What are the different types of instances in AWS?

Amazon Web Services, AWS, has become one of the most widely used cloud platforms in recent years, offering more than 200 end-to-end data center services globally and is a favorite of thousands of businesses.

Among its multiple benefits, is its function as hosting of applications and websites, all this in a secure and scalable environment adjusting to the needs of the project. Also, the AWS platform works to connect remote work teams in one place. Its functionality for mobile and frontend developers stands out since with AWS they can create and deploy secure and scalable applications.

One of the most talked about parts of AWS are its instances and in this blog we will explain what they consist of, their importance and also what are the types of instances that Amazon Web Services users can use.

What is an instance in cloud computing?

As explained in the official documentation provided by AWS, “A cloud computing instance is a server resource provided by third-party cloud services. While you can manage and maintain physical server resources on-premises, it is expensive and inefficient to do so.”

A cloud provider has a hardware system in their data centers and they provide virtual access to their users to calculate resources, these are presented in the form of an instance. The cloud instance is used to run workloads such as containers, databases, microservices, and virtual machines.

Importance of cloud instances

With one instance, the developer doesn't have to worry about hardware when deploying workloads. There are two benefits that stand out when working with cloud instances:

• Scalability: Developers working with a cloud instance can scale compute resources as needed, based on their workload requirements. For example, when an application is implemented, it gains users over time, which represents a large traffic that can cause slow response times. In the cloud, resources can be scaled horizontally by increasing CPU, memory, storage, and resources. network to the instance.
• Fault Tolerance: By using multiple mirrored instances for backup, redundancy can be created, which is useful for managing memory-intensive workloads such as compute.

What are the instance types in AWS?

General purpose instance

This is the most recommended instance for applications that require an equal share of processing power, network resources, and memory.

Optimized instance calculation

In the AWS documentation they explain “optimized compute instances are suitable for processing-intensive applications that require high computing power. For example, developers deploy game servers, science modeling, and media transcoding workloads on compute-optimized instances.”

Accelerated Compute Instance

They are instances suitable for intense workloads, full of graphics or analytics, and they provide hardware accelerators.

Memory optimized

This instance type allows a developer to deploy memory-intensive applications on AWS, all without compromising application performance. One of its most common uses is for big data analysis.

Storage Optimized Instance

This is an instance type that comes integrated with persistent storage to easily and very quickly write and retrieve information from a database. A storage optimized instance, among its many uses, is used by developers to build search engine features.

How cloud instances work

The cloud instance “abstracts the physical computing infrastructure using virtual machine technology. It's similar to having your own cloud server machine. Basically, you create and manage your own virtual server instance in the cloud computing environment. You can configure this server in the cloud to meet your memory, graphics processing, CPU and other requirements”, they explain on the official AWS page.

To create a new instance, follow these steps:

1. Create instances programmatically through a visual interface or by using API calls.
2. Detail the number and type of resources you need or use pre-existing instance types defined by the cloud provider.
3. After these steps, the operating system and other applications can be hosted on the instance.

At Rootstack we have worked with AWS on multiple technology projects, we have proven experience in cloud computing, and we can help you with your technology project needs.

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