricing, and more."

Cost Explorer​

AWS: "Eliminate underutilized resources with AWS Cost Explorer. AWS Cost Explorer identifies underutilized EC2 instances that may be downsized within the same instance family and provides forecasted spend based on optimization changes you make."

AWS Server EC2 Types​

EC2: General Purpose​

These instances are well suited for a wide range of workloads, including web servers, application servers, and small databases. They are available in a variety of sizes, and provide a balance of compute, memory, and storage resources.

Instance TypeGeneral Purpose
MacAllow you to run on-demand macOS workloads in the cloud
M6in and M6idnIdeal for network-intensive workloads such as backend servers, enterprise, gaming servers, and caching fleets applications
T4gPowered by Arm-based custom built AWS Graviton2 processors
T3Next generation burstable general-purpose instance type
T3aNext generation burstable general-purpose instance type
T2Burstable Performance Instances with the ability to burst above the baseline
T2 UnlimitedCan sustain high CPU performance for as long as a workload needs it
M6gPowered by Arm-based AWS Graviton2 processors
M5Powered by Intel Xeon® Platinum 8175M processors
M4Balance of compute, memory, and network resources
A1Ideal for scale-out and Arm-based workloads

EC2: Compute Optimized​

These instances are designed to provide a high level of CPU performance, and are ideal for workloads that require high computational power such as batch processing, scientific simulations, and video encoding.

Instance TypeCompute Optimized
C7gnPowered by Arm-based AWS Graviton3E processors. They offer up to 200 Gbps of network bandwidth and up to 50% higher packet-processing performance than previous generation C6gn instances.
C6inIdeal for network-intensive workloads such as network virtual appliances, data analytics, high performance computing (HPC), and CPU-based AI/ML. They are powered by 3rd Generation Intel Xeon Scalable processors.
C5Optimized for compute-intensive workloads and deliver cost-effective high performance at a low price per compute ratio.
C4Optimized for compute-intensive workloads and deliver very cost-effective high performance at a low price per compute ratio.

EC2: Memory Optimized:​

These instances are designed to provide a high level of memory performance, and are ideal for workloads that require high memory-to-CPU ratios such as high-performance databases, in-memory analytics, and real-time processing.

Instance TypeMemory Optimized
R7iz4th Generation Intel Xeon Scalable processors, ideal for high compute and memory-intensive workloads
R6a3rd generation AMD EPYC processors, ideal for memory intensive workloads
R55% additional memory per vCPU than R4 and the largest size provides 768 GiB of memory. 10% price per GiB improvement and a ~20% increased CPU performance over R4
R4Optimized for memory-intensive applications and offer better price per GiB of RAM than R3
X1Optimized for enterprise-class databases and in-memory applications
High MemoryPurpose built to run large in-memory databases, including production deployments of SAP HANA, in the cloud

EC2: Storage Optimized​

These instances are designed to provide high levels of I/O performance and large amounts of storage. They are ideal for workloads that require high I/O performance, such as NoSQL databases, data warehousing, and big data processing.

Instance TypeDescription
M4Powered by AWS Graviton2 processors and provide the best price performance for storage-intensive workloads in Amazon EC2
I3Non-Volatile Memory Express (NVMe) SSD-backed instance storage optimized for low latency, very high random I/O performance, high sequential read throughput and provide high IOPS at a low cost
D2Up to 48 TB of HDD-based local storage, deliver high disk throughput, and offer the lowest price per disk throughput performance on Amazon EC2
H1Up to 16 TB of HDD-based local storage, deliver high disk throughput, and a balance of compute and memory

EC2: GPU instances​

These instances are designed to provide a high level of GPU performance, and are ideal for workloads that require high-performance graphics and parallel processing such as video encoding, machine learning and scientific simulations.

EC2: Accelerated Computing​

Accelerated computing instances use hardware accelerators, or co-processors, to perform functions, such as floating point number calculations, graphics processing, or data pattern matching, more efficiently than is possible in software running on CPUs.

HPC Optimized​

High performance computing (HPC) instances are purpose built to offer the best price performance for running HPC workloads at scale on AWS. HPC instances are ideal for applications that benefit from high-performance processors such as large, complex simulations and deep learning workloads.

EC2: ARM instances​

These instances are designed to provide a low-cost solution for workloads that are compatible with ARM-based processors, such as web servers, containerized microservices, and lightweight databases.

EC2: FPGA instances​

These instances are designed to provide a high level of performance for workloads that require high-speed processing, such as

AWS Serverless​

AWS Compute​

AWS Container​