AWS EC2 Instance Types
Amazon Web Services (AWS) Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) instances are virtual servers that
provide resizable compute capacity in the cloud. AWS offers various EC2 instance types,
each optimized for different use cases. Here’s an overview of some common EC2 instance
types:
General Purpose Instances
t3, t3a, t4g
Provide a balance of compute, memory, and networking resources and can handle a variety
of workloads. T instances are burstable, meaning they can handle sudden increases in
traffic.
m5, m5a, m5n, m5zn
Offer a balance of compute, memory, and network resources and are suitable for a wide
range of applications.
Compute Optimized Instances
c5, c5a, c5n
Ideal for compute-intensive applications that benefit from high-performance processors.
Suitable for batch processing, high-performance web servers, and scientific modeling.
Memory Optimized Instances
r5, r5a, r5n
Designed for memory-intensive applications, these instances are perfect for high-
performance databases, distributed web scale in-memory caches, and real-time big data
analytics.
x1, x1e, x2idn, x2iedn
Provide large amounts of memory, ideal for running in-memory databases such as SAP
HANA.
Storage Optimized Instances
i3, i3en
Equipped with high-throughput, low-latency local storage, these instances are optimized for
I/O-intensive applications. Ideal for NoSQL databases, data warehousing, and Elasticsearch
workloads.
d2, d3, d3en
Provide high disk throughput and offer a large amount of HDD-based storage, suitable for
big data applications and distributed file systems.
Accelerated Computing Instances
p3, p4
Designed for machine learning, high-performance computing (HPC), and graphics
processing unit (GPU)-based applications.
g4ad, g4dn
Equipped with GPUs and optimized for graphics-intensive applications like game streaming,
video transcoding, and machine learning inference.
Networking Optimized Instances
f1
Include FPGAs (Field Programmable Gate Arrays) that can be used to accelerate specific
types of computations.
inf1
Optimized for machine learning inference applications, providing high performance at low
cost.
High Memory Instances
u-6tb1, u-9tb1, u-12tb1
Offer large amounts of memory (up to 12 TB) and are used for large-scale, in-memory
databases and applications like SAP HANA.
Bare Metal Instances
i3.metal, m5.metal, c5.metal
Provide direct access to physical hardware and are used for applications requiring direct
hardware access, such as specialized workloads and licensing.
