Which type of Amazon EC2 instances should be used to reduce the cost of the system?

Amazon EC2 Cost Optimization Guide

How to Choose the Right Amazon EC2 Instance Type

Deconstructing EC2 Families & Instance Types

AWS offers over 300 EC2 instance types across five EC2 instance families, each with varying resource and performance focuses.

In this video, Densify’s experts summarize the strengths of the most commonly-used EC2 instance types and offer guidelines on how to identify the EC2 instance that provides the best resources for your application workload for the lowest price.

Amazon EC2 Basics

Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) is an AWS service offering that delivers secure and scalable cloud compute capacity.

Each of your EC2 instances is a virtual server providing compute power capable of running apps within the AWS public cloud.

EC2 instances are launched by created by an Amazon Machine Image (AMI)—an AWS template that describes and defines the OS and operating environment for one or more EC2 instances of one or more EC2 instance types.

Each instance type delivers a mix of CPU, memory, storage, and networking capacity, across one or more size options, and should be carefully matched to your workload’s unique demands.

AWS groups instances into families that offer discreet abilities for your workloads:

1. General Purpose
2. Compute Optimized
3. Memory Optimized
4. Accelerated Computing
5. Storage Optimized

The elastic designation in Elastic Compute Cloud refers to the ability to increase your EC2 instance footprint on demand—up or down—manually, or automatically through Auto Scaling.

At the time of writing, there are nearly 280 EC2 instance types available across nearly 25 regions and 70 availability zones—yielding millions of possible permutations to choose from when optimizing the EC2 instance selection for your workload.

So, how do you choose?

Although other public cloud providers may leverage different groupings and terminologies for their compute service offerings, the general concepts outlined below will apply.

The Benefits of Each EC2 Instance Family

General Purpose EC2 Instance Family

General purpose instances are designed for scalable services, such as web servers, microservices, and distributed data stores. Within the general purpose family there are A1, T4g, T3, T3a, T2, M6g, M5, M5a, M5n, and M4 instance types.

Amazon EC2 A1 Instance Type

The A1 type is used for Arm processor-based workloads.

Current-Generation Amazon EC2 A1 Instances

Instance SizevCPUMem (GiB)StorageNetwork Performance (Gbps)

a1.medium	1	2	EBS	Up to 10
a1.large	2	4	EBS	Up to 10
a1.xlarge	4	8	EBS	Up to 10
a1.2xlarge	8	16	EBS	Up to 10
a1.4xlarge	16	32	EBS	Up to 10
a1.metal	16	32	EBS	Up to 10

Amazon EC2 T4g Instance Types

Amazon EC2 T4g instances are EBS-optimized for enhanced networking, and each contain a custom AWS Graviton2 processor with a 64-bit Arm core. T4g instances deliver up to 40% better performance for the price than T3 instances and are appropriate for a broad set of burstable general purpose workloads, including microservices, low-latency interactive applications, small and medium databases, virtual desktops, development environments, code repos, and business-critical apps.

AWS T4g instances earn CPU credits when workloads operate below the baseline threshold. Each accumulated CPU credit can be used to burst to full CPU core performance for one minute. In unlimited mode, T4g instances can burst for as long as required at any time.

Current-Generation Amazon EC2 t4g Instances

Instance SizevCPUMemory (GiB)Baseline Performance / vCPUCPU Credits Earned / HrNetwork Burst BandwidthEBS Burst Bandwidth

t4g.nano	2	0.5	5%	6	Up to 5 Gbps	Up to 2,085 Mbps
t4g.micro	2	1	10%	12	Up to 5 Gbps	Up to 2,085 Mbps
t4g.small	2	2	20%	24	Up to 5 Gbps	Up to 2,085 Mbps
t4g.medium	2	4	20%	24	Up to 5 Gbps	Up to 2,085 Mbps
t4g.large	2	8	30%	36	Up to 5 Gbps	Up to 2,780 Mbps
t4g.xlarge	4	16	40%	96	Up to 5 Gbps	Up to 2,780 Mbps
t4g.2xlarge	8	32	40%	192	Up to 5 Gbps	Up to 2,780 Mbps

Amazon EC2 T3, T3a, T2 Instance Types

The T3s are burstable general purpose instance types that provide a baseline of CPU performance, but can burst to higher levels of CPU performance during spikes in CPU demand.

T3 instances, and the next-generation version, T3a, are configured with a balance of CPU, memory, and networking resources. There are 7 T3 instance types, ranging from t3.nano with two virtual CPUs and 0.5GB of memory to t3.2xlarge with eight virtual CPUs and 32GB of memory.

T3 instance types are configured by default to increase CPU bursting without limit. This helps prevent insufficient CPU, but also leaves customers at risk of paying more than they have to for the same level of CPU resources. The T3 instances use the Nitro system, which enables network and EBS bursting, as well.

