Amazon EC2 FAQs - Amazon Web Services

2/14/2017 AmazonEC2FAQsAmazonWebServices
AmazonEC2FAQs
LongerEC2,EBS,andStorageGatewayResourceIDs
General
Billing
HardwareInformation
Security
ElasticIP
AvailabilityZones
EnhancedNetworking
AmazonElasticBlockStorage(EBS)
AmazonCloudWatch
AutoScaling
ElasticLoadBalancing
ReservedInstances
ReservedInstanceMarketplace
SpotInstances
MicroInstances
ComputeOptimizedInstances
GPUInstances
ClusterInstances
HighI/OInstances
DensestorageInstances
MemoryOptimizedInstances
T2Instances
BurstablePerformanceInstances
F1Instances
PreviousGenerationInstances
VMImport/Export
AmazonEC2RunningMicrosoftWindowsandOtherThirdPartySoftware
AmazonEC2RunningIBM
https://aws.amazon.com/ec2/faqs/ 1/46
ServiceLevelAgreement(SLA)
ManageYourAWSResources
SignintotheConsole
AWSANDINTEL
LearnhowIntelXeonprocessors&AmazonEC2canmeetyourperformance
needs.
LongerEC2,EBS,andStorageGateway
ResourceIDs
Q:Whatischanging?
EC2instanceandreservationIDs,andvolumeandsnapshotIDsforEBSandStorageGateway,arechanging
toalongerformat.ThetransitiontolongerinstanceandreservationIDsstartedinJanuary2016andwilllast
throughearlyDecember2016,andthetransitiontolongervolumeandsnapshotIDsstartedinApril2016and
willlastthroughearlyDecember2016.Duringthistime,youcanchoosewhichIDformattheseresourcesare
assigned,andyoucanupdateyourmanagementtoolsandscriptstoaddsupportforthelongerformat.After
earlyDecember2016,allnewlycreatedinstances,reservations,volumes,andsnapshotswillberequiredto
usethelongerIDformat.
Thenewformatwillonlyapplytonewlycreatedresourcesyourexistingresourceswontbeaffected.Visit
theAWSBlogforastepbystepoverviewofhowtooptintolongerIDs.
Q:WillIneedtoupgradetoanewversionoftheAWSSDKsorCLI?
TousetheAWSCLIandSDKswithlongerIDs,youmustupgradetothefollowingversions:
PHPv2:Mustupgradetov2.8.27+
PHPv3:Mustupgradetov3.15.0+
CLI:Mustupgradetov1.10.2+
Boto3:Mustupgradetov1.2.1+
Botocore:Mustupgradetov1.3.24+
ThefollowingSDKsarefullycompatiblewithlongerIDsanddonotneedtobeupgraded:PHPv1,Botov1,
Botov2,Rubyv1,Rubyv2,JavaScript,Java,.NET,AWSToolsforWindowsPowerShell,andGo.
Foralltools,ifyouwishtousethenewModifyIdFormatandDescribeIdFormatAPIs,youwillneedtoupdate
yourtoolstoreceivethenewAPIsstartinginJanuary2016.
Q:Whatwillthenewidentifierformatlooklike?
Thenewidentifierformatwillfollowthepatternofthecurrentidentifierformat,butitwillbelonger.Thenew
formatwillbe<resourceidentifier><17characters>,e.g.i1234567890abcdef0forEC2instancesorsnap
1234567890abcdef0forEBSsnapshots.
AnexampleofthenewinstanceIDformatintheEC2Consoleisshownbelow.
Q:Whyisthisnecessary?
WeneedtodothisgivenhowfastAWSiscontinuingtogrowwewillstarttorunlowonIDsforcertainEC2and
EBSresourceswithinayearorso.Inordertoenablethelongterm,uninterruptedcreationofnewinstances,
reservations,volumes,andsnapshots,weneedtointroducealongerIDformatfortheseresources.Additional
identifiersmightneedtoexpandwithinthenextfewyearsaswell.
Q:Howdoesthisimpactme?
Thereisagoodchancethatyouwontneedtomakeanysystemchangestohandlethenewformat.Ifyouonly
usetheconsoletomanageAWSresources,youmightnotbeimpactedatall,butyoushouldstillupdateyour
settingstousethelongerIDformatassoonaspossible.IfyouinteractwithAWSresourcesviaAPIs,SDKs,or
theAWSCLI,youmightbeimpacted,dependingonwhetheryoursoftwaremakesassumptionsabouttheID
formatwhenvalidatingorpersistingresourceIDs.Ifthisisthecase,youmightneedtoupdateyoursystemsto
handlethenewformat.
Somefailuremodescouldinclude:
IfyoursystemsuseregularexpressionstovalidatetheIDformat,youmighterrorifalongerformatis
encountered.
IfthereareexpectationsabouttheIDlengthinyourdatabaseschemas,youmightbeunabletostorea
longerID.
Dependingonthetoolsyouareusing,youmayneedtoupgradetonewerversionsoftheAWSCLIandSDKs.
Seeaboveforalistofaffectedtoolsandcompatibleversions.
Q:Willthisaffectexistingresources?
Noonlyresourcesthatarecreatedafteryouoptintothelongerformatwillbeaffected.Oncearesourcehas
beenassignedanID(longorshort),thatIDwillneverchange.AnyresourcecreatedwiththeoldIDformatwill
alwaysretainitsshorterID,andanyresourcecreatedwiththenewformatwillretainitslongerID,evenifyou
optbackout.
Q:Whenwillthishappen?
TherollouttimelineforlongerinstanceandreservationIDsisshownbelow.
StartingonJanuary13,2016,longerEC2instanceandreservationIDsareavailableforoptinviaAPIsandthe
console.BetweenJanuary2016andDecember2016,allaccountscanoptinandoutoflongerinstanceand
reservationIDsasneededfortesting.
StartingonApril28,2016,newaccountsdefaulttolongerEC2instanceandreservationIDsineveryAWS
regionexceptBeijing(China)andAWSGovCloud(US),withtheoptiontorequesttheshorterformatifneeded.
LongerEBSandStorageGatewayvolumeandsnapshotIDsareavailablefromApril25,2016foroptinvia
APIsandtheConsole.NewaccountscreatedinJune2016orlaterwilldefaulttolongersnapshotandvolume
IDs,withtheoptiontooptoutifneeded.
EarlyDecember2016isthedeadlinetoaddsupportforlongerIDs.ThelongerIDstransitionwilloccurone
regionatatime,betweenDecember5,2016andDecember16,2016.Afterthatpoint,theoptiontoswitch
formatswillnolongerbeavailable,andallnewlycreatedinstance,reservation,volume,andsnapshotIDswill
havethelongerformat.
Q:Whyistherolloutperiodsolong?
Wewanttogiveyouasmuchtimeaspossibletotestyoursystemswiththenewformat.Alongtransition
windowoffersmaximumflexibilitytotestandupdateyoursystemsincrementallyandwillhelpminimize
interruptsasyouaddsupportforthenewformat.
Q:WhatifIprefertokeepreceivingtheshorterIDformatafterDecember2016?
Unfortunately,thisisnotpossibleregardlessofyourusersettingsspecified.
Q:Howdoesoptinginwork?Andoptingout?
Throughoutthetransitionperiod(January2016toDecember2016),youcanopttoreceivelongerorshorter
IDsbyusingtheAPIsortheEC2Console.ModifyIdFormatsetstheformatofinstanceandreservationIDs,and
DescribeIdFormatletsyouviewyourIDformatsettings.BothAPIsapplytotheusermakingthecallandare
regionspecific.IDformatsettingscanbemodifiedperIAMuser,region,andresourcetype.AnyIAMuser
withoutexplicitsettingswillfallbacktothesettingsoftherootaccount.Usually,afteryouupdateyourIDformat
settings,itcantakeafewminutesforthesettingstotakeeffect.
Ifyourtestinguncoversissuesthatyouneedtoaddress,youcanoptbackoutofthenew,longerIDformat
untilyoursystemsarepreparedtohandlelongerIDs.ThisoptionwillbeavailableuntilDecember2016.From
December2016,thenew,longerIDformatwillbecomemandatory,andtheshorterformatwillnolongerbe
available.
Q:HowcanIoptintheentireaccountatonce?
Yes,youcanoptinusingtheAWSCLImodifyidentityidformatanddescribeidentityidformatandspecifythe
desiredARNandresourcetype.Youwillneedtodothisseparatelyforeachresourcetype(instances,volumes,
reservations,andsnapshots).Tooptintheentireaccount,youmustspecifytherootaccountastheAmazon
ResourceName(ARN).Thiswillapplychangesacrosstheaccount,andyouwillnotneedtoseteachindividual
user/rolepreference.Formoreinformation,seetheEC2UserGuideorKnowledgeCenter.
Note:Ifyouoptintherootuser,allusers/roleslaunchinginstancesontheaccountwilladopttherootuser
preferenceunlesstheirspecificuser/role(ARN)optinpreferenceisalreadyexplicitlyset.Youshouldonlyopt
intherootuserifyouareconfidentthatallservicesusingyouraccountsupportslongerIDs.
Q:HowcanIoptinacrossallregionsatonce?
YoucanoptinacrossallregionsatonceusingtheLongerIdConvertertool.Usingthistoolyoucanoptinall
regionsandallresources.ThistoolwillmigratenotonlytherootoradminaccountbutalsoallIAMroles/users
undertherootaccountacrossallregions.Youcanalsousethistooltocheckyouroptinstatusforyour
account.Formoreinformationaboutthistool,refertoREADMEfile.
Note:IfyoursystemsrunintoanissueaftertransitioningtolongerIDs,youcanusethesametooltorevert
backtousingshorterIDsforyouraccountacrossallregions.
Q:CanIoptintolongerIDsperIAMrole?
Yes,youcanusethenewmodifyIdentityidformatanddescribeidentityidformatAPIstocontrolandview
howdifferentidentitiesareoptedintousinglongerIDs.YoucanchoosetooptintolongerIDsonaper
account,perIAMrole,orperIAMuserbasis.OptinginbyIAMuserorrolecanhelpyoutestyoursystems
beforeoptinginyourentireaccount.Formoreinformation,seetheEC2UserGuide.
Note:Inthe20151001versionoftheAmazonEC2API,ifyoucalldescribeidformatormodifyidformat
usingIAMrolecredentials,theresultsapplytotheentireAWSaccount,andnotthespecificIAMrole.Inthe
currentversionoftheAmazonEC2API,theresultswillcorrectlyapplytotheIAMroleonly.
Q:WhatwillhappenifItakenoaction?
Ifyoudonotoptintothenewformatduringthetransitionwindow,youwillbeautomaticallyoptedinatthefinal
deadlineinDecember2016.Wedonotrecommendthisapproachitisbettertoaddsupportforthenew
formatduringthetransitionwindow,whichofferstheopportunityforcontrolledtesting.
Q:WhatisareservationID?DoreservationIDsonlyapplytoReservedInstances?
ReservationIDsapplytoallinstances,andaredifferentfromReservedInstances.Everyinstancelaunchedby
EC2hasareservationID.AreservationIDhasaonetoonerelationshipwithaninstancelaunchrequest,but
canbeassociatedwithmorethanoneinstanceifyoulaunchmultipleinstancesusingthesamelaunchrequest.
ThereservationIDisreturnedbytheDescribeInstancesAPI,anditcanbeviewedintheEC2Management
Consoledescriptionofanygiveninstance(seebelow).
Q:WhatbestpracticesdoyourecommendasItestmysystemsandaddsupportforthenewIDformats?
IfyoursoftwarecanrunundermultipledistinctAWSaccounts,choose(orcreate)anAWSaccounttotestwith.
Alternatively,ifyoursoftwarerunsunderasingleAWSaccount,choose(orcreate)anIAMusertotestwith.
SetyourchosenaccountorIAMusertoreceivelongerIDs,testyoursoftware,andmakeanynecessary
changes.NotethatifoneIAMuserlaunchesaninstancewithalongerID,allotheruserswillbeabletoseethe
longerIDinsubsequentdescribecalls,regardlessofuserspecificoptinsettings.Onceyouarecomfortable
thatyoursoftwarewilloperateasexpected,youcanoptinallofyouraccountsand/orusers.Ifany
unexpectedissuesarise,youcanoptoutuntiltheissuesareunderstoodandcorrected.Thistestingprocedure
willbepossibleuntiltheDecember2016deadline,whenallnewinstances,reservations,volumes,and
snapshotswillreceivethelongerIDformat.
OnceyoursoftwareisreadyforlongerIDs,optintolongerIDsacrossallofyouraccounts,regionsand
resources.Whenthisiscomplete,youhavetransitionedtothenewformatfullyandwillnotneedtotakefurther
action.
Q:HowdoIknowwhenIvefinishedtheoptinprocessforlongerresourceIDs?
Onceyouaredonewiththetestingprocessdescribedabove,optintolongerIDsacrosseveryregionand
user.Alternatively,youcanoptintherootuserforeveryregionthiswillupdatetheIDformatsettingsforthe
wholeaccount,aslongasnoindividualIAMusersareoptedout.Youwillneedtodothisseparatelyforeach
resourcetype(instances,volumes,reservations,andsnapshots).Oncethisiscomplete,youaredonewiththe
transitionprocessandwillnotneedtomakefurtherchangesfortheseresourcetypes.Notethat,sinceexisting
resourceswillretaintheiroriginalIDs,youmightseeamixoflongIDs(fornewresources)andshortIDs(for
preexistingresources)whenyouaredonewiththeoptinprocess.
Q:WhatwillbethedefaultIDtypefornewaccounts?
Forinstancesandreservations,accountscreatedonApril28,2016orlaterwillbeconfiguredtoreceivethe
longerIDformatbydefaultineveryAWSregionexceptBeijing(China)andAWSGovCloud(US).Ifyouarea
newcustomer,thiswillmakethetransitiontolongerinstanceandreservationIDsreallysimple.Ifyouwould
likeyournewaccounttoassigntheshorterIDformattoyourresources,thensimplyreconfigureyouraccount
forshorterIDsasdescribedabove.Thisworkflowwillbenecessaryuntilyouarereadyforyouraccountsto
receivelongerIDs.
Forvolumesandsnapshots,accountscreatedinJune2016orlaterwillbeconfiguredtoreceivethelongerID
formatbydefault,withtheoptiontooptoutifnecessaryuntilDecember2016.
Q:Willyoubechangingotheridentifiers?
AsAWScontinuesgrowing,itspossiblethatwewillneedtoincreasetheIDlengthofotherresourcesinthe
future.
Q:DoesthisapplytoSpotinstances?
YesthelongerinstanceandreservationIDformatswillapplytoallEC2instancetypes.
Q:ImanEC2WindowscustomeristhereanythingWindowsspecificIneedtoknow?
IfyouuseEC2instanceIDsaspartofthecomputernameforyourEC2Windowsinstances,pleasenotethat
Windowswillautomaticallytruncatethenameto15characterstoadheretoNetBIOSnamingconventions.Due
tothistruncationbehavior,youmayseeduplicatecomputernamesat15charactersifyoureusingthisnaming
convention.Werecommendchoosingauniquenamingschemetoavoidcomplications.
Q:HowcanIoptinnewAutoScalinginstancestolongerIDs?
AutoScalingreflectsthesettingoftherootuser.ThissupersedeswhathasbeenconfiguredbytheIAMrole.
Q:IuseAWSthroughathirdpartytool,whatdoIneedtodotohandlelongerIDs?
Weareworkingwiththirdpartiestoensurethebestcustomerexperience,butpleaseworkwithyourISVto
determinetheirlevelofsupportforthischangepriortoturningonthelongerIDformatinyouraccount.
Q:WhenwillthelongerIDsfinaltransitionhappen?
ThelongerIDstransitionwilloccuroneregionatatime,betweenDecember5,2016andDecember16,2016.
YoucancheckthescheduledtransitiondateforyoureachregionbyusingtheAWSCLIdescribeidformat.
Q:IfIoptintolongerIDsandthenoptbackoutduringthetransitionwindow,whatwillhappentoresources
thatwerecreatedwithlongerIDs?
OncearesourcehasbeenassignedanIDitwillnotchange,soresourcesthatarecreatedwithlongerIDswill
retainthelongerIDsregardlessoflateractions.Ifyouoptintothelongerformat,createresources,andthen
optout,youwillseeamixoflongandshortresourceIDs,evenafteroptingout.Theonlywaytogetridoflong
IDswillbetodeleteorterminatetherespectiveresources.
Forthisreason,exercisecautionandavoidcreatingcriticalresourceswiththenewformatuntilyouhavetested
yourtoolsandautomation.
Q:WhatshouldIdoifmysystemsarenotworkingasexpectedbeforethefinaltransition,December16th
2016?
Ifyoursystemsarenotworkingasexpectedduringthetransitionperiod,youcantemporarilyoptoutoflonger
formatIDsandremediateyoursystems,howeveryouraccountwillautomaticallybetransitionedbacktousing
longerIDsafterDecember16th,2016.Regardlessofyouraccountsettings,allnewinstances,reservations,
volumes,andsnapshotswillreceivethelongerformatIDs,soitisimportantforyoutotestyoursystemswith
longerformatIDsbeforethefinaltransitionwindowstarts.Bytestingandoptinginearlier,yougiveyourself
valuabletimetomakemodificationstoyourresourceswithshortresourceIDsandyouminimizetheriskofany
impacttoyoursystems.
Q:WhatwillhappenifIlaunchEC2andEBSresourcesinmultipleregionsduringthefinaltransitionwindowin
December2016?
YourresourcesIDlengthwilldependupontheregionyoulaunchyourresources.Iftheregionhasalready
transitionedtousinglongerIDs,resourceslaunchedinthatregionwillhavelongerformatIDsifnot,theywill
haveshorterresourceIDs.Therefore,duringthetransitionwindow,youmayseeamixofshorterandlonger
resourceIDshowever,afterDecember16th2016,allnewresourceswillhavelongerformatIDsinallregions.
Q:IfAWSaddsnewregionsduringthetransitionwindow,willnewregionssupportlongerIDs?
Yes.Allnewregionslaunchinginthesecondhalfof2016andafterwillissuelongerformatinstances,
reservations,volumes,andsnapshotIDsbydefaultforbothnewandexistingaccounts.
General
Q:WhatisAmazonElasticComputeCloud(AmazonEC2)?
AmazonElasticComputeCloud(AmazonEC2)isawebservicethatprovidesresizablecomputecapacityinthe
cloud.Itisdesignedtomakewebscalecomputingeasierfordevelopers.

Q:WhatcanIdowithAmazonEC2?
JustasAmazonSimpleStorageService(AmazonS3)enablesstorageinthecloud,AmazonEC2enables
computeinthecloud.AmazonEC2ssimplewebserviceinterfaceallowsyoutoobtainandconfigurecapacity
withminimalfriction.Itprovidesyouwithcompletecontrolofyourcomputingresourcesandletsyourunon
Amazonsprovencomputingenvironment.AmazonEC2reducesthetimerequiredtoobtainandbootnew
serverinstancestominutes,allowingyoutoquicklyscalecapacity,bothupanddown,asyourcomputing
requirementschange.AmazonEC2changestheeconomicsofcomputingbyallowingyoutopayonlyfor
capacitythatyouactuallyuse.

