EC2 Instance Types Simplified (AWS SAA Focus)
3 min read
When working with AWS EC2 (Elastic Compute Cloud), choosing the right instance type is very important. Each EC2 instance type is built for a specific kind of workload.
Let’s make it easy to understand!
🔥 What Is an EC2 Instance?
An EC2 instance is simply a virtual server in AWS. When you launch an EC2 instance, you are renting compute power from AWS to run your applications.
🌟 What is an EC2 Instance Type?
Instance type = combination of CPU, memory, storage, and network capacity.
Different workloads need different instance types.
👉 In short: Pick the right tool for the right job!
📚 EC2 Instance Families (Categories)
| Family | Focus Area | Example Types | Example Use Case |
| General Purpose | Balanced compute, memory, networking | t3, t4g, m5, m6i | Web servers, development |
| Compute Optimized | High CPU power | c5, c6g | High-performance web servers, batch processing |
| Memory Optimized | High RAM | r5, x1e | Databases, caching |
| Storage Optimized | High storage throughput | i3, d2 | Big data, data warehouses |
| Accelerated Computing | GPUs and hardware acceleration | p4, inf1, g4ad | Machine learning, 3D rendering |
| Mac Instances | macOS workloads | mac1.metal, mac2.metal | MacOS Related Workloads |
🏡 Common Instance Families You Must Know for SAA
1. General Purpose (T, M)
T3, T4g (Burstable) → Low-cost, flexible (good for beginners!)
M5, M6g → Steady performance (ideal for apps, servers)
🔹 Example: Hosting a blog, a basic website, dev/test environments.
2. Compute Optimised (C)
- C5, C6g → Focused on high compute power
🔹 Example: High-performance computing, batch jobs, gaming servers.
3. Memory Optimised (R, X, z)
R5, R6g → Memory-heavy apps
X1, X2 → Extremely memory-heavy (like SAP workloads)
🔹 Example: Databases like Redis, in-memory caching.
4. Storage Optimised (I, D, H)
I3, I4i → High random IOPS storage
D2 → Dense storage for big data
🔹 Example: Data warehouses, Elasticsearch clusters.
5. Accelerated Computing (P, G, Inf)
P4, G5 → GPUs for machine learning, video processing
Inf1 → Machine learning inference
🔹 Example: AI/ML model training, 3D rendering.
⚡ Quick Memory Tip for Exam
| Family | Think |
| T | Tiny/burst |
| M | Medium/Balanced |
| C | Compute |
| R | RAM (Memory) |
| P-G-Inf | Powerful GPUs |
| I-D | Intense Storage |
❓ FAQs You Should Know for SAA Exam
Spot Instances = Cheap, interruptible compute.
Reserved Instances = Big discount for 1 or 3-year commitment.
On-Demand Instances = Pay-per-second, flexible.
Dedicated Hosts = Physical servers reserved for you (important for licensing, compliance).
🎯 Final Words
EC2 is the heart of AWS computing!
Choosing the right instance family based on your application’s needs will help you design better, cheaper, and faster systems — and that's exactly what the AWS Solutions Architect Associate exam wants you to understand.