Current-Generation Amazon EC2 T3, T3a, & T2 Instances

Instance SizevCPUCPU Credits/hourMem (GiB)StorageNetwork Performance

t3.nano	2	6	0.5	EBS	Up to 5 Gbps
t3.micro	2	12	1	EBS	Up to 5 Gbps
t3.small	2	24	2	EBS	Up to 5 Gbps
t3.medium	2	24	4	EBS	Up to 5 Gbps
t3.large	2	36	8	EBS	Up to 5 Gbps
t3.xlarge	4	96	16	EBS	Up to 5 Gbps
t3.2xlarge	8	192	32	EBS	Up to 5 Gbps
t3a.nano	2	6	0.5	EBS	Up to 5 Gbps
t3a.micro	2	12	1	EBS	Up to 5 Gbps
t3a.small	2	24	2	EBS	Up to 5 Gbps
t3a.medium	2	24	4	EBS	Up to 5 Gbps
t3a.large	2	36	8	EBS	Up to 5 Gbps
t3a.xlarge	4	96	16	EBS	Up to 5 Gbps
t3a.2xlarge	8	192	32	EBS	Up to 5 Gbps
t2.nano	1	3	0.5	EBS	Low
t2.micro	1	6	1	EBS	Low to Moderate
t2.small	1	12	2	EBS	Low to Moderate
t2.medium	2	24	4	EBS	Low to Moderate
t2.large	2	36	8	EBS	Low to Moderate
t2.xlarge	4	54	16	EBS	Moderate
t2.2xlarge	8	81	32	EBS	Moderate

Amazon EC2 M6g Instance Type

Amazon EC2 M6g instances are driven by 64-bit Neoverse Arm-based AWS Graviton2 processors that deliver up to 40% improvement in price and performance beyond current generation M5 instances and enable a balance of compute, memory, and networking resources to support a broad set of workloads.

Current-Generation Amazon EC2 M6g Instances

Instance SizevCPUMemory (GiB)Instance Storage (GIB)Network Bandwidth (Gbps)EBS Bandwidth (Mbps)

m6g.medium	1	4	EBS	Up to 10	Up to 4,750
m6g.large	2	8	EBS	Up to 10	Up to 4,750
m6g.xlarge	4	16	EBS	Up to 10	Up to 4,750
m6g.2xlarge	8	32	EBS	Up to 10	Up to 4,750
m6g.4xlarge	16	64	EBS	Up to 10	4,750
m6g.8xlarge	32	128	EBS	12	9,000
m6g.12xlarge	48	192	EBS	20	13,500
m6g.16xlarge	64	256	EBS	25	19,000
m6g.metal	64	256	EBS	25	19,000
m6gd.medium	1	4	1x59 NVMe SSD	Up to 10	Up to 4,750
m6gd.large	2	8	1x118 NVMe SSD	Up to 10	Up to 4,750
m6gd.xlarge	4	16	1x237 NVMe SSD	Up to 10	Up to 4,750
m6gd.2xlarge	8	32	1x474 NVMe SSD	Up to 10	Up to 4,750
m6gd.4xlarge	16	64	1x950 NVMe SSD	Up to 10	4,750
m6gd.8xlarge	32	128	1x1900 NVMe SSD	12	9,000
m6gd.12xlarge	48	192	2x1425 NVMe SSD	20	13,500
m6gd.16xlarge	64	256	2x1900 NVMe SSD	25	19,000
m6gd.metal	64	256	2x1900 NVMe SSD	25	19,000

Amazon EC2 M5, M5a, M5n, & M4 Instance Types

The M5, M5a, M5n, and M4 instances are also balanced CPU and memory instances. They’re designed for small and midsize databases and back-end applications.

Current-Generation Amazon EC2 M5, M5a, & M5n Instances

Instance SizevCPUMemory (GiB)Instance Storage (GiB)Network Bandwidth (Gbps)EBS Bandwidth (Mbps)