Q:HowcanIgetstartedwithAmazonEC2?
TosignupforAmazonEC2,clicktheSignupforThisWebServicebuttonontheAmazonEC2detailpage.
YoumusthaveanAmazonWebServicesaccounttoaccessthisserviceifyoudonotalreadyhaveone,you
willbepromptedtocreateonewhenyoubegintheAmazonEC2signupprocess.Aftersigningup,pleaserefer
totheAmazonEC2documentation,whichincludesourGettingStartedGuide.

Q:WhyamIaskedtoverifymyphonenumberwhensigningupforAmazonEC2?
AmazonEC2registrationrequiresyoutohaveavalidphonenumberandemailaddressonfilewithAWSin
caseweeverneedtocontactyou.Verifyingyourphonenumbertakesonlyacoupleofminutesandinvolves
receivingaphonecallduringtheregistrationprocessandenteringaPINnumberusingthephonekeypad.
Q:Whatcandevelopersnowdothattheycouldnotbefore?
Untilnow,smalldevelopersdidnothavethecapitaltoacquiremassivecomputeresourcesandensurethey
hadthecapacitytheyneededtohandleunexpectedspikesinload.AmazonEC2enablesanydeveloperto
leverageAmazonsownbenefitsofmassivescalewithnoupfrontinvestmentorperformancecompromises.
Developersarenowfreetoinnovateknowingthatnomatterhowsuccessfultheirbusinessesbecome,itwillbe
inexpensiveandsimpletoensuretheyhavethecomputecapacitytheyneedtomeettheirbusiness
requirements.
TheElasticnatureoftheserviceallowsdeveloperstoinstantlyscaletomeetspikesintrafficordemand.
Whencomputingrequirementsunexpectedlychange(upordown),AmazonEC2caninstantlyrespond,
meaningthatdevelopershavetheabilitytocontrolhowmanyresourcesareinuseatanygivenpointintime.
Incontrast,traditionalhostingservicesgenerallyprovideafixednumberofresourcesforafixedamountof
time,meaningthatusershavealimitedabilitytoeasilyrespondwhentheirusageisrapidlychanging,
unpredictable,orisknowntoexperiencelargepeaksatvariousintervals.

Q:HowdoIrunsystemsintheAmazonEC2environment?
OnceyouhavesetupyouraccountandselectorcreateyourAMIs,youarereadytobootyourinstance.You
canstartyourAMIonanynumberofOnDemandinstancesbyusingtheRunInstancesAPIcall.Yousimply
needtoindicatehowmanyinstancesyouwishtolaunch.Ifyouwishtorunmorethan20OnDemand
instances,completetheAmazonEC2instancerequestform.
IfAmazonEC2isabletofulfillyourrequest,RunInstanceswillreturnsuccess,andwewillstartlaunchingyour
instances.YoucancheckonthestatusofyourinstancesusingtheDescribeInstancesAPIcall.Youcanalso
programmaticallyterminateanynumberofyourinstancesusingtheTerminateInstancesAPIcall.
IfyouhavearunninginstanceusinganAmazonEBSbootpartition,youcanalsousetheStopInstancesAPI
calltoreleasethecomputeresourcesbutpreservethedataonthebootpartition.Youcanusethe
StartInstancesAPIwhenyouarereadytorestarttheassociatedinstancewiththeAmazonEBSbootpartition.
Inaddition,youhavetheoptiontouseSpotInstancestoreduceyourcomputingcostswhenyouhaveflexibility
inwhenyourapplicationscanrun.ReadmoreaboutSpotInstancesforamoredetailedexplanationon
howSpotInstanceswork.
Ifyouprefer,youcanalsoperformalltheseactionsfromtheAWSManagementConsoleorthroughthe
commandlineusingourcommandlinetools,whichhavebeenimplementedwiththiswebserviceAPI.

Q:WhatisthedifferencebetweenusingthelocalinstancestoreandAmazonElasticBlockstorage(Amazon
EBS)fortherootdevice?
WhenyoulaunchyourAmazonEC2instancesyouhavetheabilitytostoreyourrootdevicedataonAmazon
EBSorthelocalinstancestore.ByusingAmazonEBS,dataontherootdevicewillpersistindependentlyfrom
thelifetimeoftheinstance.Thisenablesyoutostopandrestarttheinstanceatasubsequenttime,whichis
similartoshuttingdownyourlaptopandrestartingitwhenyouneeditagain.
Alternatively,thelocalinstancestoreonlypersistsduringthelifeoftheinstance.Thisisaninexpensivewayto
launchinstanceswheredataisnotstoredtotherootdevice.Forexample,somecustomersusethisoptionto
runlargewebsiteswhereeachinstanceisaclonetohandlewebtraffic.

Q:Howquicklywillsystemsberunning?
Ittypicallytakeslessthan10minutesfromtheissueoftheRunInstancescalltothepointwhereallrequested
instancesbegintheirbootsequences.Thistimeisdependantonanumberoffactorsincluding:thesizeofyour
AMI,thenumberofinstancesyouarelaunching,andhowrecentlyyouhavelaunchedthatAMI.Images
launchedforthefirsttimemaytakeslightlylongertoboot.

Q:HowdoIloadandstoremysystemswithAmazonEC2?
AmazonEC2allowsyoutosetupandconfigureeverythingaboutyourinstancesfromyouroperatingsystem
uptoyourapplications.AnAmazonMachineImage(AMI)issimplyapackagedupenvironmentthatincludes
allthenecessarybitstosetupandbootyourinstance.YourAMIsareyourunitofdeployment.Youmighthave
justoneAMIoryoumightcomposeyoursystemoutofseveralbuildingblockAMIs(e.g.,webservers,
appservers,anddatabases).AmazonEC2providesanumberoftoolstomakecreatinganAMIeasy.Onceyou
createacustomAMI,youwillneedtobundleit.Ifyouarebundlinganimagewitharootdevicebackedby
AmazonEBS,youcansimplyusethebundlecommandintheAWSManagementConsole.Ifyouarebundling
animagewithabootpartitionontheinstancestore,thenyouwillneedtousetheAMIToolstouploaditto
AmazonS3.AmazonEC2usesAmazonEBSandAmazonS3toprovidereliable,scalablestorageofyourAMIs
sothatwecanbootthemwhenyouaskustodoso.
Or,ifyouwant,youdonthavetosetupyourownAMIfromscratch.Youcanchoosefromanumberofglobally
availableAMIsthatprovideusefulinstances.Forexample,ifyoujustwantasimpleLinuxserver,youcan
chooseoneofthestandardLinuxdistributionAMIs.

Q:HowdoIaccessmysystems?
TheRunInstancescallthatinitiatesexecutionofyourapplicationstackwillreturnasetofDNSnames,onefor
eachsystemthatisbeingbooted.Thisnamecanbeusedtoaccessthesystemexactlyasyouwouldifitwere
inyourowndatacenter.Youownthatmachinewhileyouroperatingsystemstackisexecutingonit.

Q:IsAmazonEC2usedinconjunctionwithAmazonS3?
Yes,AmazonEC2isusedjointlywithAmazonSimpleStorageService(AmazonS3)forinstanceswithroot
devicesbackedbylocalinstancestorage.ByusingAmazonS3,developershaveaccesstothesamehighly
scalable,reliable,fast,inexpensivedatastorageinfrastructurethatAmazonusestorunitsownglobalnetwork
ofwebsites.InordertoexecutesystemsintheAmazonEC2environment,developersusethetoolsprovided
toloadtheirAmazonMachineImages(AMIs)intoAmazonS3andtomovethembetweenAmazonS3and
AmazonEC2.SeeHowdoIloadandstoremysystemswithAmazonEC2?formoreinformationaboutAMIs.
WeexpectdeveloperstofindthecombinationofAmazonEC2andAmazonS3tobeveryuseful.AmazonEC2
providescheap,scalablecomputeinthecloudwhileAmazonS3allowsuserstostoretheirdatareliably.

Q:HowmanyinstancescanIruninAmazonEC2?
Youarelimitedtorunningupto20OnDemandinstances,purchasing20ReservedInstances,andrequesting
SpotInstancesperyourdynamicSpotlimitperregion.NewAWSaccountsmaystartwithlimitsthatarelower
thanthelimitsdescribedhere.Certaininstancetypesarefurtherlimitedperregionasfollows:
OnDemand Reserved
InstanceType SpotLimit
Limit Limit
m4.4xlarge 10 20 Dynamic
SpotLimit
m4.10xlarge 5 20 Dynamic
SpotLimit
Dynamic
m4.16xlarge 5 20
SpotLimit
Dynamic
c4.4xlarge 10 20
SpotLimit
Dynamic
c4.8xlarge 5 20
SpotLimit
Dynamic
cg1.4xlarge 2 20
SpotLimit
Dynamic
hi1.4xlarge 2 20
SpotLimit
hs1.8xlarge 2 20 Notoffered
Dynamic
cr1.8xlarge 2 20
SpotLimit
Dynamic
p2.xlarge 1 20
SpotLimit
p2.8xlarge 1 20 Dynamic
SpotLimit
Dynamic
p2.16xlarge 1 20
SpotLimit
Dynamic
g2.2xlarge 5 20
SpotLimit
Dynamic
g2.8xlarge 2 20
SpotLimit
r4.large 20 20 Dynamic
SpotLimit
Dynamic
r4.xlarge 20 20
SpotLimit
Dynamic
r4.2xlarge 20 20
SpotLimit
Dynamic
r4.4xlarge 10 20
SpotLimit
Dynamic
r4.8xlarge 5 20
SpotLimit
Dynamic
r4.16xlarge 1 20
SpotLimit
Dynamic
r3.4xlarge 10 20
SpotLimit
Dynamic
r3.8xlarge 5 20
SpotLimit
Dynamic
i2.xlarge 8 20
SpotLimit
Dynamic
i2.2xlarge 8 20
SpotLimit
Dynamic
i2.4xlarge 4 20
SpotLimit
Dynamic
i2.8xlarge 2 20
SpotLimit
Dynamic
d2.4xlarge 10 20
SpotLimit
Dynamic
d2.8xlarge 5 20
SpotLimit
t2.nano 20 20 Notoffered
t2.micro 20 20 Notoffered
t2.small 20 20 Notoffered
t2.medium 20 20 Notoffered
t2.large 20 20 Notoffered
t2.xlarge 20 20 Notoffered
t2.2xlarge 20 20 Notoffered
Dynamic
AllOtherInstanceTypes 20 20
SpotLimit
Notethatcc2.8xlarge,cg1.4xlarge,hi1.4xlarge,hs1.8xlarge,cr1.8xlarge,G2,D2,andI2instancesarenot
availableinallregions.
Ifyouneedmoreinstances,completetheAmazonEC2instancerequestformwithyourusecaseandyour
instanceincreasewillbeconsidered.Limitincreasesaretiedtotheregiontheywererequestedfor.
Q:ArethereanylimitationsinsendingemailfromEC2instances?
Yes.InordertomaintainthequalityofEC2addressesforsendingemail,weenforcedefaultlimitsonthe
amountofemailthatcanbesentfromEC2accounts.IfyouwishtosendlargeramountsofemailfromEC2,
youcanapplytohavetheselimitsremovedfromyouraccountbyfillingoutthisform.
Q:HowquicklycanIscalemycapacitybothupanddown?
AmazonEC2providesatrulyelasticcomputingenvironment.AmazonEC2enablesyoutoincreaseor
decreasecapacitywithinminutes,nothoursordays.Youcancommissionone,hundredsoreventhousandsof
serverinstancessimultaneously.Whenyouneedmoreinstances,yousimplycallRunInstances,andAmazon
EC2willtypicallysetupyournewinstancesinamatterofminutes.Ofcourse,becausethisisallcontrolledwith
webserviceAPIs,yourapplicationcanautomaticallyscaleitselfupanddowndependingonitsneeds.
Q:Whatoperatingsystemenvironmentsaresupported?
AmazonEC2currentlysupportsavarietyofoperatingsystemsincluding:AmazonLinux,Ubuntu,Windows
Server,RedHatEnterpriseLinux,SUSELinuxEnterpriseServer,Fedora,Debian,CentOS,GentooLinux,
OracleLinux,andFreeBSD.Wearelookingforwaystoexpandittootherplatforms.
Q:DoesAmazonEC2useECCmemory?
Inourexperience,ECCmemoryisnecessaryforserverinfrastructure,andallthehardwareunderlying
AmazonEC2usesECCmemory.
Q:Howisthisservicedifferentthanaplainhostingservice?
Traditionalhostingservicesgenerallyprovideapreconfiguredresourceforafixedamountoftimeandata
predeterminedcost.AmazonEC2differsfundamentallyintheflexibility,controlandsignificantcostsavingsit
offersdevelopers,allowingthemtotreatAmazonEC2astheirownpersonaldatacenterwiththebenefitof
Amazon.comsrobustinfrastructure.
Whencomputingrequirementsunexpectedlychange(upordown),AmazonEC2caninstantlyrespond,
meaningthatdevelopershavetheabilitytocontrolhowmanyresourcesareinuseatanygivenpointintime.
Incontrast,traditionalhostingservicesgenerallyprovideafixednumberofresourcesforafixedamountof
time,meaningthatusershavealimitedabilitytoeasilyrespondwhentheirusageisrapidlychanging,
unpredictable,orisknowntoexperiencelargepeaksatvariousintervals.
Secondly,manyhostingservicesdontprovidefullcontroloverthecomputeresourcesbeingprovided.Using
AmazonEC2,developerscanchoosenotonlytoinitiateorshutdowninstancesatanytime,theycan
completelycustomizetheconfigurationoftheirinstancestosuittheirneedsandchangeitatanytime.Most
hostingservicescatermoretowardsgroupsofuserswithsimilarsystemrequirements,andsoofferlimited
abilitytochangethese.
Finally,withAmazonEC2,developersenjoythebenefitofpayingonlyfortheiractualresourceconsumption
andatverylowrates.Mosthostingservicesrequireuserstopayafixed,upfrontfeeirrespectiveoftheiractual
computingpowerused,andsousersriskoverbuyingresourcestocompensatefortheinabilitytoquicklyscale
upresourceswithinashorttimeframe.
Billing
Q:HowwillIbechargedandbilledformyuseofAmazonEC2?
Youpayonlyforwhatyouuseandthereisnominimumfee.Pricingisperinstancehourconsumedforeach
instancetype.Partialinstancehoursconsumedarebilledasfullhours.DatatransferredbetweenAWS
servicesindifferentregionswillbechargedasInternetDataTransferonbothsidesofthetransfer.Usagefor
otherAmazonWebServicesisbilledseparatelyfromAmazonEC2.
ForEC2pricinginformation,pleasevisitthepricingsectionontheEC2detailpage.
Q:WhendoesbillingofmyAmazonEC2systemsbeginandend?
BillingcommenceswhenAmazonEC2initiatesthebootsequenceofanAMIinstance.Billingendswhenthe
instanceterminates,whichcouldoccurthroughawebservicescommand,byrunning"shutdownh",or
throughinstancefailure.Whenyoustopaninstance,weshutitdownbutdon'tchargehourlyusagefora
stoppedinstance,ordatatransferfees,butwedochargeforthestorageforanyAmazonEBSvolumes.To
learnmore,visittheAWSDocumentation.

Q:WhatdefinesbillableEC2instancehours?
Instancehoursarebilledforanytimeyourinstancesareina"running"state.Ifyounolongerwishtobe
chargedforyourinstance,youmust"stop"or"terminate"theinstancetoavoidbeingbilledforadditional
instancehours.Billingstartswhenaninstancetransitionsintotherunningstate.
Q:IfIhavetwoinstancesindifferentavailabilityzones,howwillIbechargedforregionaldatatransfer?
Eachinstanceischargedforitsdatainanddataout.Therefore,ifdataistransferredbetweenthesetwo
instances,itischargedoutforthefirstinstanceandinforthesecondinstance.

Q.IfIhavetwoinstancesindifferentregions,howwillIbechargedfordatatransfer?
EachinstanceischargedforitsdatainanddataoutatInternetDataTransferrates.Therefore,ifdatais
transferredbetweenthesetwoinstances,itischargedatInternetDataTransferOutforthefirstinstanceandat
InternetDataTransferInforthesecondinstance.
Q:Doyourpricesincludetaxes?
Exceptasotherwisenoted,ourpricesareexclusiveofapplicabletaxesandduties,includingVATand
applicablesalestax.ForcustomerswithaJapanesebillingaddress,useofAWSservicesissubjectto
JapaneseConsumptionTax.Learnmore.
HardwareInformation
Q:Whatkindofhardwarewillmyapplicationstackrunon?
VisitAmazonEC2Pricingforalistofinstancesavailablebyregion.
Q:HowdoIselecttherightinstancetype?
AmazonEC2instancesaregroupedinto5families:GeneralPurpose,ComputeOptimized,MemoryOptimized,
GPU,andStorageOptimizedinstances.GeneralPurposeInstanceshavememorytoCPUratiossuitablefor
mostgeneralpurposeapplicationsandcomewithfixedperformance(M4andM3instances)orburstable
performance(T2)ComputeOptimizedinstances(C4andC3instances)haveproportionallymoreCPU
resourcesthanmemory(RAM)andarewellsuitedforscaleoutcomputeintensiveapplicationsandHigh
PerformanceComputing(HPC)workloadsMemoryOptimizedInstances(R3andR4instances)offerlarger
memorysizesformemoryintensiveapplications,includingdatabaseandmemorycachingapplicationsGPU
Computeinstances(P2)takeadvantageoftheparallelprocessingcapabilitiesofNVIDIATeslaGPUsforhigh
performanceparallelcomputingGPUGraphicsinstances(G2)offerhighperformance3Dgraphicscapabilities
forapplicationsusingOpenGLandDirectXStorageOptimizedInstancesincludeI2instancesthatprovidevery
high,lowlatency,I/OcapacityusingSSDbasedlocalinstancestorageforI/OintensiveapplicationsandD2,
Densestorageinstances,thatprovidehighstoragedensityandsequentialI/Operformancefordata
warehousing,Hadoopandotherdataintensiveapplications.Whenchoosinginstancetypes,youshould
considerthecharacteristicsofyourapplicationwithregardstoresourceutilization(i.e.CPU,Memory,Storage)
andselecttheoptimalinstancefamilyandinstancesize.
Q:M1andM3standardinstanceshavethesameratioofCPUandmemory.WhenshouldIuseoneinstance
overtheother?
M3instancesprovidebetter,moreconsistentperformancethanM1instancesformostusecases.M3
instancesalsoofferSSDbasedinstancestoragethatdelivershigherI/Operformance.M3instancesarealso
lessexpensivethanM1instances.Forthesereasons,werecommendM3forapplicationsthatrequiregeneral
purposeinstanceswithabalanceofcompute,memory,andnetworkresources.However,ifyouneedmore
diskstoragethanwhatisprovidedinM3instances,youmaystillfindM1instancesusefulforrunningyour
applications.

