> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://karansingh.gitbook.io/aws-saa-c02/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://karansingh.gitbook.io/aws-saa-c02/ec2/instance-types.md).

# Instance Types

![](/files/-MOq7lU_WHBpY6rGtrXC)

* A typical name has three parts:
  * Letter describing the instance family (R, M, C, T, G, D, I, P, X).
  * Number describing the generation (1, 2, 3, 4, 5).
  * Optionally any additional capabilities (a, e, n, d, g).
  * String describing the size within that instance class and generation (small, medium, large, xlarge, 2xlarge, 4xlarge, 8xlarge, 10xlarge, 16xlarge, 32xlarge).<br>
* For example, "r3.4xlarge" is instance type R, generation 3, and size 4xlarge.<br>
* **T for Turbo/Burstable Instances** - They provide a burst of power to handle spikes in workloads.<br>
* **M for Most Scenarios**
  * General scenarios.<br>
* **C for Compute**
  * Compute/Databases.<br>
* **R for RAM**
  * In-memory cache.<br>
* **I for I/O**
  * Databases.<br>
* **G for GPU**
  * Video rendering/machine learning.