m5.large	2	8	EBS	Up to 10	Up to 4,750
m5.xlarge	4	16	EBS	Up to 10	Up to 4,750
m5.2xlarge	8	32	EBS	Up to 10	Up to 4,750
m5.4xlarge	16	64	EBS	Up to 10	4,750
m5.8xlarge	32	128	EBS	10	6,800
m5.12xlarge	48	192	EBS	10	9,500
m5.16xlarge	64	256	EBS	20	13,600
m5.24xlarge	96	384	EBS	25	19,000
m5.metal	96	384	EBS	25	19,000
m5d.large	2	8	1x75 NVMe SSD	Up to 10	Up to 4,750
m5d.xlarge	4	16	1x150 NVMe SSD	Up to 10	Up to 4,750
m5d.2xlarge	8	32	1x300 NVMe SSD	Up to 10	Up to 4,750
m5d.4xlarge	16	64	2x300 NVMe SSD	Up to 10	4,750
m5d.8xlarge	32	128	2x600 NVMe SSD	10	6,800
m5d.12xlarge	48	192	2x900 NVMe SSD	10	9,500
m5d.16xlarge	64	256	4x600 NVMe SSD	20	13,600
m5d.24xlarge	96	384	4x900 NVMe SSD	25	19,000
m5d.metal	96	384	4x900 NVMe SSD	25	19,000
m5a.large	2	8	EBS	Up to 10	Up to 2,880
m5a.xlarge	4	16	EBS	Up to 10	Up to 2,880
m5a.2xlarge	8	32	EBS	Up to 10	Up to 2,880
m5a.4xlarge	16	64	EBS	Up to 10	2,880
m5a.8xlarge	32	128	EBS	Up to 10	4,750
m5a.12xlarge	48	192	EBS	10	6,780
m5a.16xlarge	64	256	EBS	12	9,500
m5a.24xlarge	96	384	EBS	20	13,570
m5ad.large	2	8	1x75 NVMe SSD	Up to 10	Up to 2,880
m5ad.xlarge	4	16	1x150 NVMe SSD	Up to 10	Up to 2,880
m5ad.2xlarge	8	32	1x300 NVMe SSD	Up to 10	Up to 2,880
m5ad.4xlarge	16	64	2x300 NVMe SSD	Up to 10	2,880
m5ad.8xlarge	32	128	2x600 NVMe SSD	Up to 10	4,750
m5ad.12xlarge	48	192	2x900 NVMe SSD	10	6,870
m5ad.16xlarge	64	256	4x600 NVMe SSD	12	9,500
m5ad.24xlarge	96	384	4x900 NVMe SSD	20	13,570
m5n.large	2	8	EBS	Up to 25	Up to 4,750
m5n.xlarge	4	16	EBS	Up to 25	Up to 4,750
m5n.2xlarge	8	32	EBS	Up to 25	Up to 4,750
m5n.4xlarge	16	64	EBS	Up to 25	4,750
m5n.8xlarge	32	128	EBS	25	6,800
m5n.12xlarge	48	192	EBS	50	9,500
m5n.16xlarge	64	256	EBS	75	13,600
m5n.24xlarge	96	384	EBS	100	19,000
m5dn.large	2	8	1x75 NVMe SSD	Up to 25	Up to 4,750
m5dn.xlarge	4	16	1x150 NVMe SSD	Up to 25	Up to 4,750
m5dn.2xlarge	8	32	1x300 NVMe SSD	Up to 25	Up to 4,750
m5dn.4xlarge	16	64	2x300 NVMe SSD	Up to 25	4,750
m5dn.8xlarge	32	128	2x600 NVMe SSD	25	6,800
m5dn.12xlarge	48	192	2x900 NVMe SSD	50	9,500
m5dn.16xlarge	64	256	4x600 NVMe SSD	75	13,600
m5dn.24xlarge	96	384	4x900 NVMe SSD	100	19,000

Current-Generation Amazon EC2 M4 Instances

Instance SizevCPUMem (GiB)StorageDedicated EBS Bandwidth (Mbps)Network Performance

m4.large	2	8	EBS	450	Moderate
m4.xlarge	4	16	EBS	750	High
m4.2xlarge	8	32	EBS	1,000	High
m4.4xlarge	16	64	EBS	2,000	High
m4.10xlarge	40	160	EBS	4,000	10 gigabit
m4.16xlarge	64	256	EBS	10,000	25 gigabit

Start Optimizing Your Cloud & Container Resources

Compute Optimized EC2 Instance Family

The C5, C5n, and C4 instance types offer the lowest price per CPU ratio of the instance types. These are designed for compute-intensive workloads, like batch processing, data analytics, machine learning, and high-performance computing. The C5 come in nine different models, from the c5.large with two virtual CPUs and 4GB of memory to the c5d.18xlarge with 72 virtual CPUs and 144GB of memory.

Amazon EC2 C5 & C5n Instance Types

Current-Generation Amazon EC2 C5 & C5n Instances

Instance SizevCPUMemory (GiB)Instance Storage (GiB)Network Bandwidth (Gbps)EBS Bandwidth (Mbps)