Q:WhatisanEC2ComputeUnitandwhydidyouintroduceit?
Transitioningtoautilitycomputingmodelfundamentallychangeshowdevelopershavebeentrainedtothink
aboutCPUresources.Insteadofpurchasingorleasingaparticularprocessortouseforseveralmonthsor
years,youarerentingcapacitybythehour.BecauseAmazonEC2isbuiltoncommodityhardware,overtime
theremaybeseveraldifferenttypesofphysicalhardwareunderlyingEC2instances.Ourgoalistoprovidea
consistentamountofCPUcapacitynomatterwhattheactualunderlyinghardware.
AmazonEC2usesavarietyofmeasurestoprovideeachinstancewithaconsistentandpredictableamountof
CPUcapacity.InordertomakeiteasyfordeveloperstocompareCPUcapacitybetweendifferentinstance
types,wehavedefinedanAmazonEC2ComputeUnit.TheamountofCPUthatisallocatedtoaparticular
instanceisexpressedintermsoftheseEC2ComputeUnits.Weuseseveralbenchmarksandteststomanage
theconsistencyandpredictabilityoftheperformancefromanEC2ComputeUnit.TheEC2ComputeUnit
(ECU)providestherelativemeasureoftheintegerprocessingpowerofanAmazonEC2instance.Overtime,
wemayaddorsubstitutemeasuresthatgointothedefinitionofanEC2ComputeUnit,ifwefindmetricsthat
willgiveyouaclearerpictureofcomputecapacity.
Q:WhatistheregionalavailabilityofAmazonEC2instancetypes?
Foralistofallinstancesandregionalavailability,visitAmazonEC2Pricing.
Security
Q:HowdoIpreventotherpeoplefromviewingmysystems?
Youhavecompletecontroloverthevisibilityofyoursystems.TheAmazonEC2securitysystemsallowyouto
placeyourrunninginstancesintoarbitrarygroupsofyourchoice.Usingthewebservicesinterface,youcan
thenspecifywhichgroupsmaycommunicatewithwhichothergroups,andalsowhichIPsubnetsonthe
Internetmaytalktowhichgroups.Thisallowsyoutocontrolaccesstoyourinstancesinourhighlydynamic
environment.Ofcourse,youshouldalsosecureyourinstanceasyouwouldanyotherserver.
Q:CanIgetahistoryofallEC2APIcallsmadeonmyaccountforsecurityanalysisandoperational
troubleshootingpurposes?
Yes.ToreceiveahistoryofallEC2APIcalls(includingVPCandEBS)madeonyouraccount,yousimplyturn
onCloudTrailintheAWSManagementConsole.Formoreinformation,visittheCloudTrailhomepage.

Q:WherecanIfindmoreinformationaboutsecurityonAWS?
FormoreinformationonsecurityonAWSpleaserefertoourAmazonWebServices:OverviewofSecurity
ProcesseswhitepaperandtoourAmazonEC2runningWindowsSecurityGuide.
ElasticIP
Q:WhyamIlimitedto5ElasticIPaddressesperregion?
Public(IPV4)internetaddressesareascarceresource.ThereisonlyalimitedamountofpublicIPspace
available,andAmazonEC2iscommittedtohelpingusethatspaceefficiently.
Bydefault,allaccountsarelimitedto5ElasticIPaddressesperregion.Ifyouneedmorethe5ElasticIP
addresses,weaskthatyouapplyforyourlimittoberaised.Wewillaskyoutothinkthroughyourusecaseand
helpusunderstandyourneedforadditionaladdresses.YoucanapplyformoreElasticIPaddresshere.Any
increaseswillbespecifictotheregiontheyhavebeenrequestedfor.
Q:WhyamIchargedwhenmyElasticIPaddressisnotassociatedwitharunninginstance?
InordertohelpensureourcustomersareefficientlyusingtheElasticIPaddresses,weimposeasmallhourly
chargeforeachaddresswhenitisnotassociatedtoarunninginstance.
Q:DoIneedoneElasticIPaddressforeveryinstancethatIhaverunning?
No.YoudonotneedanElasticIPaddressforallyourinstances.Bydefault,everyinstancecomeswitha
privateIPaddressandaninternetroutablepublicIPaddress.Theprivateaddressisassociatedexclusively
withtheinstanceandisonlyreturnedtoAmazonEC2whentheinstanceisstoppedorterminated.Thepublic
addressisassociatedexclusivelywiththeinstanceuntilitisstopped,terminatedorreplacedwithanElasticIP
address.TheseIPaddressesshouldbeadequateformanyapplicationswhereyoudonotneedalonglived
internetroutableendpoint.Computeclusters,webcrawling,andbackendservicesareallexamplesof
applicationsthattypicallydonotrequireElasticIPaddresses.
Q:HowlongdoesittaketoremapanElasticIPaddress?
TheremapprocesscurrentlytakesseveralminutesfromwhenyouinstructustoremaptheElasticIPuntilit
fullypropagatesthroughoursystem.
Q:CanIconfigurethereverseDNSrecordformyElasticIPaddress?
Yes,youcanconfigurethereverseDNSrecordofyourElasticIPaddressbyfillingoutthisform.Notethata
correspondingforwardDNSrecordpointingtothatElasticIPaddressmustexistbeforewecancreatethe
reverseDNSrecord.
AvailabilityZones

Q:HowisolatedareAvailabilityZonesfromoneanother?
EachAvailabilityZonerunsonitsownphysicallydistinct,independentinfrastructure,andisengineeredtobe
highlyreliable.Commonpointsoffailureslikegeneratorsandcoolingequipmentarenotsharedacross
AvailabilityZones.Additionally,theyarephysicallyseparate,suchthatevenextremelyuncommondisasters
suchasfires,tornadosorfloodingwouldonlyaffectasingleAvailabilityZone.

Q:IsAmazonEC2runninginmorethanoneregion?
Yes.PleaserefertoRegionalProductsandServicesformoredetailsofourproductandserviceavailabilityby
region.

Q:HowcanImakesurethatIaminthesameAvailabilityZoneasanotherdeveloper?
WedonotcurrentlysupporttheabilitytocoordinatelaunchesintothesameAvailabilityZoneacrossAWS
developeraccounts.OneAvailabilityZonename(forexample,useast1a)intwoAWScustomeraccountsmay
relatetodifferentphysicalAvailabilityZones.

Q:IfItransferdatabetweenAvailabilityZonesusingpublicIPaddresses,willIbechargedtwiceforRegional
DataTransfer(oncebecauseitsacrosszones,andasecondtimebecauseImusingpublicIPaddresses)?
No.RegionalDataTransferratesapplyifatleastoneofthefollowingistrue,butisonlychargedoncefora
giveninstanceevenifbotharetrue:
TheotherinstanceisinadifferentAvailabilityZone,regardlessofwhichtypeofaddressisused.
PublicorElasticIPaddressesareused,regardlessofwhichAvailabilityZonetheotherinstanceisin.
EnhancedNetworking
Q:Whatnetworkingcapabilitiesareincludedinthisfeature?
WecurrentlysupportenhancednetworkingcapabilitiesusingSRIOV(SingleRootI/OVirtualization).SRIOVis
amethodofdevicevirtualizationthatprovideshigherI/OperformanceandlowerCPUutilizationcomparedto
traditionalimplementations.ForsupportedAmazonEC2instances,thisfeatureprovideshigherpacketper
second(PPS)performance,lowerinterinstancelatencies,andverylownetworkjitter.
Q:WhyshouldIuseEnhancedNetworking?
Ifyourapplicationsbenefitfromhighpacketpersecondperformanceand/orlowlatencynetworking,Enhanced
Networkingwillprovidesignificantlyimprovedperformance,consistenceofperformanceandscalability.
Q:HowcanIenableEnhancedNetworkingonsupportedinstances?
Inordertoenablethisfeature,youmustlaunchanHVMAMIwiththeappropriatedrivers.R4,X1,P2and
m4.16xlargeinstancesprovidetheElasticNetworkAdapter(ENA)interface(whichusestheenaLinuxdriver)
forEnhancedNetworking.C3,C4,R3,I2,M4(exceptm4.16xlarge)andD2instancesuseIntel82599gVirtual
FunctionInterface(whichusestheixgbevfLinuxdriver).AmazonLinuxAMIincludesbothofthesedriversby
default.ForAMIsthatdonotcontainthesedrivers,youwillneedtodownloadandinstalltheappropriate
driversbasedontheinstancetypesyouplantouse.YoucanuseLinuxorWindowsinstructionstoenable
EnhancedNetworkinginAMIsthatdonotincludetheSRIOVdriverbydefault.EnhancedNetworkingisonly
supportedinAmazonVPC.
Q:DoIneedtopayanadditionalfeetouseEnhancedNetworking?
No,thereisnoadditionalfeeforEnhancedNetworking.TotakeadvantageofEnhancedNetworkingyouneed
tolaunchtheappropriateAMIonasupportedinstancetypeinaVPC.
Q:WhyisEnhancedNetworkingonlysupportedinAmazonVPC?
AmazonVPCallowsustodelivermanyadvancednetworkingfeaturestoyouthatarenotpossibleinEC2
Classic.EnhancedNetworkingisanotherexampleofacapabilityenabledbyAmazonVPC.
Q:WhichinstancetypessupportEnhancedNetworking?
R4,X1,P2,andm4.16xlargeinstancesprovidetheElasticNetworkAdapter(ENA)interfaceforEnhanced
Networking.C3,C4,R3,I2,M4(exceptm4.16xlarge)andD2instances,useIntel82599VirtualFunction
Interface.
AmazonElasticBlockStorage(EBS)
Q:Whathappenstomydatawhenasystemterminates?
Thedatastoredonalocalinstancestorewillpersistonlyaslongasthatinstanceisalive.However,datathatis
storedonanAmazonEBSvolumewillpersistindependentlyofthelifeoftheinstance.Therefore,we
recommendthatyouusethelocalinstancestorefortemporarydataand,fordatarequiringahigherlevelof
durability,werecommendusingAmazonEBSvolumesorbackingupthedatatoAmazonS3.Ifyouareusing
anAmazonEBSvolumeasarootpartition,youwillneedtosettheDeleteOnTerminateflagto"N"ifyouwant
yourAmazonEBSvolumetopersistoutsidethelifeoftheinstance.

Q:WhatkindofperformancecanIexpectfromAmazonEBSvolumes?
AmazonEBSprovidesthreevolumetypes:GeneralPurpose(SSD)volumes,ProvisionedIOPS(SSD)volumes,
andMagneticvolumes.Thesevolumetypesdifferinperformancecharacteristicsandprice,allowingyouto
tailoryourstorageperformanceandcosttotheneedsofyourapplications.Formoreperformanceinfomation
seetheEBSproductdetailspage.
ForadditionalinformationonAmazonEBSperformance,seetheAmazonEC2UserGuidesEBSsection.
Q:WhatistheEBSGeneralPurpose(SSD)volumetype?
TheEBSGeneralPurpose(SSD)volumesarebackedbythesametechnologyfoundinEBSProvisionedIOPS
(SSD)volumes.TheEBSGeneralPurpose(SSD)volumetypeisdesignedfor99.999%availability,anda
broadrangeofusecasessuchasbootvolumes,smallandmediumsizedatabases,anddevelopmentandtest
environments.GeneralPurpose(SSD)volumesdeliveraratioof3IOPSperGB,offersingledigitmillisecond
latencies,andalsohavetheabilitytoburstupto3000IOPSforshortperiods.
Q:WhichvolumetypeshouldIchoose?
CustomerscannowchoosebetweenthreeEBSvolumetypestobestmeettheneedsoftheirworkloads:
GeneralPurpose(SSD),ProvisionedIOPS(SSD),andMagnetic.GeneralPurpose(SSD)isthenew,SSD
backed,generalpurposeEBSvolumetypethatwerecommendasthedefaultchoiceforcustomers.General
Purpose(SSD)volumesaresuitableforabroadrangeofworkloads,includingsmalltomediumsized
databases,developmentandtestenvironments,andbootvolumes.ProvisionedIOPS(SSD)volumesoffer
storagewithconsistentandlowlatencyperformance,andaredesignedforI/Ointensiveapplicationssuchas
largerelationalorNoSQLdatabases.MagneticvolumesprovidethelowestcostpergigabyteofallEBSvolume
types.Magneticvolumesareidealforworkloadswheredataisaccessedinfrequently,andapplicationswhere
theloweststoragecostisimportant.

Q:Doyousupportmultipleinstancesaccessingasinglevolume?
Whileyouareabletoattachmultiplevolumestoasingleinstance,attachingmultipleinstancestoonevolume
isnotsupportedatthistime.

Q:WillIbeabletoaccessmyEBSsnapshotsusingtheregularAmazonS3APIs?
No,EBSsnapshotsareonlyavailablethroughtheAmazonEC2APIs.

Q:Dovolumesneedtobeunmountedinordertotakeasnapshot?Doesthesnapshotneedtocomplete
beforethevolumecanbeusedagain?
No,snapshotscanbedoneinrealtimewhilethevolumeisattachedandinuse.However,snapshotsonly
capturedatathathasbeenwrittentoyourAmazonEBSvolume,whichmightexcludeanydatathathasbeen
locallycachedbyyourapplicationorOS.Inordertoensureconsistentsnapshotsonvolumesattachedtoan
instance,werecommendcleanlydetachingthevolume,issuingthesnapshotcommand,andthenreattaching
thevolume.ForAmazonEBSvolumesthatserveasrootdevices,werecommendshuttingdownthemachine
totakeacleansnapshot.

Q:Aresnapshotsversioned?CanIreadanoldersnapshottodoapointintimerecovery?
Eachsnapshotisgivenauniqueidentifier,andcustomerscancreatevolumesbasedonanyoftheirexisting
snapshots.

Q:WhatchargesapplywhenusingAmazonEBSsharedsnapshots?
Ifyoushareasnapshot,youwontbechargedwhenotherusersmakeacopyofyoursnapshot.Ifyoumakea
copyofanotheruserssharedvolume,youwillbechargednormalEBSrates.

Q:CanusersofmyAmazonEBSsharedsnapshotschangeanyofmydata?
Userswhohavepermissiontocreatevolumesbasedonyoursharedsnapshotswillfirstmakeacopyofthe
snapshotintotheiraccount.Userscanmodifytheirowncopiesofthedata,butthedataonyouroriginal
snapshotandanyothervolumescreatedbyotherusersfromyouroriginalsnapshotwillremainunmodified.

Q:HowcanIdiscoverAmazonEBSsnapshotsthathavebeensharedwithme?
YoucanfindsnapshotsthathavebeensharedwithyoubyselectingPrivateSnapshotsfromtheviewing
dropdownintheSnapshotssectionoftheAWSManagementConsole.Thissectionwilllistbothsnapshotsyou
ownandsnapshotsthathavebeensharedwithyou.

Q:HowcanIfindwhatAmazonEBSsnapshotsaresharedglobally?
YoucanfindsnapshotsthathavebeensharedgloballybyselectingPublicSnapshotsfromtheviewing
dropdownintheSnapshotssectionoftheAWSManagementConsole.
Q:DoyouofferencryptiononAmazonEBSvolumesandsnapshots?
Yes.EBSoffersseamlessencryptionofdatavolumesandsnapshots.EBSencryptionbetterenablesyouto
meetsecurityandencryptioncompliancerequirements.

