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EC2 compute service

EC2, AMI, and Marketplace​

  • Instance

Instance is a virtual selfcontained server that runs on the EC2 service. It is a virtual machine that can be configured to run any operating system and software.

  • AMI

AMI stands for Amazon Machine Image. It is a snapshot of an instance that can be used to create new instances. AMI can be public or private.

  • Instance Anatomy

    • Execution Environment: CPU, Memory, Network
    • File System: Storage for the instance
      • Instance Storage: Temporary storage that is lost when the instance is stopped
      • EBS: Elastic Block Store, persistent storage that can be detached and reattached to instances
      • EFS: Elastic File System, network file system that can be attached to multiple instances

  • Lanching AMI Instance

    • Instance Volume Backed AMI

      • Can not be stopped
      • Can only be terminated or restarted
      • Slower boot time
      • Data transfer from the s3 on the first boot

    • EBS Backed AMI

      • Can be stopped
      • Can be terminated or restarted
      • Faster boot time
      • Data transfer from the EBS on the first boot

  • AMI Visibility

    • Public AMI

      • Available to all AWS users
      • Can be used to launch instances
      • Can be copied to create private AMIs

    • Private AMI

      • Available to the owner
      • Can be shared with other AWS accounts
      • Can be copied to create other private AMIs

EC2 Instance Classes​

  • On-demand Instances

    • Pay for what you use
    • No commitment
    • Easy to scale up and down
    • Suitable for unpredictable workloads

  • Reserved Instances

    • Commitment for a period of time
    • Commitment ranges from 1 to 3 years
    • Discounted pricing compared to on-demand instances
    • Good for predictable workloads

  • Spot Instances

    • Bid for unused EC2 capacity
    • Pay the current spot price
    • Good for workloads that are flexible with start and end times

    AWS Rest API​

    • AWS SDKs
      • Software Development Kits
      • Available for multiple programming languages
      • Simplifies the interaction with AWS services