Amazon EC2 (Elastic Compute Cloud) – Complete Deep Guide
Amazon EC2 (Elastic Compute Cloud) – Complete Deep Guide
What is Amazon EC2?
Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) is a core service of Amazon Web Services (AWS) that provides resizable virtual servers (instances) in the cloud. It allows users to run applications without investing in physical hardware.
EC2 offers scalability, flexibility, security, and cost control.
Key Features of Amazon EC2
- On-demand virtual machines
- Scalable compute capacity
- Multiple instance types for different workloads
- Secure networking with VPC
- Integration with AWS services (S3, RDS, IAM, ELB, Auto Scaling)
- Pay-as-you-go pricing
Types of Amazon EC2 Instances (VERY IMPORTANT)
EC2 instances are categorized based on workload requirements.
1. General Purpose Instances
Balanced compute or Balanced instances that provide a mix of CPU, memory, and networking, suitable for most applications.
Best for:
Web servers, application servers, small databases, development & testing.
Types:
- A Series – A1
- M Series – M4, Ms, Msa, Msad, Msd
- T Series – T2, T3, T3a
Use Cases:
- Web servers
- Application servers
- Small & medium databases
- Development & testing
2. Compute Optimized Instances
High CPU performance, Instances designed with minimal memory overhead.
Best for:
High-performance web servers, batch processing, scientific modeling, gaming servers.
Types:
- C4
- C5
- C5n
Use Cases:
- High-performance web servers
- Machine learning inference
- Batch processing
- Gaming servers
3. Memory Optimized Instances
Instances that provide large amounts of RAM for memory-intensive applications.
Best for:
In-memory databases, real-time big data analytics, caching, SAP HANA.
Types:
- R Series – R4, R5, R5a, R5ad, R5d
- X Series – X1, X1e
- Z Series – Z1d
Use Cases:
- In-memory databases (Redis, SAP HANA)
- Real-time big data analytics
- High-performance relational databases
4. Storage Optimized Instances
Instances optimized for high disk I/O and low latency storage.
Best for:
Data warehousing, log processing, distributed file systems, NoSQL databases.
Types:
- I Series – I3, I34
- D Series – D2
- H Series – H1
Use Cases:
- Data warehousing
- Log processing
- NoSQL databases
- Distributed file systems
5. Accelerated Computing Instances
Instances that use hardware accelerators like GPUs, FPGAs, or custom chips to speed up workloads.
Best for:
Machine learning, deep learning, graphics rendering, video encoding.
Types:
- P Series – P2, P3 (Machine Learning)
- G Series – G2, G3 (Graphics)
- F Series – F1 (FPGA)
Use Cases:
- Deep learning training
- AI/ML workloads
- Video rendering
- Scientific simulations
EC2 Instance Types Summary Table
| Category | Instance Families | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| General Purpose | A,M,P | Balanced workloads |
| Compute Optimized | C | CPU-intensive tasks |
| Memory Optimized | R,X,Z | RAM-heavy workloads |
| Storage Optimized | I,D,H | Fast disk access |
| Accelerated | P,G,F | AI/ML & graphics |
EC2 Instances Purchasing (VERY IMPORTANT)
1. On-Demand Instances
- Pay per second/hour
- No long-term commitment
- Best for short-term usage
2. Reserved Instances
- 1 or 3-year commitment
- Up to 72% cost savings
- Best for steady workloads
3. Spot Instances
- Uses unused AWS capacity
- Cheapest option
- Can be interrupted
4. Dedicated Hosts
- Physical EC2 server
- For compliance & licensing needs
-> Operating Systems Supported
- Amazon Linux
- Ubuntu
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux
- SUSE Linux
- Windows Server
-> Security in EC2
- IAM Roles & Policies
- Security Groups
- Network ACLs
- Encrypted EBS volumes
- Key pairs (SSH access)
-> Common EC2 Use Cases
- Website hosting
- Mobile & web applications
- Big data processing
- AI & ML workloads
- Backup & disaster recovery
- DevOps CI/CD pipelines
-> Official AWS EC2 Learning Links
- EC2 Documentation:
https://docs.aws.amazon.com/ec2/ - EC2 Instance Types:
https://aws.amazon.com/ec2/instance-types/ - EC2 Pricing:
https://aws.amazon.com/ec2/pricing/ - Free Tier EC2:
https://aws.amazon.com/free/
-> EC2 Jobs & Career Roles
- Cloud Engineer
- AWS Solutions Architect
- DevOps Engineer
- Site Reliability Engineer (SRE)
- Cloud Security Engineer
-> *Certifications Related to EC2
- AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner
- AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate
- AWS Certified DevOps Engineer
- AWS Certified Sys Ops Administrator
Whole Guidance of Cloud Computing and DevOps
Follow Us on Instagram: Click here
Join WhatsApp Group: Click Here
Follow our Telegram : Click here