Q:HowcanIfindalistofAmazonPublicDataSets?
AllinformationonPublicDataSetsisavailableinourPublicDataSetsResourceCenter.Youcanalsoobtaina
listingofPublicDataSetswithintheAWSManagementConsolebychoosingAmazonSnapshotsfromthe
viewingdropdownintheSnapshotssection.
Q:WherecanIlearnmoreaboutEBS?
YoucanvisittheEBSFAQpage.
AmazonCloudWatch
Q:WhatistheminimumtimeintervalgranularityforthedatathatAmazonCloudWatchreceivesand
aggregates?
Metricsarereceivedandaggregatedat1minuteintervals.
Q:WhichoperatingsystemsdoesAmazonCloudWatchsupport?
AmazonCloudWatchreceivesandprovidesmetricsforallAmazonEC2instancesandshouldworkwithany
operatingsystemcurrentlysupportedbytheAmazonEC2service.
Q:WillIlosethemetricsdataifIdisablemonitoringforanAmazonEC2instance?
YoucanretrievemetricsdataforanyAmazonEC2instanceupto2weeksfromthetimeyoustartedtomonitor
it.After2weeks,metricsdataforanAmazonEC2instancewillnotbeavailableifmonitoringwasdisabledfor
thatAmazonEC2instance.Ifyouwanttoarchivemetricsbeyond2weeksyoucandosobycallingmonget
statscommandfromthecommandlineandstoringtheresultsinAmazonS3orAmazonSimpleDB.
Q:CanIaccessthemetricsdataforaterminatedAmazonEC2instanceoradeletedElasticLoadBalancer?
Yes.AmazonCloudWatchstoresmetricsforterminatedAmazonEC2instancesordeletedElasticLoad
Balancersfor2weeks.
Q:DoestheAmazonCloudWatchmonitoringchargechangedependingonwhichtypeofAmazonEC2
instanceImonitor?
No,theAmazonCloudWatchmonitoringchargedoesnotvarybyAmazonEC2instancetype.
Q:WhydoesthegraphingofthesametimewindowlookdifferentwhenIviewin5minuteand1minute
periods?
Ifyouviewthesametimewindowina5minuteperiodversusa1minuteperiod,youmayseethatdatapoints
aredisplayedindifferentplacesonthegraph.Fortheperiodyouspecifyinyourgraph,AmazonCloudWatch
willfindalltheavailabledatapointsandcalculatesasingle,aggregatepointtorepresenttheentireperiod.In
thecaseofa5minuteperiod,thesingledatapointisplacedatthebeginningofthe5minutetimewindow.In
thecaseofa1minuteperiod,thesingledatapointisplacedatthe1minutemark.Werecommendusinga1
minuteperiodfortroubleshootingandotheractivitiesthatrequirethemostprecisegraphingoftimeperiods.
AutoScaling
Q:CanIscaleupmyAmazonEC2capacityfastbutscaleitdownslowly?
Yes.Forexample,youcandefineascaleupconditiontoincreaseyourAmazonEC2capacityby10%anda
scaledownconditiontodecreaseitby5%.
Q:WhathappensifascalingactivitycausesmetoreachmyAmazonEC2limitofinstances?
AutoScalingServicecannotscalepasttheAmazonEC2limitofinstancesthatyoucanrun.Ifyouneedmore
AmazonEC2instances,completetheAmazonEC2instancerequestform.
Q:WhathappenstomyAmazonEC2instancesifIdeletemyAutoScalingGroup?
IfyouhaveanAutoScalinggroupwithrunninginstancesandyouchoosetodeletetheAutoScalinggroup,the
instanceswillbeterminatedandtheAutoScalinggroupwillbedeleted.
ElasticLoadBalancing
Q:WhatloadbalancingoptionsdoestheElasticLoadBalancingserviceoffer?
ElasticLoadBalancingofferstwotypesofloadbalancersthatbothfeaturehighavailability,automaticscaling,
androbustsecurity.TheseincludetheClassicLoadBalancerthatroutestrafficbasedoneitherapplicationor
networklevelinformation,andtheApplicationLoadBalancerthatroutestrafficbasedonadvancedapplication
levelinformationthatincludesthecontentoftherequest.
Q:WhenshouldIusetheClassicLoadBalancerandwhenshouldIusetheApplicationLoadBalancer?
TheClassicLoadBalancerisidealforsimpleloadbalancingoftrafficacrossmultipleEC2instances,whilethe
ApplicationLoadBalancerisidealforapplicationsneedingadvancedroutingcapabilities,microservices,and
containerbasedarchitectures.PleasevisitElasticLoadBalancingformoreinformation.
ReservedInstances
Q:WhatisaReservedInstance?
ReservedInstancesprovideyouwithadiscountonusageofEC2instances,andacapacityreservationwhen
theyareappliedtoaspecificAvailabilityZone,givingyouadditionalconfidencethatyouwillbeabletolaunch
theinstancesyouhavereservedwhenyouneedthem.
Q:WhatisthedifferencebetweenaReservedInstanceandanOnDemandinstance?
WhenaninstanceisrunningOnDemand,youarepayingtheOnDemandratesforit.WhenaReserved
Instanceappliestoaninstance,youpaytheReservedInstancediscountedhourlyrateforyourinstanceusage,
andacapacityreservationiscreatedforaninstanceifyourReservedInstanceisappliedtoaspecific
AvailabilityZone.
Q:CanyouexplainthecapacitybenefitofaReservedInstance?
WhenaReservedInstanceappliestoaspecificAvailabilityZone,itisreservinginstancecapacitymatchingthe
ReservedInstanceconfiguration.Thisbenefitprovidesyouadditionalconfidenceinyourabilitytolaunch
instancesinaspecificAvailabilityZone,whenyouneedthem.
Q:AreReservedInstancesactualinstances?
No,ReservedInstancesarenotphysicalinstances,sotheydon'thavetobelaunched.ReservedInstancesare
anEC2offeringthatprovidesadiscountonyourinstanceusageandacapacityreservationwhenassignedto
aspecificAvailabilityZone.
Q:DoReservedInstancesapplytoSpotInstancesorinstancesrunningonaDedicatedHost?
No,ReservedInstancesdonotapplytoSpotInstancesorinstancesrunningonDedicatedHosts.Tolowerthe
costofusingDedicatedHosts,purchaseDedicatedHostReservations.
Q:HowdoIpurchaseaReservedInstance?
YoucanpurchaseaReservedInstanceusingtheAWSManagementConsoleorusingtheAWSCLI.Visit
theGettingStartedpagetolearnmore.
Q:HowdoIpurchaseaReservedInstanceforarunninginstance?
YoucanpurchaseaReservedInstanceforarunninginstancebypurchasingaReservedInstancematching
theattributesofyourrunninginstance.Theattributesthatneedtoalignaretheinstancetype,regionor
AvailabilityZone,tenancy,andplatformdescription.VisittheGettingStartedpagetolearnmore.
Q:WhenshouldIpurchaseaReservedInstanceforaspecificAvailabilityZone?
YoushouldpurchaseaReservedInstanceforaspecificAvailabilityZoneifyouneedacapacityreservation.
Otherwise,youshouldassignyourReservedInstancetoaregiontobenefitfromabroaderapplicationofthe
ReservedInstancerate.
Q:IownReservedInstancesassignedtospecificAvailabilityZones.HowdoIassignthemtoaregion?
YoucanassignyourReservedInstancestoaregionusingtheEC2ManagementConsoleandmodifyingthe
ScopeoftheReservedInstancefromAvailabilityZonetoRegion.WhenyouarepurchasingnewReserved
InstancesintheAWSconsole,bydefaultyouwillseeReservedInstanceswithascopeofRegion.
Q:HowdoesAWSassignmyReservedInstanceratetoinstanceusageindifferentAvailabilityZones?
WhenyourReservedInstanceisassignedtoaregion,AWSappliesyourReservedInstanceratetousageona
firstinbasis.
Q:DoIcontrolwhichinstancesarebilledatthelowerrate?
No,AWSautomaticallyoptimizeswhichinstancesarechargedatthelowerratetoensureyoualwayspaythe
lowestamount.Forinformationabouthourlybilling,andhowitappliestoReservedInstances,seeBilling
BenefitsandPaymentOptions.
Q:CanIreassignmyStandardReservedInstancefromoneinstancetype(e.g.,c1.xlarge)toanother(e.g.,
m1.large)?
No.AStandardReservedInstanceisassociatedwithaspecificinstancetypeforthedurationofitsterm
however,youcanchangefromoneinstancesize(e.g.,c3.large)toanother(e.g.,c3.xlarge)inthesametype,
ifitisaLinux/UNIXReservedInstance.Ifyoudliketohaveflexibilityamonginstancetypes,werecommend
purchasingaConvertibleReservedInstance.PleaserefertotheConvertibleReservedInstancessectionofthe
FAQforadditionalinformation.
Q:WhenIlaunchinstancesanddonotspecifyanAvailabilityZone,willmyReservedInstanceapplytomy
instance?
IfyouvepurchasedaReservedInstanceanditsassignedtoaregion,yourinstancecanbenefitfromthe
ReservedInstancerate.IfyouveassignedyourReservedInstancetoaspecificAvailabilityZoneandthe
AvailabilityZoneofyourReservedInstancedoesnotalignwiththeAvailabilityZoneofyourinstance,the
ReservedInstancewillnotapplytotheinstance.
Q:Howdothepaymentoptionsimpactmybill?
WhenyoupurchaseReservedInstancesundertheAllUpfrontpaymentoption,youpayfortheentiretermof
thereservationinoneupfrontpayment.
Ifyouhaveanaccountwithasuccessfulbillinghistory,youcanchoosetheNoUpfrontoption.Theentirevalue
ofthereservationisspreadacrosseveryhourinthetermandyouwillbebilledforeveryhourintheterm,
regardlessofusage.
ThePartialUpfrontpaymentoptionisahybridoftheAllUpfrontandNoUpfrontoptions.Youmakeasmall
upfrontpayment,andyouarebilledalowhourlyrateforeveryhourinthetermregardlessofusage.
Q:WhenareReservedInstancesactivated?
Thebillingdiscountandcapacityreservationisactivatedonceyourpaymenthassuccessfullybeenauthorized.
Youcanviewthestatus(pending|active|retired)ofyourreservationsonthe"ReservedInstances"pageof
theAmazonEC2Console.
Q:CanIusemyReservedInstanceswithWindowstorunaWindowswithSQLStandardServerAMI?
Yes.ReservationsforinstancesrunningMicrosoftWindowsServerandMicrosoftSQLServerareavailablein
everyregion.Togetpricinginformationandadditionaldetails,pleasevisittheAmazonEC2RunningMicrosoft
WindowsServer&SQLServerpage.
Q:HowdoReservedInstancesworkwithConsolidatedBilling?
TheaccountyouusetopurchaseReservedInstanceswillreceivethecapacityreservation.Oursystem
automaticallyoptimizeswhichinstancesarechargedatthelowerratetoensurethatthepayeraccountalways
paysthelowestamount.
Intermsofvolumediscounttiers,ifyouleverageConsolidatedBilling,AWSwillusetheaggregatetotallist
priceofactivereservationsacrossallofyourconsolidatedaccountstodeterminewhichvolumediscounttierto
apply.Volumediscounttiersaredeterminedatthetimeofpurchase,soyoushouldactivateConsolidated
BillingpriortopurchasingReservedInstancestoensurethatyoubenefitfromthelargestpossiblevolume
discounttierthatyourconsolidatedaccountsareeligibletoreceive.
Q:Howdothevolumediscounttierswork?
WhenyoupurchaseReservedInstancesinaregion,andtheirvaluesaddsuptoavaluedeterminedbyAWS,
youautomaticallyreceivediscountsonyourupfrontfeesandhourlyfeesforfuturepurchasesofReserved
Instancesinthatregion.
Thesediscountsaredeterminedbasedonthetotallistvalue(nondiscountedprice)ofupfrontfeesforthe
activereservationsyouhaveperregion.Yourtotallistvalueisthesumofallexpectedpaymentsfora
reservationwithintheterm,includingboththeupfrontandrecurringhourlypayments.Thefollowingarethe
volumediscounttiers:
$0$500K:Upfront0%,Hourly0%
$500K$4M:Upfront5%,Hourly5%
$4M$10M:Upfront10%,Hourly10%
$10M+:ContactUs
WhenyouhaveactiveReservedInstanceswithalistvaluetotalingmorethan$500,000inasingleregion,you
willautomaticallyreceivea5%discountonbothupfrontandhourlyfeesforallfuturepurchasesinthatregion.
Discountswillcontinuetoapplytonewreservationsaslongasyoucontinuetoqualifyforthisvolumediscount
tier.
Toillustrate,let'sassumeyoucurrentlyhave$400,000worthofactiveReservedInstancesinuseast1.You
wanttopurchase75Reservedinstanceswithalistvalueof$2000each.Thatwouldbeatotalof$150,000
withoutanydiscounttiers.
Thefirst$100,000ofthispurchasewouldbediscountedat0percent.Theremaining$50,000ofthispurchase
wouldbediscountedby5percent,soyouwouldonlybecharged$47,500overthetermforthepurchase,and
youwouldpaydiscountedhourlyfeesonthosereservations.
Tolearnmoreaboutvolumediscounttiers,pleasevisittheUnderstandingReservedInstanceDiscountPricing
TiersportionoftheAmazonEC2UserGuide.
Q:DoConvertibleReservedInstancesqualifyforVolumeDiscounts?
No,howeverthevalueofeachConvertibleReservedInstancethatyoupurchasecontributestoyourvolume
discountstanding.
Q:HowdoIcalculatethelistvalueofanReservedInstance?
Hereisasamplelistvaluecalculationfor3yrPartialUpfrontReservedInstances:
3yrPartialUpfrontVolumeDiscountValueinUSEast
Recurring RecurringHourly List