c6g.medium	1	2	EBS	Up to 10	Up to 4,750
c6g.large	2	4	EBS	Up to 10	Up to 4,750
c6g.xlarge	4	8	EBS	Up to 10	Up to 4,750
c6g.2xlarge	8	16	EBS	Up to 10	Up to 4,750
c6g.4xlarge	16	32	EBS	Up to 10	4750
c6g.8xlarge	32	64	EBS	12	9000
c6g.12xlarge	48	96	EBS	20	13500
c6g.16xlarge	64	128	EBS	25	19000
c6g.metal	64	128	EBS	25	19000
c6gd.medium	1	2	1x59 NVMe SSD	Up to 10	Up to 4,750
c6gd.large	2	4	1x118 NVMe SSD	Up to 10	Up to 4,750
c6gd.xlarge	4	8	1x237 NVMe SSD	Up to 10	Up to 4,750
c6gd.2xlarge	8	16	1x474 NVMe SSD	Up to 10	Up to 4,750
c6gd.4xlarge	16	32	1x950 NVMe SSD	Up to 10	4,750
c6gd.8xlarge	32	64	1x1900 NVMe SSD	12	9,000
c6gd.12xlarge	48	96	2x1425 NVMe SSD	20	13,500
c6gd.16xlarge	64	128	2x1900 NVMe SSD	25	19,000
c6gd.metal	64	128	2x1900 NVMe SSD	25	19,000
c5.large	2	4	EBS	Up to 10	Up to 4,750
c5.xlarge	4	8	EBS	Up to 10	Up to 4,750
c5.2xlarge	8	16	EBS	Up to 10	Up to 4,750
c5.4xlarge	16	32	EBS	Up to 10	4,750
c5.9xlarge	36	72	EBS	10	9,500
c5.12xlarge	48	96	EBS	12	9,500
c5.18xlarge	72	144	EBS	25	19,000
c5.24xlarge	96	192	EBS	25	19,000
c5.metal	96	192	EBS	25	19,000
c5d.large	2	4	1x50 NVMe SSD	Up to 10	Up to 4,750
c5d.xlarge	4	8	1x100 NVMe SSD	Up to 10	Up to 4,750
c5d.2xlarge	8	16	1x200 NVMe SSD	Up to 10	Up to 4,750
c5d.4xlarge	16	32	1x400 NVMe SSD	Up to 10	4,750
c5d.9xlarge	36	72	1x900 NVMe SSD	10	9,500
c5d.12xlarge	48	96	2x900 NVMe SSD	12	9,500
c5d.18xlarge	72	144	2x900 NVMe SSD	25	19,000
c5d.24xlarge	96	192	4x900 NVMe SSD	25	19,000
c5d.metal	96	192	4x900 NVMe SSD	25	19,000
c5a.large	2	4	EBS	Up to 10	Up to 3,170
c5a.xlarge	4	8	EBS	Up to 10	Up to 3,170
c5a.2xlarge	8	16	EBS	Up to 10	Up to 3,170
c5a.4xlarge	16	32	EBS	Up to 10	Up to 3,170
c5a.8xlarge	32	64	EBS	10	3,170
c5a.12xlarge	48	96	EBS	12	4,750
c5a.16xlarge	64	128	EBS	20	6,300
c5a.24xlarge	96	192	EBS	20	9,500
c5ad.large	2	4	1 x 75 NVMe SSD	up to 10	up to 3,170
c5ad.xlarge	4	8	1 x 150 NVMe SSD	up to 10	up to 3,170
c5ad.2xlarge	8	16	1 x 300 NVMe SSD	up to 10	up to 3,170
c5ad.4xlarge	16	32	2 x 300 NVMe SSD	up to 10	up to 3,170
c5ad.8xlarge	32	64	2 x 600 NVMe SSD	10	3,170
c5ad.12xlarge	48	96	2 x 900 NVMe SSD	12	4,750
c5ad.16xlarge	64	128	2 x 1200 NVMe SSD	20	6,300
c5ad.24xlarge	96	192	2 x 1900 NVMe SSD	20	9,500
c5n.large	2	5.25	EBS	Up to 25	Up to 4,750
c5n.xlarge	4	10.5	EBS	Up to 25	Up to 4,750
c5n.2xlarge	8	21	EBS	Up to 25	Up to 4,750
c5n.4xlarge	16	42	EBS	Up to 25	4,750
c5n.9xlarge	36	96	EBS	50	9,500
c5n.18xlarge	72	192	EBS	100	19,000
c5n.metal	72	192	EBS	100	19,000

Amazon EC2 C4 Instance Type

Current-Generation Amazon EC2 C4 Instances

Instance SizevCPUMem (GiB)StorageDedicated EBS Bandwidth (Mbps)Network Performance

c4.large	2	3.75	EBS	500	Moderate
c4.xlarge	4	7.5	EBS	750	High
c4.2xlarge	8	15	EBS	1,000	High
c4.4xlarge	16	30	EBS	2,000	High
c4.8xlarge	36	60	EBS	4,000	10 gigabit

Memory Optimized EC2 Instance Family

The R6g, R5, R5a, R5n, R4, X1e, X1, High Memory (U) and z1d instance types are memory optimized. These are designed for memory-intensive applications such as databases and real-time stream processing.

