General Purpose Instance Types
Introduction
Amazon EC2 (Elastic Compute Cloud) provides scalable computing capacity in the cloud. General purpose instance types are designed to provide a balance of compute, memory, and networking resources.
These instances are suitable for a wide range of workloads, including general-purpose applications, web servers, and small databases.
Instance Types
AWS offers several instance families, but the key general-purpose families are:
- **T Series** (e.g., T3, T3a) - Burstable performance for workloads that do not use the full CPU continuously.
- **M Series** (e.g., M5, M5a) - Balanced compute, memory, and networking resources for a variety of applications.
Use Cases
General purpose instances are ideal for:
- Web applications and servers
- Microservices and APIs
- Small to medium-sized databases
- Development and testing environments
Best Practices
To optimize the use of general-purpose instances, consider the following best practices:
- Choose the right instance size based on your workload needs.
- Utilize Auto Scaling to dynamically adjust capacity based on demand.
- Leverage AWS Cost Explorer to track and optimize your spending.
- Monitor performance using Amazon CloudWatch.
FAQ
What is the difference between T and M series?
The T series instances are burstable, meaning they can deliver high performance for short periods when needed, while M series instances are designed for consistent performance across all workloads.
When should I use a general-purpose instance?
Use general-purpose instances for applications that require a balanced mix of CPU, memory, and networking resources.
Can I change the instance type later?
Yes, you can change the instance type by stopping the instance, modifying it to the new type, and then starting it again.