Upfront$ Hourly$ Value Value
m3.xlar
ge $1,345 $0.060 $1,577 $2,922
c3.xlar
ge $1,016 $0.045 $1,183 $2,199
Assume26,280Hoursina3yrTerm
RecurringHourlyValue=RecurringHourly$*HoursinTerm
ListValue=Upfront$+RecurringHourlyValue
Q:IreceivepurchasingdiscountsformyReservedInstances,willIalsoreceivevolumediscounts?
No.DiscountsbasedonvolumetiersarenotcumulativewithotherdiscountsforReservedInstancepurchases.
Q:WillthecostofmyReservedInstanceschange,ifmyfuturevolumequalifiesmeforotherdiscounttiers?
Volumediscountsaredeterminedatthetimeofpurchase.Newpurchaseswillbediscountedaccordingtoyour
eligible,volumediscounttier.ReservedInstancesarebilledatthesamerateforthedurationoftheirterm.
Forexample,ifyouhave$520KworthofReservedInstances,andsellreservationsworth$50kinthe
ReservedInstanceMarketplace,youwouldcontinuetopaythediscountedratefortheremaining$470Kworth
ofreservationsforthedurationoftheterm.Ifyouhave$470Kworthofreservationsandpurchasean
additional$50Kworth,youwouldreceiveavolumetierdiscountonallReservedInstancesover$500K.
Q:WillAmazonRDSpurchasescounttowardAmazonEC2volumediscounttiers(andviceversa)?
No.OnlyAmazonEC2ReservedInstancespurchasesapplytowardstheAmazonEC2volumediscounttiers.
Q:WhatdoIneedtodoatpurchasetimetoreceivevolumediscounts?
Noactionisrequiredonyourpart.Youwillautomaticallyreceivevolumediscountswhenyouusetheexisting
PurchaseReservedInstanceAPIorEC2ManagementConsoleinterfacetopurchaseReservedInstances.If
youpurchasemorethan$10MworthofReservedInstances,contactusaboutreceivingdiscountsbeyond
thosethatareautomaticallyprovided.
Q:HowdoIdeterminewhichvolumediscounttierappliestome?
Todetermineyourcurrentvolumediscounttier,pleaseconsulttheUnderstandingReservedInstanceDiscount
PricingTiersportionoftheAmazonEC2UserGuide.
Q:IhavepurchasedaReservedInstanceforaninstancetypethatisavailableasanEBSOptimizedinstance.
CanIrelaunchthatinstanceasanEBSOptimizedinstance?DoIstillgetthelowerate?
IfyoualreadyownareservationforaninstancetypethatsupportsEBSOptimization,youcanrelaunchthe
instanceasanEBSOptimizedinstance.YouwillpaytheadditionalhourlychargeforEBSOptimization,in
additiontoyourhourlyinstancecost.
ConvertibleReservedInstances
Q:WhatisaConvertibleReservedInstance?
AConvertibleReservedInstanceisatypeofReservedInstancewithattributesthatcanbechangedduringthe
term.
Q:WhenshouldIpurchaseaConvertibleReservedInstanceinsteadofaStandardReservedInstance?
TheConvertibleReservedInstanceisusefulforcustomerswhocancommittousingEC2instancesfora3
yearterminexchangeforasignificantdiscountontheirEC2usage,areuncertainabouttheirinstanceneeds
inthefuture,orwanttobenefitfromchangesinprice.
Q:CanIexchangemyConvertibleReservedInstancetobenefitfromaConvertibleReservedInstance
matchingadifferentinstancetype,operatingsystem,tenancy,orpaymentoption?
Yes,youcanselectanewinstancetype,operatingsystem,tenancy,orpaymentoptionwhenyouexchange
yourConvertibleReservedInstances.
Q:CanItransferaConvertibleorStandardReservedInstancefromoneregiontoanother?
No,aReservedInstanceisassociatedwithaspecificregion,whichisfixedforthedurationofthereservation's
term.
Q:HowdoIchangetheconfigurationofaConvertibleReservedInstance?
YoucanchangetheconfigurationofyourConvertibleReservedInstanceusingtheEC2ManagementConsole
ortheExchangeReservedInstanceAPI.
Q:DoIneedtopayafeewhenIexchangemyConvertibleReservedInstances?
No,youdonotpayafeewhenyouexchangeyourReservedInstances.Howevermayneedtopayaonetime
trueupchargethataccountsfordifferencesinpricingbetweentheConvertibleReservedInstancesthatyou
haveandtheConvertibleReservedInstancesthatyouwant.
Q:DoestheenddatechangewhenIexchangeaConvertibleReservedInstance?
No,theenddateoftheoriginalReservedInstanceistransferredtotheReservedInstancesyoureceiveafter
theexchange.
Q:HowdoConvertibleReservedInstanceexchangeswork?
WhenyouexchangeoneConvertibleReservedInstanceforanother,EC2ensuresthatthetotalvalueofthe
ConvertibleReservedInstancesismaintainedthroughaconversion.So,ifyouareconvertingyourReserved
Instancewithatotalvalueof$1000foranotherReservedInstance,youwillreceiveaquantityofConvertible
ReservedInstanceswithavaluethatsequaltoorgreaterthan$1000.YoucannotconvertyourConvertible
ReservedInstanceforConvertibleReservedInstance(s)ofalessertotalvalue.
Q:Canyoudefinetotalvalue?
ThetotalvalueisthesumofallexpectedpaymentsthatyoudmakeduringthetermfortheReservedInstance.
Q:CanyouwalkmethroughhowthetrueupcostiscalculatedforaconversionbetweentwoAllUpfront
ConvertibleReservedInstances?
Sure,letssayyoupurchasedanAllUpfrontConvertibleReservedInstancefor$1000upfront,andhalfway
throughthetermyoudecidetochangetheattributesoftheReservedInstance.Sinceyourehalfwaythrough
theReservedInstanceterm,youhave$500leftofproratedvalueremainingontheReservedInstance.TheAll
UpfrontConvertibleReservedInstancethatyouwanttoconvertintocosts$1,200upfronttoday.Sinceyouonly
havehalfofthetermleftonyourexistingConvertibleReservedInstance,thereis$600ofvalueremainingon
thedesirednewConvertibleReservedInstance.Thetrueupchargethatyoullpaywillbethedifferencein
upfrontvaluebetweenoriginalanddesiredConvertibleReservedInstances,or$100($600$500).
Q:CanyouwalkmethroughaconversionbetweenNoUpfrontConvertibleReservedInstances?
UnlikeconversionsbetweenConvertibleReservedInstanceswithanupfrontvalue,sinceyoureconverting
betweenReservedInstanceswithoutanupfrontcost,therewillnotbeatrueupcharge.However,theamount
youpayonanhourlybasisbeforetheexchangewillneedtobegreaterthanorequaltotheamountyoupay
onatotalhourlybasisaftertheexchange.
Forexample,letssayyoupurchasedoneNoUpfrontConvertibleReservedInstance(A)witha$0.10/hrrate,
andyoudecidetoexchangeConvertibleReservedInstanceAforanotherReservedInstance(B)thatcosts
$0.06/hr.Whenyouconvert,youwillreceivetwoReservedInstancesofBbecausetheamountthatyoupayon
anhourlybasismustbegreaterthanorequaltotheamountyourepayingforAonanhourlybasis.
Q:CanIcustomizethenumberofinstancesthatIreceiveasaresultofaConvertibleReservedInstance
exchange?
No,EC2usesthevalueoftheConvertibleReservedInstancesyouretradingintocalculatetheminimal
numberofConvertibleReservedInstancesyoullreceivewhileensuringtheresultoftheexchangegivesyou
ConvertibleRIsofequalorgreatervalue.
Q:ArethereexchangelimitsforConvertibleReservedInstances?
No,therearenoexchangelimitsforConvertibleReservedInstances.
Q:DoIhavethefreedomtochooseanyinstancetypewhenIexchangemyConvertibleReservedInstances?
No,youcanonlyexchangeintoConvertibleReservedInstancesthatarecurrentlyofferedbyAWS.
Q:CanIupgradethepaymentoptionassociatedwithmyConvertibleReservedInstance?
Yes,youcanupgradethepaymentoptionassociatedwithyourReservedInstance.Forexample,youcan
exchangeyourNoUpfrontReservedInstancesforPartialorAllUpfrontReservedInstancestobenefitfrom
betterpricing.YoucannotchangethepaymentoptionfromAllUpfronttoNoUpfront,andcannotchangefrom
PartialUpfronttoNoUpfront.
Q:DoConvertibleReservedInstancesallowmetobenefitfrompricereductionswhentheyhappen?
Yes,youcanexchangeyourReservedInstancestobenefitfromlowerpricing.Forexample,ifthepriceofnew
ConvertibleReservedInstancesreducesby10%,youcanexchangeyourConvertibleRIsandbenefitfromthe
10%reductioninprice.
ReservedInstanceMarketplace
Q.WhatistheReservedInstanceMarketplace?
TheReservedInstanceMarketplaceisanonlinemarketplacethatprovidesAWScustomerstheflexibilitytosell
theirAmazonElasticComputeCloud(AmazonEC2)ReservedInstancestootherbusinessesand
organizations.CustomerscanalsobrowsetheReservedInstanceMarketplacetofindanevenwiderselection
ofReservedInstancetermlengthsandpricingoptionssoldbyotherAWScustomers.
Q.WhencanIlistaReservedInstanceontheReservedInstanceMarketplace?
YoucanlistaReservedInstancewhen:
You'veregisteredasasellerintheReservedInstanceMarketplace.
You'vepaidforyourReservedInstance.
You'veownedtheReservedInstanceforlongerthan30days.
Q.HowwillIregisterasasellerfortheReservedInstanceMarketplace?
ToregisterfortheReservedInstanceMarketplace,youcanentertheregistrationworkflowbysellinga
ReservedInstancefromtheEC2ManagementConsoleorsettingupyourprofilefromthe"AccountSettings"
pageontheAWSportal.Nomattertheroute,youwillneedtocompletethefollowingsteps:
1.Startbyreviewingtheoverviewoftheregistrationprocess.
2.LogintoyourAWSAccount.
3.Enterinthebankaccountintowhichyouwantustodisbursefunds.Onceyouselect"Continue",wewillset
thatbankaccountasthedefaultdisbursementoption.
4.Intheconfirmationscreen,choose"ContinuetoConsoletoStartListing".
Ifyouexceed$20,000insalesofReservedInstances,orplantosell50ormoreReservedInstances,youwill
needtoprovidetaxinformationbeforeyoucanlistyourReservedInstances.Choose"ContinuewithTax
Interview".Duringthetaxinterviewpipeline,youwillbepromptedtoenteryourcompanyname,contactname,
address,andTaxIdentificationNumberusingtheTIMSworkflow.
Additionally,ifyouplantosellReservedInstancesworthmorethan$50,000peryearyouwillalsoneedtofilea
limitincrease.
Q.HowwillIknowwhenIcanstartsellingontheReservedInstanceMarketplace?
YoucanstartsellingontheReservedInstanceMarketplaceafteryouhaveaddedabankaccountthroughthe
registrationpipeline.Onceactivationiscomplete,youwillreceiveaconfirmationemail.However,itisimportant
tonotethatyouwillnotbeabletoreceivedisbursementsuntilweareabletoreceiveverificationfromyour
bank,whichmaytakeuptotwoweeks,dependingonthebankyouuse.
Q.HowdoIlistaReservedInstanceforsale?
TolistaReservedInstance,simplycompletethesestepsintheAmazonEC2Console:
1.SelecttheReservedInstancesyouwishtosell,andchoose"SellReservedInstances".Ifyouhavenot
completedtheregistrationprocess,youwillbepromptedtoregisterusingtheregistrationpipeline.
2.ForeachReservedInstancetype,setthenumberofinstancesyoudliketosell,andthepricefortheone
timefeeyouwouldliketoset.Notethatyoucansettheonetimepricetodifferentamountsdependingon
theamountoftimeremainingsothatyoudonthavetokeepadjustingyouronetimepriceifyourReserved
Instancedoesntsellquickly.Bydefaultyoujustneedtosetthecurrentpriceandwewillautomatically
decreasetheonetimepricebythesameincrementeachmonth.
3.Onceyouhaveconfiguredyourlisting,afinalconfirmationscreenwillappear.Choose"SellReserved
Instance".
Q.WhichReservedInstancescanIlistforsale?
YoucanlistanyReservedInstancesthathavebeenactiveforatleast30days,andforwhichwehavereceived
payment.Typically,thismeansthatyoucanlistyourreservationsoncetheyareintheactivestate.Itis
importanttonotethatifyouareaninvoicecustomer,yourReservedInstancecanbeintheactivestatepriorto
AWSreceivingpayment.Inthiscase,yourReservedInstancewillnotbelisteduntilwehavereceivedyour
payment.
Q.HowarelistedReservedInstancesdisplayedtobuyers?
ReservedInstances(boththirdpartyandthoseofferedbyAWS)thathavebeenlistedontheReserved
InstanceMarketplacecanbeviewedinthe"ReservedInstances"sectionoftheAmazonEC2Console.Youcan
alsousetheDescribeReservedInstancesListingsAPIcall.
ThelistedReservedInstancesaregroupedbasedonthetype,termremaining,upfrontprice,andhourlyprice.
ThismakesiteasierforbuyerstofindtherightReservedInstancestopurchase.
Q.HowmuchofmyReservedInstancetermcanIlist?
YoucansellaReservedInstanceforthetermremaining,roundeddowntothenearestmonth.Forexample,if
youhad9monthsand13daysremaining,youwilllistitforsaleasa9monthtermReservedInstance.
Q.CanIremovemyReservedInstanceafterIvelisteditforsale?
Yes,youcanremoveyourReservedInstancelistingsatanypointuntilasaleispending(meaningabuyerhas
boughtyourReservedInstanceandconfirmationofpaymentispending).
Q.WhichpricingdimensionscanIsetfortheReservedInstancesIwanttolist?
UsingtheReservedInstanceMarketplace,youcansetanupfrontpriceyoudbewillingtoaccept.Youcannot
setthehourlyprice(whichwillremainthesameaswassetontheoriginalReservedInstance),andyouwillnot
receiveanyfundscollectedfrompaymentsassociatedwiththehourlyprices.
Q.CanIstillusemyreservationwhileitislistedontheReservedInstanceMarketplace?
Yes,youwillcontinuetoreceivethecapacityandbillingbenefitofyourreservationuntilitissold.Oncesold,
anyrunninginstancethatwasbeingchargedatthediscountedratewillbechargedattheOnDemandrate
untilandunlessyoupurchaseanewreservation,orterminatetheinstance.
Q.CanIresellaReservedInstancethatIpurchasedfromtheReservedInstanceMarketplace?
Yes,youcanresellReservedInstancespurchasedfromtheReservedInstanceMarketplacejustlikeanyother
ReservedInstance.
Q.ArethereanyrestrictionswhensellingReservedInstances?
Yes,youmusthaveaUSbankaccounttosellReservedInstancesintheReservedInstanceMarketplace.
SupportfornonUSbankaccountswillbecomingsoon.Also,youmaynotsellReservedInstancesintheUS
GovCloudregion.
Q.CanIsellReservedInstancespurchasedfromthepublicvolumepricingtiers?
No,thiscapabilityisnotyetavailable.
Q.IsthereachargeforsellingReservedInstancesontheReservedInstanceMarketplace?
Yes,AWSchargesaservicefeeof12%ofthetotalupfrontpriceofeachReservedInstanceyousellinthe
ReservedInstanceMarketplace.
Q.CanAWSsellsubsetsofmylistedReservedInstances?
Yes,AWSmaypotentiallysellasubsetofthequantityofReservedInstancesthatyouhavelisted.Forexample,
ifyoulist100Reservedinstances,wemayonlyhaveabuyerinterestedinpurchasing50ofthem.Wewillsell
those50instancesandcontinuetolistyourremaining50ReservedInstancesuntilandunlessyoudecidenot
tolistthemanylonger.
Q.HowdobuyerspayforReservedInstancesthatthey'vepurchased?
PaymentforcompletedReservedInstancesalesaredoneviaACHwiretransferstoaUSbankaccount.
Q.WhenwillIreceivemymoney?
OnceAWShasreceivedfundsfromthecustomerthathasboughtyourreservation,wewilldisbursefundsvia
wiretransfertothebankaccountyouspecifiedwhenyouregisteredfortheReservedInstanceMarketplace.
Then,wewillsendyouanemailnotificationlettingyouknowthatwevewiredyouthefunds.Typically,funds
willappearinyouraccountwithin35daysofwhenyourReservedInstancewasbeensold.
Q.IfIsellmyReservedInstanceintheReservedInstanceMarketplace,willIgetrefundedforthePremium
SupportIwaschargedtoo?
No,youwillnotreceiveaproratedrefundfortheupfrontportionoftheAWSPremiumSupportFee.
Q.WillIbenotifiedaboutReservedInstanceMarketplaceactivities?
Yes,youwillreceiveasingleemailonceadaythatdetailsyourReservedInstanceMarketplaceactivity
wheneveryoucreateorcancelReservedInstancelistings,buyerspurchaseyourlistings,orAWSdisburses
fundstoyourbankaccount.
Q.Whatinformationisexchangedbetweenthebuyerandsellertohelpwiththetransactiontaxcalculation?
Thebuyerscity,state,zip+4,andcountryinformationwillbeprovidedtothesellerviaadisbursementreport.
Thisinformationwillenablesellerstocalculateanynecessarytransactiontaxestheyneedtoremittothe
government(e.g.,salestax,valueaddedtax,etc.).Thelegalentitynameofthesellerwillalsobeprovidedon
thepurchaseinvoice.
Q.ArethereanyrestrictionsonthecustomerswhenpurchasingthirdpartyReservedInstances?
Yes,youcannotpurchaseyourownlistedReservedInstances,includingthoseinanyofyourlinkedaccounts
(viaConsolidatedBilling).
Q.DoIhavetopayforPremiumSupportwhenpurchasingReservedInstancesfromtheReservedInstance
Marketplace?
Yes,ifyouareaPremiumSupportcustomer,youwillbechargedforPremiumSupportwhenyoupurchasea
ReservedInstancethroughtheReservedInstanceMarketplace.
SpotInstances
Q.WhatisaSpotInstance?
SpotinstancesareanewwaytopurchaseandconsumeAmazonEC2Instances.Theyallowcustomerstobid
onunusedEC2capacityandrunthoseinstancesforaslongastheirbidexceedsthecurrentSpotPrice.The
SpotPricechangesperiodicallybasedonsupplyanddemand,andcustomerswhosebidsmeetorexceedit
gainaccesstotheavailableSpotinstances.SpotinstancesarecomplementarytoOnDemandinstancesand
ReservedInstances,providinganotheroptionforobtainingcomputecapacity.
Q.HowisaSpotinstancedifferentthananOnDemandinstanceorReservedInstance?
Spotinstancesprovidetheabilityforcustomerstopurchasecomputecapacitywithnoupfrontcommitment,at
hourlyratesusuallylowerthantheOnDemandrate.Spotinstancesallowyoutospecifythemaximumhourly
pricethatyouarewillingtopaytorunaparticularinstancetype.AmazonEC2setsaSpotPriceforeach
instancetypeineachavailabilityzone,whichisthehourlypriceallcustomerswillpaytorunaSpotinstancefor
thatgivenperiod.TheSpotPricefluctuatesbasedonsupplyanddemandforinstances,butcustomerswill
neverpaymorethanthemaximumpricetheyhavespecified.IftheSpotPricemoveshigherthanacustomers
maximumprice,thecustomersinstancewillbeshutdownbyAmazonEC2.Otherthanthosedifferences,Spot
instancesperformexactlythesameasOnDemandorReservedInstances.SeehereformoredetailsonSpot
instances.
Q.HowdoIpurchaseandstartupaSpotinstance?
SpotinstancescanberequestedusingtheEC2ManagementConsoleorAmazonEC2APIs.Tostartwiththe
EC2ManagementConsole:
1.LogintotheEC2ManagementConsole.
2.Choose"SpotRequests"intheleftnavigationpane.
3.Choose"RequestSpotInstances".
4.CompletetheLaunchInstanceWizardprocess,choosinganAMI,regionandinstancesizeandtype.
5.EnterthenumberofSpotinstancesyouwouldliketorequest,yourmaximumprice,andwhetherthe
requestispersistentornot.
6.Afterchoosingyourkeypairandsecuritygroup(s),youarereadytosubmityourSpotinstancerequest.
FordetailonhowtorequestSpotinstancesthroughtheAmazonEC2API,seetheAmazonEC2API
Reference.
ForamoredetailedwalkthroughofusingSpotinstancesandmoreinformationonhowtogetthemostoutof
Spotinstances,seeIntroductiontoSpotInstances.
Q.HowmanySpotinstancescanIrequest?
YouarelimitedtorequestingSpotinstancesperyourdynamicSpotlimitforeachregion.Notethatnotall
instancetypesareavailableonSpot,andnewAWSaccountsmightstartwithalowerlimit.Tolearnmoreabout
Spotinstancelimits,pleaserefertotheAmazonEC2UserGuide.
Ifyouwouldlikeahigherlimit,completetheAmazonEC2instancerequestformwithyourusecaseandyour
instanceincreasewillbeconsidered.Limitincreasesaretiedtotheregiontheywererequestedfor.

Q.HowcanIdeterminethestatusofmySpotrequest?
YoucandeterminethestatusofyourSpotrequestintheinstanceprovisioninglifecyclebyinspectingitsSpot
BidStatuscodeandmessage.ByreviewingSpotbidstatuses,youcanseewhyyourSpotrequestsstatehas
orhasnotchangedandyoucanlearnhowtooptimizeyourSpotrequeststogetthemfulfilled.Youcanaccess
SpotBidStatusinformationontheSpotInstancepageoftheEC2consoleoftheAWSManagementConsole,
aswellasthroughtheDescribeSpotInstanceRequestsAPIactionandtheec2describespotinstancerequests
CLIcommand.Formoreinformation,pleasevisittheAmazonEC2Developerguide.

Q.AreSpotinstancesavailableforallinstancefamiliesandsizesandinallregions?
Instancetypessupportedineachregionarelistedhere.SpotinstanceAPIsareavailableinallregionsexcept
theUSGovCloudregion.

Q.WhichoperatingsystemsareavailableasSpotinstances?
Linux/UNIXandWindowsServerareavailable.WindowsServerwithSQLServerisnotcurrentlyavailable.

Q.ArethereanyfeaturesorservicesofAmazonWebServicesthatarenotsupportedforusewithSpot
instances?
AmazonDevPayisnotsupportedforusewithSpotinstances.

Q.CanIuseaSpotinstancewithapaidAMIforthirdpartysoftware(suchasIBMssoftwarepackages)?
Notatthistime.

Q.WillIbechargedifmySpotinstanceisterminatedbyAmazonEC2beforethehourisup?
No.IftheSpotinstanceisterminatedbyAmazonEC2,youwillnotbechargedforapartialhourofusage.
However,ifyouterminatetheinstanceyourself,youwillbechargedforanyhourinwhichtheinstanceran.

Q.HowoftenshouldIexpecttheSpotpricetochange?
AmazonEC2willchangetheSpotpriceperiodicallyasnewrequestsarereceivedandasavailableSpot
capacitychanges(e.g.,duetoinstanceterminations).WhiletheSpotpricemaychangeanytime,ingeneralit
willchangeonceperhourandinmanycaseslessfrequently.WepublishthecurrentSpotpriceandhistorical
pricesforSpotinstancesthroughtheAPI,andtheycanalsobeviewedusingtheAWSManagementConsole.
ThiscanhelpyouassessthelevelsandtimingoffluctuationsintheSpotpriceovertime.

Q.WillallSpotinstancesstartedatthesametimebechargedthesameprice?
Yes.

Q.WillthepriceImchargedforarunningSpotinstancechangeduringitsinstancehourastheSpotprice
changes?
No.ThepriceperinstancehourforaSpotinstanceissetatthebeginningofeachinstancehourfortheentire
hour.AnychangestotheSpotpricewillnotbereflecteduntilthenextinstancehourbegins.

Q.WherecanIseemyusagehistoryforSpotinstancesandseehowmuchIwasbilled?
TheAWSManagementConsolemakesadetailedbillingreportavailablewhichshowsSpotinstancestartand
terminationtimesforallinstances.CustomerscancheckthebillingreportagainsthistoricalSpotpricesviathe
APItoverifythattheSpotpricetheywerebillediscorrect.
Q.WhydoSpotpricesdifferacrossaccountsforthesameinstancetype,operatingsystem,andAvailability
Zone?
ToensurethatresourcesaredistributedacrossAvailabilityZonesforaregion,AvailabilityZonesare
independentlymappedtoidentifiersforeachaccount.Forexample,yourAvailabilityZoneuseast1amightnot
bethesamelocationasuseast1aforanotheraccount.So,SpotpricesforthesameAvailabilityZone
identifiermaybedifferentindifferentaccounts.Notethatthere'snowayforyoutocoordinateAvailability
Zonesbetweenaccounts.
Q.WhatisaSpotfleet?
ASpotfleetallowsyoutoautomaticallybidonandmanagemultipleSpotinstancesthatprovidethelowest
priceperunitofcapacityforyourclusterorapplication,likeabatchprocessingjob,aHadoopworkflow,oran
HPCgridcomputingjob.Youcanincludetheinstancetypesthatyourapplicationcanuse,anddefineatarget
capacitybasedonyourapplicationneeds(inunitsincludinginstances,vCPUs,memory,storage,ornetwork
throughput).Spotfleetsenableyoutolaunchandmaintainthetargetcapacity,andtoautomaticallyrequest
resourcestoreplaceanythataredisruptedormanuallyterminated.LearnmoreaboutSpotfleets.
Q.IsthereanyadditionalchargeformakingSpotfleetrequests?
No,thereisnoadditionalchargeforSpotfleetrequests.
Q.WhatlimitsapplytoaSpotfleetrequest?
VisittheSpotFleetLimitssectionoftheAmazonEC2UserGuidetolearnaboutthelimitsthatapplytoyour
Spotfleetrequest.
Q.WhathappensifmySpotfleetrequesttriestolaunchSpotinstancesbutexceedsmyregionalSpotrequest
limit?
IfyourSpotfleetrequestexceedsyourregionalSpotinstancerequestlimit,individualSpotinstancerequests
willfailwithaSpotrequestlimitexceededbidstatus.YourSpotfleetrequestshistorywillshowanySpot
requestlimiterrorsthatthefleetrequestreceived.VisittheMonitoringYourSpotFleetsectionoftheAmazon
EC2UserGuidetolearnhowtodescribeyourSpotfleetrequest'shistory.
Q.WhathappensifmySpotfleetrequestbidpriceexceedsmySpotbidpricelimitforoneoftheinstancetypes
Iamrequesting?
IfyourSpotfleetrequestbidpriceexceedsyourSpotbidpricelimits,wewillsubmitSpotrequestsforthat
instancetypeatyourcurrentSpotbidpricelimit.YourSpotfleetrequestshistorywillshowifanyofyourfleets
instanceswereaffectedbyyourSpotbidpricelimit.VisittheMonitoringYourSpotFleetsectionoftheAmazon
EC2UserGuidetolearnhowtodescribeyourSpotfleetrequest'shistory.
Q.AreSpotfleetrequestsguaranteedtobefulfilled?
No.SpotfleetrequestsallowyoutoplacemultipleSpotinstancebidssimultaneously,andaresubjecttothe
sameavailabilityandpricesasasingleSpotinstancerequest.Forexample,ifnoresourcesareavailableat
yourSpotfleetrequestbidprice,wemaybeunabletofulfillyourrequestpartiallyorinfull.
Q.CanIsubmitamultiAvailabilityZonefleetrequest?
Yes,visittheSpotFleetExamplessectionoftheAmazonEC2UserGuidetolearnhowtosubmitamulti
AvailabilityZoneSpotfleetrequest.
Q.CanIsubmitamultiregionSpotfleetrequest?
No,wedonotsupportmultiregionfleetrequests.
Q.HowdoesSpotfleetallocateresourcesacrossthevariousSpotinstancepoolsspecifiedinthelaunch
specifications?
TheRequestSpotFleetAPIprovidestwoallocationstrategies:lowestPriceanddiversified.ThelowestPrice
strategyallowsyoutoprovisionyourSpotfleetresourcesininstancepoolsthatprovidethelowestpriceper
unitofcapacityatthetimeoftherequest.ThediversifiedstrategyallowsyoutoprovisionyourSpotfleet
resourcesacrossmultipleSpotinstancepools.Thisenablesyoutomaintainyourfleetstargetcapacityand
increaseyourapplicationsavailabilityasSpotcapacityfluctuates.
RunningyourapplicationsresourcesacrossdiverseSpotinstancepoolsalsoallowsyoutofurtherreduceyour
fleetsoperatingcostsovertime.VisittheAmazonEC2UserGuidetolearnmore.
Q.CanItagaSpotfleetrequest?
WecurrentlydonotsupporttaggingSpotfleetrequests.
Q.HowcanIseewhichSpotfleetownsmySpotinstances?
YoucanidentifytheSpotinstancesassociatedwithyourSpotfleetbydescribingyourfleetrequest.Fleet
requestsareavailablefor48hoursafterallitsSpotinstanceshavebeenterminated.SeetheAmazonEC2
UserGuidetolearnhowtodescribeyourSpotfleetrequest.
Q.CanImodifymySpotfleetrequest?
Currently,youcanonlymodifythetargetcapacityofyourSpotfleetrequest.Youmayneedtocancelthe
requestandsubmitanewonetochangeotherrequestconfigurationparameters.
Q.CanIspecifyadifferentAMIforeachinstancetypethatIwanttouse?
Yes,simplyspecifytheAMIyoudliketouseineachlaunchspecificationyouprovideinyourSpotfleetrequest.
Q.CanIuseSpotfleetwithElasticLoadBalancing,AutoScaling,orElasticMapReduce?
No,ElasticLoadBalancing,AutoScaling,orElasticMapReducedonotdirectlytriggerSpotfleetrequests.
Q.DoesaSpotfleetrequestterminateSpotinstanceswhentheyarenolongerrunninginthelowestpriced
Spotpoolsandrelaunchtheminthelowestpricedpools?
No,Spotfleetrequestsdonotautomaticallyterminateandrelaunchinstanceswhiletheyarerunning.
However,ifyouterminateaSpotinstance,SpotfleetwillreplenishitwithanewSpotinstanceinthenewlowest
pricedpool.
Q:AreSpotblocks(FixedDurationSpotinstances)everinterrupted?
Spotblocksaredesignednottobeinterruptedandwillruncontinuouslyforthedurationyouselect,
independentofSpotmarketprice.Inraresituations,SpotblocksmaybeinterruptedduetoAWScapacity
needs.Inthesecases,wewillprovideatwominutewarningbeforeweterminateyourinstance(termination
notice),andyouwillnotbechargedfortheaffectedinstance(s).

