Before we talk about AWS EC2 let’s try to answer a question, What is cloud computing?
I would say that it’s a service that basically offers computing, storage, networking, database management, logs, and analytics over the Internet.
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What is AWS EC2?
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How is EC2 re-sizable?
Server instances are re-sizable because you can scale them up or down as your computing needs change.
If your instance has plenty of capacity, but it is not being used, then you can reduce the number of instances by scaling down the current server instance. In addition, if an instance is too big for its workload, then scaling up will increase its performance by adding more CPUs and memory. You can also terminate an instance to save on costs when there is no need for it anymore.
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So what is an Instance?
An instance is a virtual server in the cloud. You can launch different types of instances, each with different computing and memory capacities. When you launch an instance, you select an Amazon Machine Image (AMI), which contains the operating system and software configuration for your instance. You can also choose to launch instances with preconfigured applications from the AWS Marketplace.
Benefits of AWS EC2
Now that we have gone over what AWS EC2 is, let’s explore its benefits and how it is an integral part of the AWS system.
- Pay-as-you-go
- Elasticity
- Increased Reliability
- Auto-scaling
Pay-as-you-go:
Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) is a pay-as-you-go cloud computing service that allows you to launch virtual machines (VMs), which are basically servers, on demand. This means that you only pay for the computing time that you use, which can save you a lot of money compared to traditional server hosting options.
Elasticity:
By its very nature, the EC2 is elastic, meaning a user can launch, terminate, and create server instances as required, paying by the second for active servers.
Reliability:
You can store more than one copy of your application in more than one data center so that when one data center is having a problem, the application will not go down completely, making it reliable.
Auto Scaling:
In AWS EC2 resources are automatically scaled according to demand, either scaling up or scaling down as demand increases or decreases.
Types of AWS EC2
Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud offers a variety of computing instances, each with different capabilities.
- The most common instance type is the general purpose instance, which is a good all-around choice for many applications.
- If you need more CPU power, you can choose a compute-optimized instance.
- For applications that need lots of memory, there are memory-optimized instances.
- For storage-intensive applications, there are storage-optimized instances.
- There are also instances designed for special purposes like graphic rendering and video encoding called GPU instances.
There are instances optimized for different workloads for each type of instance:
AWS Security: How should I secure my AWS EC2?
- By controlling network access to your instances, for example, by configuring your VPC and security groups.
- Manage the credentials you use to connect to your instances.
- Manage the guest operating system and software, including updates and security patches.
- Configure the AWS IAM roles attached to the instance and the permissions associated with each.
Understanding the EC2 Price Model
AWS EC2 is a cloud computing platform that offers pay-as-you-go pricing. This means that you only pay for the resources that you use, and you can scale up or down as needed. Plus, there are no long-term contr