Amazon is the leader in infrastructure cloud computing having a worldwide market share of 31% as of February 2016, according to data from Synergy Research Group. AWS is continuing to grow rapidly and is now Amazon’s most profitable segment, more than its e-commerce site. Thanks to one of its features — the Elastic Compute Cloud, “ or dearly called AWS EC2.” So what is the secret behind its success?
Here’s are some of the deliberations on the 5Ws of AWS EC2 — why, when, what, where and which.
Why AWS EC2?
As the name implies, AWS EC2 provides elastic compute capacity so that enterprises can run their web apps with full flexibility and without downtime. It actually provides what companies are looking for — the ideal Cloud service that helps them build a scalable global infrastructure at the lowest cost, deploy new applications instantly, scale up workload based on demand and remain secure. That’s why AWS EC2!
When to use AWS EC2?
Developers can use AWS EC2 when they need to reduce the time to provision of their IT infrastructure to minutes, instead of months. Designed to make web-scale cloud computing easier, especially for developers, the AWS EC2 provides resizable compute capacity in the cloud. In essence, the AWS EC2 features a simplified and a self-service network model that provides the application developer the option to fit the infrastructure to the app or vice versa.
Where is AWS EC2 useful?
AWS EC2 is most useful when developers need to reduce the time required to obtain and boot new server instances from hours to minutes. It is also useful when they want to quickly scale capacity, both up and down, as the computing requirements change.
Which EC2 Plan will help the most?
Every EC2 plan is idiosyncratic in its own way. Developers need to choose which one suits the best for their scenario.
AWS EC2 is available in four different pricing models — on-demand, Spot Instances, Reserved Instances (RIs), and Dedicated Hosts (view the instance type pricing comparison blog here). The on-demand pricing model is ideal for users that prefer the low cost and flexibility of compute capacity without any up-front payment or long-term commitment. The Reserved Instance pricing model is heavily discounted, provided the users commit to a one year to three year period. Unlike on-demand EC2, Spot Instances allow users to bid on spare Amazon EC2 computing capacity for up to 90% off the On-Demand price. Yes! Moreover, Spot Instances are ideal for users with urgent computing needs for large amounts of additional capacity, while the dedicated hosts are ideal for users who are ready to purchase CC as a reservation for up to 70% off the on-demand price.
What are the best practices?
In order to get maximum benefit from AWS EC2 instances, developers need to follow key best practices:
- Launch instances into a VPC instead of EC2-Classic
- Patch, update, and secure the operating system and applications regularly
- Manage IAM users, and IAM roles smartly by establishing credential management policies and procedures
- To store temporary data, use the instance store available for the current instance
- Track and identify AWS resources using metadata information and custom resource tags
- Regularly backup instances using AWS EBS snapshots
There are much more.
To Wrap Up:
AWS has evolved from a pure virtual hosting service provider to a new paradigm in IT infrastructure which provides a cost-effective alternate model to Enterprise IT. AWS enables CIOs to focus on applications and adding business value through technology instead of focusing on the lower levels of IT infrastructure like Server Management. Application developers can design new generation of applications without having to worry about constraints on their existing infrastructure and scaling.
Botmetric Cloud Management Platform, the highest rated app on AWS marketplace, features AWS EC2 Reservation Planner that helps DevOps apply the best practices for their cloud infrastructure without having to worry about the nitty-gritty of the rapidly emerging cloud technologies. Test drive Botmetric today, to see how Cloud Infrastructure costs can be reduced without compromising on performance.
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Till then, ‘Keep Calm, and Cloud Easy!’