MicroInstances
Q.HowmuchcomputepowerdoMicroinstancesprovide?
MicroinstancesprovideasmallamountofconsistentCPUresourcesandallowyoutoburstCPUcapacityupto
2ECUswhenadditionalcyclesareavailable.Theyarewellsuitedforlowerthroughputapplicationsandweb
sitesthatconsumesignificantcomputecyclesperiodicallybutverylittleCPUatothertimesforbackground
processes,daemons,etc.Learnmoreaboutuseofthisinstancetype.
Q.HowdoesaMicroinstancecompareincomputepowertoaStandardSmallinstance?
Atsteadystate,MicroinstancesreceiveafractionofthecomputeresourcesthatSmallinstancesdo.
Therefore,ifyourapplicationhascomputeintensiveorsteadystateneedswerecommendusingaSmall
instance(orlarger,dependingonyourneeds).However,Microinstancescanperiodicallyburstupto2ECUs
(forshortperiodsoftime).ThisisdoublethenumberofECUsavailablefromaStandardSmallinstance.
Therefore,ifyouhavearelativelylowthroughputapplicationorwebsitewithanoccasionalneedtoconsume
significantcomputecycles,werecommendusingMicroinstances.
Q.HowcanItellifanapplicationneedsmoreCPUresourcesthanaMicroinstanceisproviding?
TheCloudWatchmetricforCPUutilizationwillreport100%utilizationiftheinstanceburstssomuchthatit
exceedsitsavailableCPUresourcesduringthatCloudWatchmonitoredminute.CloudWatchreporting100%
CPUutilizationisyoursignalthatyoushouldconsiderscalingmanuallyorviaAutoScalinguptoalarger
instancetypeorscaleouttomultipleMicroinstances.
Q.AreallfeaturesofAmazonEC2availableforMicroinstances?
CurrentlyAmazonDevPayisnotavailableforMicroinstances.
ComputeOptimizedInstances
Q.WhenshouldIuseComputeoptimizedinstances?
Computeoptimizedinstancesaredesignedforapplicationsthatbenefitfromhighcomputepower.These
applicationsincludehighperformancefrontendfleets,webservers,batchprocessing,distributedanalytics,
highperformancescienceandengineeringapplications,adserving,MMOgaming,videoencoding,and
distributedanalytics.
Q.CanIlaunchC4instancesasAmazonEBSoptimizedinstances?
EachC4instancetypeisEBSoptimizedbydefault.C4instances500Mbpsto4,000MbpstoEBSaboveand
beyondthegeneralpurposenetworkthroughputprovidedtotheinstance.Sincethisfeatureisalwaysenabled
onC4instances,launchingaC4instanceexplicitlyasEBSoptimizedwillnotaffecttheinstance'sbehavior.
Q.HowcanIusetheprocessorstatecontrolfeatureavailableonthec4.8xlargeinstance?
Thec4.8xlargeinstancetypeprovidestheabilityforanoperatingsystemtocontrolprocessorCstatesandP
states.ThisfeatureiscurrentlyavailableonlyonLinuxinstances.YoumaywanttochangeCstateorPstate
settingstoincreaseprocessorperformanceconsistency,reducelatency,ortuneyourinstanceforaspecific
workload.Bydefault,AmazonLinuxprovidesthehighestperformanceconfigurationthatisoptimalformost
customerworkloadshowever,ifyourapplicationwouldbenefitfromlowerlatencyatthecostofhighersingle
ordualcorefrequencies,orfromlowerfrequencysustainedperformanceasopposedtoburstyTurboBoost
frequencies,thenyoushouldconsiderexperimentingwiththeCstateorPstateconfigurationoptionsthatare
availabletotheseinstances.Foradditionalinformationonthisfeature,seetheAmazonEC2UserGuide
sectiononProcessorStateControl.

AcceleratedComputingInstances
Q:WhatareAcceleratedComputingInstances?
AcceleratedComputingInstancefamilyisafamilyofinstanceswhichusehardwareaccelerators,orco
processors,toperformsomefunctions,suchasfloatingpointnumbercalculationandgraphicsprocessing,
moreefficientlythanispossibleinsoftwarerunningonCPUs.AmazonEC2providestwotypesofAccelerated
ComputingInstancesGPUComputeInstancesforgeneralpurposecomputingandGPUGraphicsInstances
forgraphicsintensiveapplications.
Q.WhenshouldIuseGPUGraphicsandComputeinstances?
GPUinstancesworkbestforapplicationswithmassiveparallelism,forexampleworkloadsusingthousandsof
threads.Graphicsprocessingisanexamplewithhugecomputationalrequirements,whereeachofthetasksis
relativelysmall,thesetofoperationsperformedformapipeline,andthethroughputofthispipelineismore
importantthanthelatencyoftheindividualoperations.Tobeablebuildapplicationsthatexploitthislevelof
parallelismoneneedsGPUdevicespecificknowledgebyunderstandinghowtoprogramagainstvarious
graphicsAPIs(DirectX,OpenGL)orGPUcomputeprogrammingmodels(CUDA,OpenCL).
Q.HowareG2instancesdifferentfromCG1instances?
CG1instancesuseNVIDIATeslaGPUsandaredesignedforgeneralpurposeGPUcomputingusingtheCUDA
orOpenCLprogrammingmodels.CG1instancesprovidecustomerswithhighbandwidth10Gbpsnetworking,
doubleprecisionfloatingpointcapabilities,anderrorcorrectingcode(ECC)memory,makingthemidealfor
HighPerformanceComputing(HPC)applications.G2instancesuseNVIDIAGRIDGPUsandprovideacost
effective,highperformanceplatformforgraphicsapplicationsusingDirectXorOpenGL.NVIDIAGRIDGPUs
alsosupportNVIDIAsfastcaptureandencodeAPIs.Exampleapplicationsincludevideocreationservices,3D
visualizations,streaminggraphicsintensiveapplications,andotherserversideworkloadsrequiringmassive
parallelprocessingpower.Inaddition,Graphicsinstancescanalsobeusedforgeneralpurposecomputing
usingCUDAorOpenCL,butarenotrecommendedfornetworkintensiveHPCapplications.
Q.HowareP2instancesdifferentfromG2instances?
P2instancesuseNVIDIATeslaK80GPUsandaredesignedforgeneralpurposeGPUcomputingusingthe
CUDAorOpenCLprogrammingmodels.P2instancesprovidecustomerswithhighbandwidth20Gbps
networking,powerfulsingleanddoubleprecisionfloatingpointcapabilities,anderrorcorrectingcode(ECC)
memory,makingthemidealfordeeplearning,highperformancedatabases,computationalfluiddynamics,
computationalfinance,seismicanalysis,molecularmodeling,genomics,rendering,andotherserversideGPU
computeworkloads.G2instancesuseNVIDIAGRIDGPUsandprovideacosteffective,highperformance
platformforgraphicsapplicationsusingDirectXorOpenGL.NVIDIAGRIDGPUsalsosupportNVIDIAsfast
captureandencodeAPIs.Exampleapplicationsincludevideocreationservices,3Dvisualizations,streaming
graphicsintensiveapplications,andotherserversidegraphicsworkloads.
Q.WhatAPIsandprogrammingmodelsaresupportedbyGPUGraphicsandComputeinstances?
Withtheinitialdriverrelease,G2instancessupportDirectX9,10,and11,OpenGL4.3,CUDA5.5,OpenCL
1.1,andDirectCompute.Withthelatestdriverrelease,CG1instancessupportCUDA5.5,OpenCL1.1,and
DirectCompute.Withthelatestdriverrelease,P2instancessupportCUDA7.5andOpenCL1.2.
Q.WheredoIgetNVIDIAdriversforCG1,G2andP2instances?
TherearetwomethodsbywhichNVIDIAdriversmaybeobtained.NVIDIAhaslistingsontheAWS
MarketplacewhichofferAmazonLinuxAMIsandWindowsServerAMIswiththeNVIDIAdriverspreinstalled.
Youmayalsolaunch64bit,HVMAMIsandinstallthedriversyourself.YoumustvisittheNVIDIAdrivers
websiteandsearchfortheNVIDIATeslaK80fortheP2,NVIDIAGRIDK520fortheG2,andtheTeslaM2050
fortheCG1.
Q.WhichAMIscanIusewithP2andG2instances?
YoucancurrentlyuseWindowsServer,SUSEEnterpriseLinux,Ubuntu,andAmazonLinuxAMIsonP2andG2
instances.IfyouwanttolaunchAMIswithoperatingsystemsnotlistedhere,contactAWSCustomer
SupportwithyourrequestorreachoutthroughEC2Forums.
Q.WheredoIgettheNVIDIAGRIDSDK?
TheNVIDIAGRIDSDKisavailablefromNVIDIAdirectly.Pleasevisithttp://www.nvidia.com/object/cloudget
started.htmlforinformationaboutobtainingthefullSDK.NVENC,theframecaptureandencodingportionof
theGRIDSDK,isavailableontheNVIDIADevelopersZoneathttps://developer.nvidia.com/nvidiavideocodec
sdk.
Q.DoestheuseofG2instancesrequirethirdpartylicenses?
AsidefromtheNVIDIAdriversandGRIDSDK,theuseofG2instancesdoesnotnecessarilyrequireanythird
partylicenses.However,youareresponsiblefordeterminingwhetheryourcontentortechnologyusedonG2
instancesrequiresanyadditionallicensing.Forexample,ifyouarestreamingcontentyoumayneedlicenses
forsomeorallofthatcontent.Ifyouareusingthirdpartytechnologysuchasoperatingsystems,audioand/or
videoencoders,anddecodersfromMicrosoft,Thomson,FraunhoferIIS,SisvelS.p.A.,MPEGLA,andCoding
Technologies,pleaseconsulttheseproviderstodetermineifalicenseisrequired.Forexample,ifyouleverage
theonboardh.264videoencoderontheNVIDIAGRIDGPUyoushouldreachouttoMPEGLAforguidance,
andifyouusemp3technologyyoushouldcontactThomsonforguidance..
Q.WhyamIunabletoseetheGPUwhenusingMicrosoftRemoteDesktop?
WhenusingRemoteDesktop,GPUsusingtheWDDMdrivermodelarereplacedwithanonaccelerated
RemoteDesktopdisplaydriver.InordertoaccessyourGPUhardware,youneedtoutilizeadifferentremote
accesstool,suchasVNC.
ClusterInstances
Q.WhatisaClusterComputeInstance?
ClusterComputeInstancescombinehighcomputeresourceswithahighperformancenetworkingforHigh
PerformanceCompute(HPC)applicationsandotherdemandingnetworkboundapplications.ClusterCompute
InstancesprovidesimilarfunctionalitytootherAmazonEC2instancesbuthavebeenspecificallyengineeredto
providehighperformancenetworking.
AmazonEC2clusterplacementgroupfunctionalityallowsuserstogroupClusterComputeInstancesinclusters
allowingapplicationstogetthelowlatencynetworkperformancenecessaryfortightlycouplednodetonode
communicationtypicalofmanyHPCapplications.ClusterComputeInstancesalsoprovidesignificantly
increasednetworkthroughputbothwithintheAmazonEC2environmentandtotheInternet.Asaresult,these
instancesarealsowellsuitedforcustomerapplicationsthatneedtoperformnetworkintensiveoperations.
LearnmoreaboutuseofthisinstancetypeforHPCapplications.
Q.WhatkindofnetworkperformancecanIexpectwhenIlaunchinstancesinclusterplacementgroup?
ThebandwidthanEC2instancecanutilizeinaclusterplacementgroupdependsontheinstancetypeandits
networkingperformancespecification.Whenlaunchedinaplacementgroup,selectEC2instancescanutilize
upto10Gbpsforsingleflowand20Gbpsformultiflowtrafficineachdirection(fullduplex).Networktraffic
outsideaclusterplacementgroup(e.g.totheInternet)islimitedto5Gbps(fullduplex).
Q.WhatisaClusterGPUInstance?
ClusterGPUInstancesprovidegeneralpurposegraphicsprocessingunits(GPUs)withproportionallyhighCPU
andincreasednetworkperformanceforapplicationsbenefitingfromhighlyparallelizedprocessingthatcanbe
acceleratedbyGPUsusingtheCUDAandOpenCLprogrammingmodels.Commonapplicationsinclude
modelingandsimulation,renderingandmediaprocessing.
ClusterGPUInstancesgivecustomerswithHPCworkloadsanoptionbeyondClusterComputeInstancesto
furthercustomizetheirhighperformanceclustersinthecloudforapplicationsthatcanbenefitfromtheparallel
computingpowerofGPUs.
ClusterGPUInstancesusethesameclusterplacementgroupfunctionalityasClusterComputeInstancesfor
groupinginstancesintoclustersallowingapplicationstogetthelowlatency,highbandwidthnetwork
performancerequiredfortightlycouplednodetonodecommunicationtypicalofmanyHPCapplications.
LearnmoreaboutHPConAWS.
Q.WhatisaHighMemoryClusterInstance?
HighMemoryClusterInstancesprovidecustomerswithlargeamountsofmemoryandCPUcapabilitiesper
instanceinadditiontohighnetworkcapabilities.Theseinstancetypesareidealformemoryintensive
workloadsincludinginmemoryanalyticssystems,graphanalysisandmanyscienceandengineering
applications
HighMemoryClusterInstancesusethesameclusterplacementgroupfunctionalityasClusterCompute
Instancesforgroupinginstancesintoclustersallowingapplicationstogetthelowlatency,highbandwidth
networkperformancerequiredfortightlycouplednodetonodecommunicationtypicalofmanyHPCandother
networkintensiveapplications.

Q.DoesuseofClusterComputeandClusterGPUInstancesdifferfromotherAmazonEC2instancetypes?
ClusterComputeandClusterGPUInstancesusediffersfromotherAmazonEC2instancetypesintwoways.
First,ClusterComputeandClusterGPUInstancesuseHardwareVirtualMachine(HVM)basedvirtualization
andrunonlyAmazonMachineImages(AMIs)basedonHVMvirtualization.ParavirtualMachine(PVM)based
AMIsusedwithotherAmazonEC2instancetypescannotbeusedwithClusterComputeorClusterGPU
Instances.
Second,inordertofullybenefitfromtheavailablelowlatency,fullbisectionbandwidthbetweeninstances,
ClusterComputeandClusterGPUInstancesmustbelaunchedintoaclusterplacementgroupthroughthe
AmazonEC2APIorAWSManagementConsole.
Q.Whatisaclusterplacementgroup?
Aclusterplacementgroupisalogicalentitythatenablescreatingaclusterofinstancesbylaunchinginstances
aspartofagroup.Theclusterofinstancesthenprovideslowlatency,fullbisection10GigabitEthernet
bandwidthconnectivitybetweeninstancesinthegroup.Clusterplacementgroupsarecreatedthroughthe
AmazonEC2APIorAWSManagementConsole.
Q.AreallfeaturesofAmazonEC2availableforClusterComputeandClusterGPUInstances?
Currently,AmazonDevPayisnotavailableforClusterComputeorClusterGPUInstances.
Q.IstherealimitonthenumberofClusterComputeorClusterGPUInstancesIcanuseand/orthesizeof
clusterIcancreatebylaunchingClusterComputeInstancesorClusterGPUintoaclusterplacementgroup?
ThereisnolimitspecificforClusterComputeInstances.ForClusterGPUInstances,youcanlaunch2
Instancesonyourown.Ifyouneedmorecapacity,pleasecompletetheAmazonEC2instancerequest
form(selectingtheappropriateprimaryinstancetype).
Q.ArethereanywaystooptimizethelikelihoodthatIreceivethefullnumberofinstancesIrequestformy
clusterviaaclusterplacementgroup?
Werecommendthatyoulaunchtheminimumnumberofinstancesrequiredtoparticipateinaclusterina
singlelaunch.Forverylargeclusters,youshouldlaunchmultipleplacementgroups,e.g.twoplacementgroups
of128instances,andcombinethemtocreatealarger,256instancecluster.
Q.CanClusterGPUandClusterComputeInstancesbelaunchedintoasingleclusterplacementgroup?
Whileitmaybepossibletolaunchdifferentclusterinstancetypesintoasingleplacementgroup,atthistimewe
onlysupporthomogenousplacementgroups.
Q.Ifaninstanceinaclusterplacementgroupisstoppedthenstartedagain,willitmaintainitspresenceinthe
clusterplacementgroup?
Yes.Astoppedinstancewillbestartedaspartoftheclusterplacementgroupitwasinwhenitstopped.If
capacityisnotavailableforittostartwithinitsclusterplacementgroup,thestartwillfail.
HighI/OInstances
Q.WhatisaHighI/Oinstance?
HighI/OinstancesuseSSDbasedlocalinstancestoragetodeliververyhigh,lowlatency,I/Ocapacityto
applications,andareoptimizedforapplicationsthatrequiretensofthousandsofIOPS.LikeClusterinstances,
HighI/Oinstancescanbeclusteredviaclusterplacementgroupsforhighbandwidthnetworking.
Q.AreallfeaturesofAmazonEC2availableforHighI/Oinstances?
HighI/OinstancesupportallAmazonEC2featureswiththeexceptionofSpotInstances.Currentlyyoucan
onlypurchaseHighI/OinstancesasOnDemandorReservedInstances.
Q.IstherealimitonthenumberofHighI/OinstancesIcanuse?
Currently,youcanlaunch2hi1.4xlargeinstancesbydefault.Ifyouwishtorunmorethan2OnDemand
instances,pleasecompletetheAmazonEC2instancerequestform.
Q.HowmanyIOPScanhi1.4xlargeinstancesdeliver?
UsingLinuxPVAMIs,HighI/Oinstancescandelivermorethan120,0004KrandomreadIOPSand10,000
85,0004KrandomwriteIOPS(dependingonactiveLBAspan)toapplicationsacross2*1TiBdatavolumes.
ForHVMandWindowsAMIs,performancewillbearound90,0004KrandomreadIOPSand9,00075,0004K
randomwriteIOPS.
Q.Whatisthesequentialthroughputofhi1.4xlargeinstances?
SequentialthroughputonallAMItypes(LinuxPV,LinuxHVMandWindows)isapproximately2GB/sreadand
1.1GB/swrite.
Q.AWShasotherdatabaseandBigDataofferings.WhenorwhyshouldIuseHighI/Oinstances?
HighI/OinstancesareidealforapplicationsthatrequireaccesstotensofthousandsoflowlatencyIOPS,and
canleveragedatastoresandarchitecturesthatmanagedataredundancyandavailability.Example
applicationsare:
NoSQLdatabaseslikeCassandraandMongoDB
Clustereddatabases
OLTPsystems
Q.DoHighI/Oinstancesprovideanyfailovermechanismsorredundancy?
LikeotherAmazonEC2instancetypes,instancestorageonhi1.4xlargeinstancespersistsduringthelifeofthe
instance.Customersareexpectedtobuildresilienceintotheirapplications.Werecommendusingdatabases
andfilesystemsthatsupportredundancyandfaulttolerance.Customersshouldbackupdataperiodicallyto
AmazonS3forimproveddatadurability.
Q.DoHighI/OinstancessupportTRIM?
TheTRIMcommandallowstheoperatingsystemtoinformSSDswhichblocksofdataarenolonger
consideredinuseandcanbewipedinternally.IntheabsenceofTRIM,futurewriteoperationstotheinvolved
blockscanslowdownsignificantly.Currentlyhi1.4xlargeinstancesdonotsupportTRIM,butTRIMsupportwill
bedeployedwithinthenextfewmonths.CustomerswithextremelyintensivefullLBArandomwriteworkloads
shouldplanaccordingly.PleasenotethatthecurrentdiskprovisioningschemeforHighI/Oinstancesminimizes
theimpactofwriteamplificationandmostcustomerswillnotexperienceanyissues.
BurstablePerformanceInstances
Q:HowareBurstablePerformanceInstancesdifferent?
AmazonEC2allowsyoutochoosebetweenFixedPerformanceInstances(e.g.M3,C3,andR3)andBurstable
PerformanceInstances(e.g.T2).BurstablePerformanceInstancesprovideabaselinelevelofCPU
performancewiththeabilitytoburstabovethebaseline.T2instancesareforworkloadsthatdontusethefull
CPUoftenorconsistently,butoccasionallyneedtoburst.
T2instancesbaselineperformanceandabilitytoburstaregovernedbyCPUCredits.EachT2instance
receivesCPUCreditscontinuously,therateofwhichdependsontheinstancesize.T2instancesaccrueCPU
Creditswhentheyareidle,anduseCPUcreditswhentheyareactive.ACPUCreditprovidestheperformance
ofafullCPUcoreforoneminute.Thefollowingtableshowsthemaximumcreditbalanceandbaseline
performanceforeachT2instancesize.EachvCPUofaT2instancecanconsumeCPUCreditsatamaximum
rateof60perhourwhenburstingtofullcoreperformance.
Model vCP CPU Maximum BaselineCPU