Amazon EC2 R6g, R5, R5a, & R5n Instance Types

Current-Generation Amazon EC2 R6g, R5, R5a, & R5n Instances

Instance SizevCPUMemory (GiB)Instance StorageNetwork Bandwidth (Gbps)EBS Bandwidth (Mbps)

r6g.medium	1	8	EBS	Up to 10	Up to 4,750
r6g.large	2	16	EBS	Up to 10	Up to 4,750
r6g.xlarge	4	32	EBS	Up to 10	Up to 4,750
r6g.2xlarge	8	64	EBS	Up to 10	Up to 4,750
r6g.4xlarge	16	128	EBS	Up to 10	4750
r6g.8xlarge	32	256	EBS	12	9000
r6g.12xlarge	48	384	EBS	20	13500
r6g.16xlarge	64	512	EBS	25	19000
r6g.metal	64	512	EBS	25	19000
r6gd.medium	1	8	1x59 NVMe SSD	Up to 10	Up to 4,750
r6gd.large	2	16	1x118 NVMe SSD	Up to 10	Up to 4,750
r6gd.xlarge	4	32	1x237 NVMe SSD	Up to 10	Up to 4,750
r6gd.2xlarge	8	64	1x474 NVMe SSD	Up to 10	Up to 4,750
r6gd.4xlarge	16	128	1x950 NVMe SSD	Up to 10	4,750
r6gd.8xlarge	32	256	1x1900 NVMe SSD	12	9,000
r6gd.12xlarge	48	384	2x1425 NVMe SSD	20	13,500
r6gd.16xlarge	64	512	2x1900 NVMe SSD	25	19,000
r6gd.metal	64	512	2x1900 NVMe SSD	25	19,000
r5.large	2	16	EBS	up to 10	Up to 4,750
r5.xlarge	4	32	EBS	up to 10	Up to 4,750
r5.2xlarge	8	64	EBS	up to 10	Up to 4,750
r5.4xlarge	16	128	EBS	up to 10	4,750
r5.8xlarge	32	256	EBS	10	6,800
r5.12xlarge	48	384	EBS	10	9,500
r5.16xlarge	64	512	EBS	20	13,600
r5.24xlarge	96	768	EBS	25	19,000
r5.metal	96	768	EBS	25	19,000
r5d.large	2	16	1x75 NVMe SSD	up to 10	Up to 4,750
r5d.xlarge	4	32	1x150 NVMe SSD	up to 10	Up to 4,750
r5d.2xlarge	8	64	1x300 NVMe SSD	up to 10	Up to 4,750
r5d.4xlarge	16	128	2x300 NVMe SSD	up to 10	4,750
r5d.8xlarge	32	256	2x600 NVMe SSD	10	6,800
r5d.12xlarge	48	384	2x900 NVMe SSD	10	9,500
r5d.16xlarge	64	512	4x600 NVMe SSD	20	13,600
r5d.24xlarge	96	768	4x900 NVMe SSD	25	19,000
r5d.metal	96	768	4x900 NVMe SSD	25	19,000
r5a.large	2	16	EBS	Up to 10	Up to 2,880
r5a.xlarge	4	32	EBS	Up to 10	Up to 2,880
r5a.2xlarge	8	64	EBS	Up to 10	Up to 2,880
r5a.4xlarge	16	128	EBS	Up to 10	2,880
r5a.8xlarge	32	256	EBS	Up to 10	4,750
r5a.12xlarge	48	384	EBS	10	6,780
r5a.16xlarge	64	512	EBS	12	9,500
r5a.24xlarge	96	768	EBS	20	13,570
r5ad.large	2	16	1x75 NVMe SSD	Up to 10	Up to 2,880
r5ad.xlarge	4	32	1x150 NVMe SSD	Up to 10	Up to 2,880
r5ad.2xlarge	8	64	1x300 NVMe SSD	Up to 10	Up to 2,880
r5ad.4xlarge	16	128	2x300 NVMe SSD	Up to 10	2,880
r5ad.8xlarge	32	256	2x600 NVMe SSD	Up to 10	4,750
r5ad.12xlarge	48	384	2x900 NVMe SSD	10	6,780
r5ad.16xlarge	64	512	4x600 NVMe SSD	12	9,500
r5ad.24xlarge	96	768	4x900 NVMe SSD	20	13,570
r5n.large	2	16	EBS	Up to 25	Up to 4,750
r5n.xlarge	4	32	EBS	Up to 25	Up to 4,750
r5n.2xlarge	8	64	EBS	Up to 25	Up to 4,750
r5n.4xlarge	16	128	EBS	Up to 25	4,750
r5n.8xlarge	32	256	EBS	25	6,800
r5n.12xlarge	48	384	EBS	50	9,500
r5n.16xlarge	64	512	EBS	75	13,600
r5n.24xlarge	96	768	EBS	100	19,000
r5dn.large	2	16	1x75 NVMe SSD	Up to 25	Up to 4,750
r5dn.xlarge	4	32	1x150 NVMe SSD	Up to 25	Up to 4,750
r5dn.2xlarge	8	64	1x300 NVMe SSD	Up to 25	Up to 4,750
r5dn.4xlarge	16	128	2x300 NVMe SSD	Up to 25	4,750
r5dn.8xlarge	32	256	2x600 NVMe SSD	25	6,800
r5dn.12xlarge	48	384	2x900 NVMe SSD	50	9,500
r5dn.16xlarge	64	512	4x600 NVMe SSD	75	13,600
r5dn.24xlarge	96	768	4x900 NVMe SSD	100	19,000

