Launch Types

On-demand Instances:

• For when you can't predict how long/short the job is going to be and for jobs which can't tolerate failure.

• Pay-as-you-go.

• Billing:

  • For Linux = billed every second, after the first minute.

  • All other operating systems = billed per hour.

Reserved Instances:

• For steady usage apps (like databases).

• Long-term (a minimum of 1 year).

• Has up to a 75% discount compared to on-demand.

• Can buy it for 1 year to 3 years

  • 3 years RI has a much higher discount than 1 year RI.

• Can pay all upfront, partially upfront and no upfront.

  • All upfront has a much higher discount than no upfront.

• There are also 2 other types of RIs:

  • Convertible RIs

    • Can change the type of instance type, e.g. t2.micro to c5.large.

    • These have up to a 54% discount.

  • Scheduled RIs

    • Can launch within the time window you need them but you still need to reserve it.

Spot Instances:

• If you can be flexible about when your applications run and if your applications can be interrupted.

  • For example: image processing, batch jobs and any distributed workloads.

• Have a 90% discount compared to on-demand.

  • But that's because they can be lost at any point of time if someone else pays higher for it.

Dedicated Hosts:

• For companies with strict compliance requirements.

• It's a whole physical server dedicated to you.

  • Very expensive.

• Allocated for 3 years so they need to be committed to.

• Access to the underlying hardware.

Dedicated Instances:

• They are just dedicated hosts but you don't have access to the underlying hardware.

• Pay by the hour.