Us Credits CPU Performance
/hour Credit
Balance
t2.nano 1 3 72 5%ofacore
t2.micro 1 6 144 10%ofacore
t2.small 1 12 288 20%ofacore

t2.mediu 2 24 576 40%ofacore*

m
t2.large 2 36 864 60%ofacore**
t2.xlarge 4 54 1,296 90%ofacore***
t2.2xlarge 8 81 1,944 135%ofacore****
*Forthet2.medium,singlethreadedapplicationscanuse40%of1core,orifneeded,multithreaded
applicationscanuse20%eachof2cores.
**Forthet2.large,singlethreadedapplicationscanuse60%of1core,orifneeded,multithreadedapplications
canuse30%eachof2cores.
***Forthet2.xlarge,singlethreadedapplicationscanuse90%of1core,orifneeded,multithreaded
applicationscanuse45%eachof2coresor22.5%ofall4cores.
****Forthet2.large,singlethreadedapplicationscanuseallof1core,orifneeded,multithreadedapplications
canuse67.5%eachof2coresor16.875%ofall8cores.
Forexample,at2.smallinstancereceivescreditscontinuouslyatarateof12CPUCreditsperhour.This
capabilityprovidesbaselineperformanceequivalentto20%ofaCPUcore.Ifatanymomenttheinstancedoes
notneedthecreditsitreceives,itstorestheminitsCPUCreditbalanceforupto24hours.Ifandwhenyour
t2.smallneedstobursttomorethan20%ofacore,itdrawsfromitsCPUCreditbalancetohandlethissurge
seamlessly.Overtime,ifyoufindyourworkloadneedsmoreCPUCreditsthatyouhave,oryourinstancedoes
notmaintainapositiveCPUCreditbalance,werecommendeitheralargerT2size,suchasthet2.medium,or
aFixedPerformanceInstancetype.
Manyapplicationssuchaswebservers,developerenvironmentsandsmalldatabasesdontneedconsistently
highlevelsofCPU,butbenefitsignificantlyfromhavingfullaccesstoveryfastCPUswhentheyneedthem.T2
instancesareengineeredspecificallyfortheseusecases.IfyouneedconsistentlyhighCPUperformancefor
applicationssuchasvideoencoding,highvolumewebsitesorHPCapplications,werecommendyouuseFixed
PerformanceInstances.T2instancesaredesignedtoperformasiftheyhavededicatedhighspeedIntelcores
availablewhenyourapplicationreallyneedsCPUperformance,whileprotectingyoufromthevariable
performanceorothercommonsideeffectsyoumighttypicallyseefromoversubscriptioninother
environments.

Q.HowdoIchoosetherightAmazonMachineImage(AMI)formyt2.nanoinstances?
T2.nano,oursmallestBurstablePerformanceInstancesize,offers512MiBofmemoryandisdesignedtooffer
thefullperformanceofahighfrequencyIntelCPUcoreaslongasyoumaintainaCPUcreditbalance.Your
t2.nanomaintainsapositivecreditbalanceifyourworkloadutilizeslessthan5%ofthecoreonaverageover
24hours.Ifyourworkloadusesmorethan5%CPUonaverage,consideralargert2instancesize,suchasthe
t2.micro.Youwillwanttoverifythattheminimummemoryrequirementsofyouroperatingsystemand
applicationsarewithin512MiB.OperatingsystemswithGraphicalUserInterfaces(GUI)thatconsume
significantmemoryandCPU,forexampleMicrosoftWindows,mightneedat2.microorlargerinstancesizefor
manyusecases.YoucanfindAMIssuitableforthet2.nanoinstancetypeonAWSMarketplace.Windows
customerswhodonotneedtheGUIcanusetheMicrosoftWindowsServer2012R2CoreAMI.
Q:WhenshouldIchooseaBurstablePerformanceInstance,suchasT2?
WorkloadsidealforBurstablePerformanceInstances(e.g.,webservers,developerenvironments,andsmall
databases)dontusethefullCPUoftenorconsistently,butoccasionallyneedtoburst.Ifyourapplication
requiressustainedhighCPUperformance,werecommendourFixedPerformanceInstances,suchasM3,C3,
andR3.
Q:HowcanIseetheCPUCreditbalanceforeachT2instance?
YoucanseetheCPUCreditbalanceforeachT2instanceinEC2perInstancemetricsinAmazonCloudWatch.
T2instanceshavetwonewmetrics,CPUCreditUsageandCPUCreditBalance.CPUCreditUsageindicatesthe
amountofCPUCreditsused.CPUCreditBalanceindicatesthebalanceofCPUCredits.
Q:WhathappenstoCPUperformanceifmyT2instanceisrunninglowoncredits(CPUCreditbalanceisnear
zero)?
IfyourT2instancehasazeroCPUCreditbalance,performancewillremainatbaselineCPUperformance.For
example,thet2.microprovidesbaselineCPUperformanceof10%ofaphysicalCPUcore.Ifyourinstances
CPUCreditbalanceisapproachingzero,CPUperformancewillbeloweredtobaselineperformanceovera15
minuteinterval.
Q:DoesmyT2instancecreditbalancepersistastop/start?
No,astoppedinstancedoesnotretainitspreviouslyearnedcreditbalance.
Q:CanT2instancesbepurchasedasReservedInstancesorSpotInstances?
OnDemandinstancesandReservedInstancesaretheonlypurchaseoptionsavailableforT2instances.
Q:HowisT2differentfromtheT1?
Comparedtothet1.micro,thet2.microfeaturesbetterCPUperformance,morememory,andlowerprices.The
T2familyalsooffersmorethanonesize.

DensestorageInstances
Q.WhatisaDensestorageInstance?
Densestorageinstancesaredesignedforworkloadsthatrequirehighsequentialreadandwriteaccesstovery
largedatasets,suchasHadoopdistributedcomputing,massivelyparallelprocessingdatawarehousing,and
logprocessingapplications.TheDensestorageinstancesofferthebestprice/GBstorageandprice/disk
throughputacrossotherEC2instances.
Q.HowdoDensestorageinstancescomparetoHighI/Oinstances?
HighI/Oinstances(I2)aretargetedatworkloadsthatdemandlowlatencyandhighrandomI/Oinadditionto
moderatestoragedensityandprovidethebestprice/IOPSacrossotherEC2instancetypes.Densestorage
instances(D2)areoptimizedforapplicationsthatrequirehighsequentialread/writeaccessandlowcost
storageforverylargedatasetsandprovidethebestprice/GBstorageandprice/diskthroughputacrossother
EC2instances.

Q.HowmuchdiskthroughputcanDensestorageinstancesdeliver?
ThelargestcurrentgenerationofDensestorageinstances,d2.8xlarge,candeliverupto3.5GBpsreadand
3.1GBpswritediskthroughputwitha2MiBblocksize.Toensurethebestdiskthroughputperformancefrom
yourD2instancesonLinux,werecommendthatyouusethemostrecentversionoftheAmazonLinuxAMI,or
anotherLinuxAMIwithakernelversionof3.8orlaterthatsupportspersistentgrantsanextensiontotheXen
blockringprotocolthatsignificantlyimprovesdiskthroughputandscalability.
Q.DoDensestorageinstancesprovideanyfailovermechanismsorredundancy?
TheprimarydatastorageforDensestorageinstancesisHDDbasedinstancestorage.Likeallinstance
storage,thesestoragevolumespersistonlyforthelifeoftheinstance.Hence,werecommendthatyoubuilda
degreeofredundancy(e.g.RAID1/5/6)orusefilesystems(e.g.HDFSandMapRFS)thatsupport
redundancyandfaulttolerance.Youcanalsobackupdataperiodicallytomoredurabledatastoragesolutions
suchasAmazonSimpleStorageService(S3)foradditionaldatadurability.PleaserefertoAmazonS3for
reference.
Q.HowdoDensestorageinstancesdifferfromAmazonEBS?
AmazonEBSofferssimple,elastic,reliable(replicated),andpersistentblocklevelstorageforAmazonEC2
whileabstractingthedetailsoftheunderlyingstoragemediainuse.AmazonEC2instancestorageprovides
directlyattachednonpersistent,highperformancestoragebuildingblocksthatcanbeusedforavarietyof
storageapplications.Densestorageinstancesarespecificallytargetedatcustomerswhowanthighsequential
read/writeaccesstolargedatasetsonlocalstorage,e.g.forHadoopdistributedcomputingandmassively
parallelprocessingdatawarehousing.
Q.CanIlaunchD2instancesasAmazonEBSoptimizedinstances?
EachD2instancetypeisEBSoptimizedbydefault.D2instances500Mbpsto4,000MbpstoEBSaboveand
beyondthegeneralpurposenetworkthroughputprovidedtotheinstance.Sincethisfeatureisalwaysenabled
onD2instances,launchingaD2instanceexplicitlyasEBSoptimizedwillnotaffecttheinstance'sbehavior.
Q.AreDensestorageinstancesofferedinEC2Classic?
ThecurrentgenerationofDensestorageinstances(D2instances)canbelaunchedinbothEC2Classicand
AmazonVPC.However,bylaunchingaDensestorageinstanceintoaVPC,youcanleverageanumberof
featuresthatareavailableonlyontheAmazonVPCplatformsuchasenablingenhancednetworking,
assigningmultipleprivateIPaddressestoyourinstances,orchangingyourinstances'securitygroups.For
moreinformationaboutthebenefitsofusingaVPC,seeAmazonEC2andAmazonVirtualPrivate
Cloud(AmazonVPC).YoucantakestepstomigrateyourresourcesfromEC2ClassictoAmazonVPC.For
moreinformation,seeMigratingaLinuxInstancefromEC2ClassictoaVPC.
MemoryOptimizedInstances
Q.WhenshouldIuseMemoryoptimizedinstances?
Memoryoptimizedinstancesofferlargememorysizeformemoryintensiveapplicationsincludinginmemory
applications,inmemorydatabases,inmemoryanalyticssolutions,HighPerformanceComputing(HPC),
scientificcomputing,andothermemoryintensiveapplications.
Q.WhenshouldIuseX1instances?
X1instancesareidealforrunninginmemorydatabaseslikeSAPHANA,bigdataprocessingengineslike
ApacheSparkorPresto,andhighperformancecomputing(HPC)applications.X1instancesarecertifiedby
SAPtorunproductionenvironmentsofthenextgenerationBusinessSuiteS/4HANA,BusinessSuiteonHANA
(SoH),BusinessWarehouseonHANA(BW),andDataMartSolutionsonHANAontheAWScloud.
Q.WhatarethekeyspecificationsofIntelE7HaswellprocessorsthatpowerX1instances?
X1isthefirstAmazonEC2instancetypethatispoweredbyfour2.3GHzIntelXeonE78880v3(Haswell)
processors,whichareoptimizedforenterpriseanddatabaseworkloads.TheE7processorshaveahighcore
counttosupportworkloadsthatscaleefficientlyonlargenumberofcores.TheIntelE7processorsalsofeature
highmemorybandwidthandlargerL3cachestoboosttheperformanceofinmemoryapplications.Inaddition,
theIntelE7processor:
EnablesincreasedcryptographicperformanceviathelatestIntelAESNIfeature.
SupportsTransactionalSynchronizationExtensions(TSX)toboosttheperformanceofinmemory
transactionaldataprocessing.
SupportsAdvancedVectorExtensions2(IntelAVX2)processorinstructionstoexpandmostinteger
commandsto256bits.
Q.DoX1instancesenableCPUpowermanagementstatecontrol?
Yes.YoucanconfigureCstatesandPstatesonbothx1.32xlargeandx1.16xlarge.YoucanuseCstatesto
enablehigherturbofrequencies(asmuchas3.1Ghzwithoneortwocoreturbo).YoucanalsousePstatesto
lowerperformancevariabilitybypinningallcoresatP1orhigherPstates,whichissimilartodisablingTurbo,
andrunningconsistentlyatthebaseCPUclockspeed.
Q:WhatoperatingsystemsaresupportedonX1instances?
X1instancesprovidehighnumberofvCPUs,whichmightcauselaunchissuesinsomeLinuxoperating
systemsthathavealowervCPUlimit.WestronglyrecommendthatyouusethelatestAMIswhenyoulaunch
X1instances.ThefollowingLinuxAMIssupportlaunchingX1instances:AmazonLinuxAMI2016.03(HVM),
UbuntuServer14.04LTS(HVM),andRedHatEnterpriseLinux7.1(HVM),andSUSELinux12SP1.
AMIsupportforSAPHANAworkloadsinclude:SUSELinux12,SUSELinux12SP1,SLESforSAP12SP1(due
tokernelrequirementof3.10orhigher).ForSAPNetWeaveronAnyDB,thelatestRHEL7.ximagesare
currentlysupported.
x1.32xlargewillalsosupportWindowsServer2012R2,2012RTMand2008R264bit(WindowsServer2008
SP2andolderversionswillnotbesupported)andx1.16xlargewillsupportWindowsServer2012R2,2012
RTM,2008R264bit,2008SP264bit,and2003R264bit(WindowsServer32bitversionswillnotbe
supported).
Q.WhatstorageoptionsareavailableforX1customers?
X1instancesofferSSDbasedinstancestore,whichisidealfortemporarystorageofinformationsuchaslogs,
buffers,caches,temporarytables,temporarycomputationaldata,andothertemporarycontent.X1instance
storeprovidesthebestI/OperformancewhenyouuseaLinuxkernelthatsupportspersistentgrants,an
extensiontotheXenblockringprotocol.
X1instancesareEBSoptimizedbydefaultandofferupto10GbpsofdedicatedbandwidthtoEBSvolumes.
EBSoffersmultiplevolumetypestosupportawidevarietyofworkloads.FormoreinformationseetheEC2
UserGuide.
Q.HowdoIbuildcosteffectivefailoversolutiononX1instances?
YoucandesignsimpleandcosteffectivefailoversolutionsonX1instancesusingAmazonEC2AutoRecovery,
anAmazonEC2featurethatisdesignedtobettermanagefailoveruponinstanceimpairment.Youcanenable
AutoRecoveryforX1instancesbycreatinganAWSCloudWatchalarm.ChoosetheEC2StatusCheckFailed
(System)metricandselecttheRecoverthisinstanceaction.Instancerecoveryissubjecttounderlying
limitations,includingthosereflectedintheInstanceRecoveryTroubleshootingdocumentation.Formore
informationvisitAutoRecoverydocumentationandCreatingAmazonCloudWatchAlarmsrespectively.
Q.AretherestandardSAPHANAreferencedeploymentframeworksavailablefortheX1instanceandtheAWS
cloud?
YoucanusetheAWSQuickStartreferenceHANAdeploymentstorapidlydeployallthenecessaryHANA
buildingblocksonX1instancesfollowingSAPsrecommendationsforhighperformanceandreliability.AWS
QuickStartsaremodularandcustomizable,soyoucanlayeradditionalfunctionalityontopormodifythemfor
yourownimplementations.ForadditionalinformationondeployingHANAonAWS,pleaserefertoSAPHANA
onAWSCloud:QuickStartReferenceDeploymentGuide.
F1Instances
Q.WhatareFPGAsandwhydoIneedthem?
FPGAsareprogrammableintegratedcircuitsthatyoucanconfigureusingsoftware.ByusingFPGAsyoucan
accelerateyourapplicationsupto30xwhencomparedwithserversthatuseCPUsalone.And,FPGAsare
reprogrammable,soyougettheflexibilitytoupdateandoptimizeyourhardwareaccelerationwithouthavingto
redesignthehardware.
Q.WhatisAmazonEC2F1?
AmazonEC2F1isanewcomputeinstancewithprogrammablehardwareyoucanuseforapplication
acceleration.ThenewF1instancetypeprovidesahighperformance,easytoaccessFPGAfordevelopingand
deployingcustomhardwareaccelerations.
Q.HowdoesF1comparewithtraditionalFPGAsolutions?
F1isanAWSinstancewithprogrammablehardwareforapplicationacceleration.WithF1,youhaveaccessto
FPGAhardwareinafewsimpleclicks,reducingthetimeandcostoffullcycleFPGAdevelopmentandscale
deploymentfrommonthsoryearstodays.WhileFPGAtechnologyhasbeenavailablefordecades,adoptionof
applicationaccelerationhasstruggledtobesuccessfulinboththedevelopmentofacceleratorsandthe
businessmodelofsellingcustomhardwarefortraditionalenterprises,duetotimeandcostindevelopment
infrastructure,hardwaredesign,andatscaledeployment.Withthisoffering,customersavoidthe
undifferentiatedheavyliftingassociatedwithdevelopingFPGAsinonpremisesdatacenters.
Q:WhatisanAmazonFPGAImage(AFI)?
ThedesignthatyoucreatetoprogramyourFPGAiscalledanAmazonFPGAImage(AFI).AWSprovidesa
servicetoingest,manage,andencryptAFIs.AfteranAFIisregistered,itcanbeassociatedtoanAmazon
MachineImage(AMI)orarunningF1instance.&nbspYoucanassociatemultipleAFIstothesameF1instance
orAMIconcurrently,andaninstancecanswitchbetweenAFIsinruntimewithoutreboot.Thisletsyouquickly
testandrunmultiplehardwareaccelerationsinrapidsequence.OnceanAFIisassociatedwithanAMI,you
canalsoofferyourFPGAaccelerationtoothercustomersontheAWSMarketplace.
Q.WhatisavailablewithF1instances?
Fordevelopers,AWSisprovidingaHardwareDevelopmentKit(HDK)tohelpacceleratedevelopmentcycles,
anFPGADeveloperAMIfordevelopmentinthecloud,anSDKforAMIsrunningtheF1instance,andaservice
toingest,manage,andsecureAFIs.BothdevelopersandcustomershaveaccesstotheAWSMarketplace
whereAFIscanbelistedandpurchasedforuseinapplicationaccelerations.
Q.DoIneedtobeanFPGAexperttouseanF1instance?
AWScustomerssubscribingtoanF1optimizedAMIfromAWSMarketplacedonotneedtoknowanything
aboutFPGAstotakeadvantageoftheaccelerationsprovidedbytheF1instanceandtheAWSMarketplace.
SimplypurchaseanF1optimizedAMIfromtheAWSMarketplacewithanaccelerationthatmatchesthe
workload.TheAMIcontainsallthesoftwarenecessaryforusingtheFPGAacceleration.Customersneedonly
writesoftwaretothespecificAPIforthatacceleratorandstartusingtheaccelerator.
Q.ImanFPGAdeveloper,howdoIgetstartedwithF1instances?
DeveloperscangetstartedontheF1instancebycreatinganAWSaccountanddownloadingtheAWS
HardwareDevelopmentKit(HDK).TheHDKincludesdocumentationonF1,internalFPGAinterfaces,and
compilerscriptsforgeneratingAFI.DeveloperscanstartwritingtheirFPGAcodetothedocumentedinterfaces
includedintheHDKtocreatetheiraccelerationfunction.DeveloperscanlaunchAWSinstanceswiththeFPGA
DeveloperAMI.ThisAMIincludesthedevelopmentstoolsneedtocompileandsimulatetheFPGAcode.The
DeveloperAMIisbestrunonthelatestC4orC5EC2instances.Developersshouldhaveexperienceinthe
programminglanguagesusedforcreatingFPGAcode(i.e.VerilogorVHDL)andanunderstandingofthe
operationtheywishtoaccelerate.
Q.ImnotanFPGAdeveloper,howdoIgetstartedwithF1instances?
CustomerscangetstartedwithF1instancesbyselectinganacceleratorfromtheAWSMarketplace,provided
byAWSMarketplacesellers,andlaunchinganF1instancewiththatAMI.TheAMIincludesallofthesoftware
andAPIsforthataccelerator.AWSmanagesprogrammingtheFPGAwiththeAFIforthataccelerator.
CustomersdonotneedanyFPGAexperienceorknowledgetousetheseaccelerators.Theycanwork
completelyatthesoftwareAPIlevelforthataccelerator.
Q.DoesAWSprovideadeveloperkit?
Yes.TheHardwareDevelopmentKit(HDK)includessimulationtoolsandsimulationmodelsfordevelopersto
simulate,debug,build,andregistertheiraccelerationcode.TheHDKincludescodesamples,compilescripts,
debuginterfaces,andmanyothertoolsyouwillneedtodeveloptheFPGAcodeforyourF1instances.Youcan
usetheHDKeitherinanAWSprovidedAMI,orinyouronpremisesdevelopmentenvironment.Thesemodels
andscriptsareavailablepublicallywithanAWSaccount.
Q.CanIaddanFPGAtoanyEC2instancetype?
No.Today,theF1instancecomesintwoinstancesizesf1.2xlargeandf1.16xlarge.Fordetailed
specificationsclickhere.
PreviousGenerationInstances
Q:WhydontIseeM1,C1,CC2,HI1,CG1,andHS1instancesonthepricingpagesanymore?
ThesehavebeenmovedtothePreviousGenerationInstancepage.