Amazon EC2 R4 Instance Type

Current-Generation Amazon EC2 R4 Instances

Instance SizevCPUMem (GiB)StorageNetworking Performance (Gbps)

r4.large	2	15.25	EBS	Up to 10
r4.xlarge	4	30.5	EBS	Up to 10
r4.2xlarge	8	61	EBS	Up to 10
r4.4xlarge	16	122	EBS	Up to 10
r4.8xlarge	32	244	EBS	10
r4.16xlarge	64	488	EBS	25

Amazon EC2 X1e & X1 Instance Types

The X1e and X1 are well-suited for database servers with up to 128 virtual CPUs and 3,904GB of memory.

Current-Generation Amazon EC2 X1e & X1 Instances

Instance SizevCPUMem (GiB)SSD Storage (GB)Dedicated EBS Bandwidth (Mbps)Networking Performance

x1e.xlarge	4	122	1x120	500	Up to 10 gigabit
x1e.2xlarge	8	244	1x240	1,000	Up to 10 gigabit
x1e.4xlarge	16	488	1x480	1,750	Up to 10 gigabit
x1e.8xlarge	32	976	1x960	3,500	Up to 10 gigabit
x1e.16xlarge	64	1,952	1x1,920	7,000	10 gigabit
x1e.32xlarge	128	3,904	2x1,920	14,000	25 gigabit
x1.16xlarge	64	976	1x1,920	7,000	10 gigabit
x1.32xlarge	128	1,952	2x1,920	14,000	25 gigabit

Amazon EC2 High Memory (U) Instance Type

Current-Generation Amazon EC2 High Memory Instances

Instance SizeLogical ProcessorsRAM (GiB)Network Perf (Gbps)Dedicated EBS Bandwidth (Gbps)

u-6tb1.metal	448	6144	100	38
u-9tb1.metal	448	9216	100	38
u-12tb1.metal	448	12288	100	38
u-18tb1.metal	448	18432	100	38
u-24tb1.metal	448	24576	100	38

Amazon EC2 z1d Instance Type

The Z1D is a specialty instance with a 4.0GHz sustained frequency; it’s designed for applications with high per-core licensing costs.

Current-Generation Amazon EC2 z1d Instances

Instance SizevCPUMem (GiB)Networking PerformanceSSD Storage (GB)

z1d.large	2	16	Up to 10 gigabit	1x75 NVMe SSD
z1d.xlarge	4	32	Up to 10 gigabit	1x150 NVMe SSD
z1d.2xlarge	8	64	Up to 10 gigabit	1x300 NVMe SSD
z1d.3xlarge	12	96	Up to 10 gigabit	1x450 NVMe SSD
z1d.6xlarge	24	192	10 gigabit	1x900 NVMe SSD
z1d.12xlarge	48	384	25 gigabit	2x900 NVMe SSD
z1d.metal	48	384	25 gigabit	2x900 NVMe SSD

Accelerated Computing EC2 Instance Family

P3, P2, Inf1, G4, G3, and F1 accelerated computing instances provide graphics processing units (GPUs) or field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) that are used for machine learning, high-performance computing, and other numerically intensive workloads.

Amazon EC2 P1 & P2 Instance Types

Current-Generation Amazon EC2 P1 Instances

Instance SizeGPUsvCPUMem (GiB)GPU Mem (GiB)GPU P2PStorage (GB)Dedicated EBS Bandwidth Networking Performance

p3.2xlarge	1	8	61	16	-	EBS	1.5 Gbps	Up to 10 gigabit
p3.8xlarge	4	32	244	64	NVLink	EBS	7 Gbps	10 gigabit
p3.16xlarge	8	64	488	128	NVLink	EBS	14 Gbps	25 gigabit
p3dn.24xlarge	8	96	768	256	NVLink	2x900 NVMe SSD	19 Gbps	100 gigabit

Current-Generation Amazon EC2 P2 Instances

Instance SizeGPUsvCPUMem (GiB)GPU Memory (GiB)Network Performance

p2.xlarge	1	4	61	12	High
p2.8xlarge	8	32	488	96	10 gigabit
p2.16xlarge	16	64	732	192	25 gigabit

Amazon EC2 Inf1 Instance Type

Current-Generation Amazon EC2 Inf1 Instances

Instance SizevCPUsMemory (GiB)StorageInferentia chipsInferentia chip-to-chip interconnectNetwork bandwidthEBS bandwidth

inf1.xlarge	4	8	EBS	1	N/A	Up to 25 Gbps	Up to 4.75 Gbps
inf1.2xlarge	8	16	EBS	1	N/A	Up to 25 Gbps	Up to 4.75 Gbps
inf1.6xlarge	24	48	EBS	4	Yes	25 Gbps	4.75 Gbps
inf1.24xlarge	96	192	EBS	16	Yes	100 Gbps	19 Gbps

Amazon EC2 G4 & G3 Instance Types

Current-Generation Amazon EC2 G4 Instances

Instance SizeGPUsvCPUMem (GiB)GPU Memory (GiB)Instance Storage (GB)Network Performance (Gbps)

g4dn.xlarge	1	4	16	16	125	Up to 25
g4dn.2xlarge	1	8	32	16	225	Up to 25
g4dn.4xlarge	1	16	64	16	225	Up to 25
g4dn.8xlarge	1	32	128	16	1x900	50
g4dn.16xlarge	1	64	256	16	1x900	50
g4dn.12xlarge	4	48	192	64	1x900	50
g4dn.metal	8	96	384	128	2x900	100

Current-Generation Amazon EC2 G3 Instances

Instance SizeGPUsvCPUMem (GiB)GPU Memory (GiB)Network Performance

g3s.xlarge	1	4	30.5	8	Up to 10 gigabit
g3.4xlarge	1	16	122	8	Up to 10 gigabit
g3.8xlarge	2	32	244	16	10 gigabit
g3.16xlarge	4	64	488	32	25 gigabit

Amazon EC2 F1 Instance Type

Current-Generation Amazon EC2 F1 Instances

Instance SizeFPGAsvCPUMem (GiB)SSD Storage (GB)Networking Performance

f1.2xlarge	1	8	122	470	Up to 10 gigabit
f1.4xlarge	2	16	244	940	Up to 10 gigabit
f1.16xlarge	8	64	976	4x940	25 gigabit

Storage Optimized EC2 Instance Family

The I3, I3en, D2, and H1 families make up the storage optimized instances.

Amazon EC2 I3 & I3en Instance Types

The I3 and I3en use non-volatile memory express (NVMe) SSD storage. These devices are optimized for low latency, random I/O and high sequential reads.

Current-Generation Amazon EC2 I3 Instances

Instance SizevCPUMem (GiB)Local Storage (GB)Networking Performance (Gbps)

i3.large	2	15.25	1x475 NVMe SSD	Up to 10
i3.xlarge	4	30.5	1x950 NVMe SSD	Up to 10
i3.2xlarge	8	61	1x1,900 NVMe SSD	Up to 10
i3.4xlarge	16	122	2x1,900 NVMe SSD	Up to 10
i3.8xlarge	32	244	4x1,900 NVMe SSD	10
i3.16xlarge	64	488	8x1,900 NVMe SSD	25
i3.metal	72	512	8x1,900 NVMe SSD	25

Current-Generation Amazon EC2 I3en Instances

Instance SizevCPUMem (GiB)Local Storage (GB)Network Bandwidth

i3en.large	2	16	1x1,250 NVMe SSD	Up to 25 Gbps
i3en.xlarge	4	32	1x2,500 NVMe SSD	Up to 25 Gbps
i3en.2xlarge	8	64	2x2,500 NVMe SSD	Up to 25 Gbps
i3en.3xlarge	12	96	1x7,500 NVMe SSD	Up to 25 Gbps
i3en.6xlarge	24	192	2x7,500 NVMe SSD	25 Gbps
i3en.12xlarge	48	384	4x7,500 NVMe SSD	50 Gbps
i3en.24xlarge	96	768	8x7,500 NVMe SSD	100 Gbps
i3en.metal	96	768	8x7,500 NVMe SSD	100 Gbps

Amazon EC2 D2 Instance Type

The D2 instances are backed by hard disk drives and offer large-volume, low-cost persistent storage with up to 48TB per instance.

Current-Generation Amazon EC2 D2 Instances

Instance SizevCPUMem (GiB)Storage (GB)Network Performance

d2.xlarge	4	30.5	3x2000 HDD	Moderate
d2.2xlarge	8	61	6x2000 HDD	High
d2.4xlarge	16	122	12x2000 HDD	High
d2.8xlarge	36	244	24x2000 HDD	10 gigabit

Amazon EC2 H1 Instance Type

The H1 instances have up to 16TB of hard disk drive storage designed for high disk throughput.

Current-Generation Amazon EC2 H1 Instances

Instance SizevCPUMem (GiB)Networking PerformanceStorage (GB)

h2.2xlarge	8	32	Up to 10 gigabit	1x2,000 HDD
h2.4xlarge	16	64	Up to 10 gigabit	2x2,000 HDD
h2.8xlarge	32	128	10 gigabit	4x2,000 HDD
h2.16xlarge	64	256	25 gigabit	8x2,000 HDD

Other EC2 Instance Selection Considerations

In addition to selecting the right EC2 instance family and type, other resourcing considerations include:

ChipsetIntel Xeon versus AMD EPYC versus AWS GravitonSizingWhat is the instance type size or Auto Scaling group sizing needed to meet minimum service requirements?Purchasing strategyOn-Demand, Savings Plans, or Reserved InstancesSoftwareCustom Amazon Machine Instances (AMIs) versus pre-baked AMIsLocationChoice of Deployment Region and Availability Zone

Process for Selecting the Right EC2 Instance Types

A few patterns emerge when describing the different kinds of instances you can use in AWS. First, there are a large number of instances. Even within a single family of instances, there can be up to 18 different configurations. This makes it difficult to find the optimal instance type for a given workload.

For example, you may have a compute-intensive application, but you may not be sure if you should use a compute-optimized instance or an accelerated instance. If the application makes many floating point calculations and the code can take advantage of a GPU, an accelerated instance may be the best option. In another scenario, you may want to deploy a distributed computing application that’s I/O-intensive; should you use an SSD or hard disk drive-backed instance? That will depend on the importance of low latency I/O balanced against cost considerations.

These characteristics are key to doing accurate comparisons between different instance types, which can help you decide which kind of instance is best for a particular workload. Also consider technical constraints on different instances, such as which images run on particular instances; if EBS and networking can burst; and the limits of local storage. Finally, consider business policies that might be in effect that limit your options. IaaS clouds offer a significant opportunity to reduce infrastructure costs and increase an enterprise’s ability to adapt to changes in business conditions and related demands on infrastructure. The wide array of choices in choosing an instance type can be bewildering. Mistakes can be costly, as well as degrade performance.

To make an optimal selection in instance type, you need to understand the detailed nuances of the different instance types and models, as well as your workload’s characteristics—including short-term burst in CPU load and longer-term variations in workload due to business cycles. For small numbers of instances this can be done manually, but as environments grow, this can be very challenging.

EC2 Type Selection Cheat Sheet

Commonly-Used Amazon EC2 Instance Types

Instance SizeSuitibilityMemory & CPUM3, M4, M5, & M5aC3, C4, C5, & C5aR3, R4, R5, & R5aZ1dT2, T3, & T3a

General purpose family suitable for a wide range of applications from databases to servers	4:1 memory to vCPU ratio
Compute intensive family offering superior performance for compute workloads, ideal for HPC, web servers, gaming, and analytics	2:1 memory to vCPU ratio
Memory intensive family geared towards applications like high performance databases, in-memory caching, and big data analytics	8:1 memory to vCPU ratio
Offers a balance between R5 and C5 instance types, ideal for electronic design automation and databases with high software license costs per core	8:1 memory to vCPU ratio
Burstable family suitable for workloads that are spikey in nature: VDIs, small databases, and frequently, for dev environments	Accumulate credits while operating under baseline CPU performance levels that can be leveraged when bursting

Enterprise Amazon EC2 Cost Optimization & Management

Properly resourcing your application workload requires precise selection of EC2 instance family and sizing—choices that demand you balance performance, stability, and cost.

Skilled cloud infrastructure managers make these choices every day, and although it is possible to run infrastructure at scale without EC2 management, the cumulative impact of best-guess instance selection always leaves performance, stability, and cost savings gains on the table—sometimes to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars annually.

Additionally, due to continuous service and instance releases across all the cloud providers, it is very difficult to keep up with the latest technology—there can be millions of possible instance configuration possibilities for each of your workloads.

Finally, once an application is up and running in the cloud, it can be difficult to justify manually-determined infrastructure optimizations to those responsible for business delivery of the app.

Densify helps enterprises manage EC2 instance selection at scale, providing recommendations for the best-fit type for each of your workloads. Request a demo, and we'll show you the power of machine-learning-driven EC2 instance selection.

Densify addresses enterprise EC2 management concerns:

1. Our optimization engine machine learns your workload’s actual requirements and recommends the optimal EC2 instance family type. quantity, fit and configuration, eliminating waste in your cloud
2. Densify’s recommendation engine considers EC2 and other service offerings across all the major cloud providers, ensuring you can always leverage the latest and greatest infrastructure
3. Each recommendation is accompanied by a detailed impact analysis report, useful for justifying changes to underlying infrastructure to application owners
4. Densify integrates with your ITSM and CI/CD tooling and frameworks, enabling our precise recommendations to be easily actioned and even automated

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