Q:ArethesePreviousGenerationinstancesstillbeingsupported?
Yes.PreviousGenerationinstancesarestillfullysupported.

Q:CanIstilluse/addmorePreviousGenerationinstances?
Yes.PreviousGenerationinstancesarestillavailableasOnDemand,ReservedInstances,andSpotInstance,
fromourAPIs,CLI,andEC2ManagementConsoleinterface.

Q:AremyPreviousGenerationinstancesgoingtobedeleted?
No.YourM1,C1,CC2,HI1,CG1,andHS1instancesarestillfullyfunctionalandwillnotbedeletedbecauseof
thischange.

Q:ArePreviousGenerationinstancesbeingdiscontinuedsoon?
Currently,therearenoplanstoendoflifePreviousGenerationinstances.However,withanyrapidlyevolving
technologythelatestgenerationwilltypicallyprovidethebestperformanceforthepriceandweencourageour
customerstotakeadvantageoftechnologicaladvancements.
Q:WillmyPreviousGenerationinstancesIpurchasedasaReservedInstancebeaffectedorchanged?
No.YourReservedInstanceswillnotchange,andthePreviousGenerationinstancesarenotgoingaway.

VMImport/Export
Q.WhatisVMImport/Export?
VMImport/ExportenablescustomerstoimportVirtualMachine(VM)imagesinordertocreateAmazonEC2
instances.CustomerscanalsoexportpreviouslyimportedEC2instancestocreateVMs.Customerscanuse
VMImport/ExporttoleveragetheirpreviousinvestmentsinbuildingVMsbymigratingtheirVMstoAmazon
EC2.
Q.Whatoperatingsystemsaresupported?
VMImport/ExportcurrentlysupportsWindowsandLinuxVMs,includingWindowsServer2003,Windows
Server2003R2,WindowsServer2008,WindowsServer2012R1,RedHatEnterpriseLinux(RHEL)5.16.5
(usingCloudAccess),Centos5.16.5,Ubuntu12.04,12.10,13.04,13.10,andDebian6.0.06.0.8,7.0.07.2.0.
FormoredetailsonVMImport,includingsupportedfileformats,architectures,andoperatingsystem
configurations,pleaseseetheVMImport/ExportsectionoftheAmazonEC2UserGuide.
Q.Whatvirtualmachinefileformatsaresupported?
YoucanimportVMwareESXVMDKimages,CitrixXenVHDimages,MicrosoftHyperVVHDimagesandRAW
imagesasAmazonEC2instances.YoucanexportEC2instancestoVMwareESXVMDK,VMwareESXOVA,
MicrosoftHyperVVHDorCitrixXenVHDimages.Forafulllistofsupportoperatingsystems,pleaseseeWhat
operatingsystemsaresupported?.
Q.WhatisVMDK?
VMDKisafileformatthatspecifiesavirtualmachineharddiskencapsulatedwithinasinglefile.Itistypically
usedbyvirtualITinfrastructuressuchasthosesoldbyVMware,Inc.
Q.HowdoIprepareaVMDKfileforimportusingtheVMwarevSphereclient?
TheVMDKfilecanbepreparedbycallingFileExportExporttoOVFtemplateinVMwarevSphereClient.The
resultingVMDKfileiscompressedtoreducetheimagesizeandiscompatiblewithVMImport/Export.No
specialpreparationisrequiredifyouareusingtheAmazonEC2VMImportConnectorvAppforVMware
vCenter.
Q.WhatisVHD?
VHD(VirtualHardDisk)isafileformatthatthatspecifiesavirtualmachineharddiskencapsulatedwithina
singlefile.TheVHDimageformatisusedbyvirtualizationplatformssuchasMicrosoftHyperVandCitrixXen.
Q.HowdoIprepareaVHDfileforimportfromCitrixXen?
OpenCitrixXenCenterandselectthevirtualmachineyouwanttoexport.UndertheToolsmenu,choose
"VirtualApplianceTools"andselect"ExportAppliance"toinitiatetheexporttask.Whentheexportcompletes,
youcanlocatetheVHDimagefileinthedestinationdirectoryyouspecifiedintheexportdialog.
Q.HowdoIprepareaVHDfileforimportfromMicrosoftHyperV?
OpentheHyperVManagerandselectthevirtualmachineyouwanttoexport.IntheActionspaneforthe
virtualmachine,select"Export"toinitiatetheexporttask.Oncetheexportcompletes,youcanlocatetheVHD
imagefileinthedestinationdirectoryyouspecifiedintheexportdialog.
Q.ArethereanyotherrequirementswhenimportingaVMintoAmazonEC2?
ThevirtualmachinemustbeinastoppedstatebeforegeneratingtheVMDKorVHDimage.TheVMcannotbe
inapausedorsuspendedstate.Wesuggestthatyouexportthevirtualmachinewithonlythebootvolume
attached.YoucanimportadditionaldisksusingtheImportVolumecommandandattachthemtothevirtual
machineusingAttachVolume.Additionally,encrypteddisks(e.g.BitLocker)andencryptedimagefilesarenot
supported.Youarealsoresponsibleforensuringthatyouhaveallnecessaryrightsandlicensestoimportinto
AWSandrunanysoftwareincludedinyourVMimage.
Q.DoesthevirtualmachineneedtobeconfiguredinanyparticularmannertoenableimporttoAmazonEC2?
EnsureRemoteDesktop(RDP)orSecureShell(SSH)isenabledforremoteaccessandverifythatyourhost
firewall(Windowsfirewall,iptables,orsimilar),ifconfigured,allowsaccesstoRDPorSSH.Otherwise,youwill
notbeabletoaccessyourinstanceaftertheimportiscomplete.PleasealsoensurethatWindowsVMsare
configuredtousestrongpasswordsforallusersincludingtheadministratorandthatLinuxVMsandconfigured
withapublickeyforSSHaccess.
Q.HowdoIimportavirtualmachinetoanAmazonEC2instance?
YoucanimportyourVMimagesusingtheAmazonEC2APItools:
ImporttheVMDK,VHDorRAWfileviatheec2importinstanceAPI.Theimportinstancetaskcapturesthe
parametersnecessarytoproperlyconfiguretheAmazonEC2instanceproperties(instancesize,Availability
Zone,andsecuritygroups)anduploadsthediskimageintoAmazonS3.
Ifec2importinstanceisinterruptedorterminateswithoutcompletingtheupload,useec2resumeimportto
resumetheupload.Theimporttaskwillresumewhereitleftoff.
Usetheec2describeconversiontaskscommandtomonitortheimportprogressandobtaintheresulting
AmazonEC2instanceID.
Onceyourimporttaskiscompleted,youcanboottheAmazonEC2instancebyspecifyingitsinstanceIDto
theec2runinstancesAPI.
Finally,usetheec2deletediskimagecommandlinetooltodeleteyourdiskimagefromAmazonS3asitis
nolongerneeded.
Alternatively,ifyouusetheVMwarevSpherevirtualizationplatform,youcanimportyourvirtualmachineto
AmazonEC2usingagraphicaluserinterfaceprovidedthroughAWSManagementPortalforvCenter.Please
refertoGettingStartedGuideinAWSManagementPortalforvCenter.AWSManagementPortalforvCenter
includesintegratedsupportforVMImport.OncetheportalisinstalledwithinvCenter,youcanrightclickona
VMandselectMigratetoEC2tocreateanEC2instancefromtheVM.Theportalwillhandleexportingthe
VMfromvCenter,uploadingittoS3,andconvertingitintoanEC2instanceforyou,withnoadditionalwork
required.YoucanalsotracktheprogressofyourVMmigrationswithintheportal.
Q.HowdoIexportanAmazonEC2instancebacktomyonpremisevirtualizationenvironment?
YoucanexportyourAmazonEC2instanceusingtheAmazonEC2CLItools:
Exporttheinstanceusingtheec2createinstanceexporttaskcommand.Theexportcommandcapturesthe
parametersnecessary(instanceID,S3buckettoholdtheexportedimage,nameoftheexportedimage,
VMDK,OVAorVHDformat)toproperlyexporttheinstancetoyourchosenformat.Theexportedfileis
savedinanS3bucketthatyoupreviouslycreated
Useec2describeexporttaskstomonitortheexportprogress
Useec2cancelexporttasktocancelanexporttaskpriortocompletion

Q.ArethereanyotherrequirementswhenexportinganEC2instanceusingVMImport/Export?
YoucanexportrunningorstoppedEC2instancesthatyoupreviouslyimportedusingVMImport/Export.Ifthe
instanceisrunning,itwillbemomentarilystoppedtosnapshotthebootvolume.EBSdatavolumescannotbe
exported.EC2instanceswithmorethanonenetworkinterfacecannotbeexported.
Q.CanIexportAmazonEC2instancesthathaveoneormoreEBSdatavolumesattached?
Yes,butVMImport/ExportwillonlyexportthebootvolumeoftheEC2instance.
Q.Whatdoesitcosttoimportavirtualmachine?
YouwillbechargedstandardAmazonS3datatransferandstoragefeesforuploadingandstoringyourVM
imagefile.OnceyourVMisimported,standardAmazonEC2instancehourandEBSservicefeesapply.Ifyou
nolongerwishtostoreyourVMimagefileinS3aftertheimportprocesscompletes,usetheec2deletedisk
imagecommandlinetooltodeleteyourdiskimagefromAmazonS3.
Q.Whatdoesitcosttoexportavirtualmachine?
YouwillbechargedstandardAmazonS3storagefeesforstoringyourexportedVMimagefile.Youwillalsobe
chargedstandardS3datatransferchargeswhenyoudownloadtheexportedVMfiletoyouronpremise
virtualizationenvironment.Finally,youwillbechargedstandardEBSchargesforstoringatemporarysnapshot
ofyourEC2instance.Tominimizestoragecharges,deletetheVMimagefileinS3afterdownloadingittoyour
virtualizationenvironment.
Q.WhenIimportaVMofWindowsServer2003or2008,whoisresponsibleforsupplyingtheoperating
systemlicense?
WhenyoulaunchanimportedVMusingMicrosoftWindowsServer2003or2008,youwillbechargedstandard
instancehourratesforAmazonEC2runningtheappropriateWindowsServerversion,whichincludestheright
toutilizethatoperatingsystemwithinAmazonEC2.Youareresponsibleforensuringthatallotherinstalled
softwareisproperlylicensed.
Sothen,whathappenstomyonpremiseMicrosoftWindowslicensekeywhenIimportaVMofWindows
Server2003or2008?SinceyouronpremiseMicrosoftWindowslicensekeythatwasassociatedwiththatVM
isnotusedwhenrunningyourimportedVMasanEC2instance,youcanreuseitforanotherVMwithinyour
onpremiseenvironment.
Q.CanIcontinuetousetheAWSprovidedMicrosoftWindowslicensekeyafterexportinganEC2instance
backtomyonpremisevirtualizationenvironment?
No.AfteranEC2instancehasbeenexported,thelicensekeyutilizedintheEC2instanceisnolonger
available.YouwillneedtoreactivateandspecifyanewlicensekeyfortheexportedVMafteritislaunchedin
youronpremisevirtualizationplatform.
Q.WhenIimportaVMwithRedHatEnterpriseLinux(RHEL),whoisresponsibleforsupplyingtheoperating
systemlicense?
WhenyouimportRedHatEnterpriseLinux(RHEL)VMimages,youcanuselicenseportabilityforyourRHEL
instances.Withlicenseportability,youareresponsibleformaintainingtheRHELlicensesforimported
instances,whichyoucandousingCloudAccesssubscriptionsforRedHatEnterpriseLinux.Pleasecontact
RedHattolearnmoreaboutCloudAccessandtoverifyyoureligibility.
Q.Howlongdoesittaketoimportavirtualmachine?
Thelengthoftimetoimportavirtualmachinedependsonthesizeofthediskimageandyournetwork
connectionspeed.Asanexample,a10GBWindowsServer2008SP2VMDKimagetakesapproximately2
hourstoimportwhenitstransferredovera10Mbpsnetworkconnection.Ifyouhaveaslowernetwork
connectionoralargedisktoupload,yourimportmaytakesignificantlylonger.
Q.InwhichAmazonEC2regionscanIuseVMImport/Export?
VisittheRegionTablepagetoseeproductserviceavailabilitybyregion.
Q.HowmanysimultaneousimportorexporttaskscanIhave?
Eachaccountcanhaveuptofiveactiveimporttasksandfiveexporttasksperregion.
Q.CanIrunimportedvirtualmachinesinAmazonVirtualPrivateCloud(VPC)?
Yes,youcanlaunchimportedvirtualmachineswithinAmazonVPC.
Q.CanIusetheAWSManagementConsolewithVMImport/Export?
No.VMImport/ExportcommandsareavailableviaEC2CLIandAPI.YoucanalsousetheAWSManagement
PortalforvCentertoimportVMsintoAmazonEC2.Onceimported,theresultinginstancesareavailableforuse
viatheAWSManagementConsole.

AmazonEC2RunningMicrosoft
WindowsandOtherThirdPartySoftware
Q.CanIusemyexistingWindowsServerlicensewithEC2?
Yesyoucan.AfteryouveimportedyourownWindowsServermachineimagesusingtheImportImagetool,you
canlaunchinstancesfromthesemachineimagesonEC2DedicatedHostsandeffectivelymanageinstances
andreportusage.Microsofttypicallyrequiresthatyoutrackusageofyourlicensesagainstphysicalresources
suchassocketsandcoresandDedicatedHostshelpsyoutodothis.VisittheDedicatedHostsdetailpagefor
moreinformationonhowtouseyourownWindowsServerlicensesonAmazonEC2DedicatedHosts.
Q.WhatsoftwarelicensescanIbringtotheWindowsenvironment?
Specificsoftwarelicensetermsvaryfromvendortovendor.Therefore,werecommendthatyoucheckthe
licensingtermsofyoursoftwarevendortodetermineifyourexistinglicensesareauthorizedforuseinAmazon
EC2.
AmazonEC2RunningIBM
Q.HowamIbilledformyuseofAmazonEC2runningIBM?
Youpayonlyforwhatyouuseandthereisnominimumfee.Pricingisperinstancehourconsumedforeach
instancetype.Partialinstancehoursconsumedarebilledasfullhours.DatatransferforAmazonEC2running
IBMisbilledandtieredseparatelyfromAmazonEC2.ThereisnoDataTransferchargebetweentwoAmazon
WebServiceswithinthesameregion(i.e.betweenAmazonEC2USWestandanotherAWSserviceintheUS
West).DatatransferredbetweenAWSservicesindifferentregionswillbechargedasInternetDataTransferon
bothsidesofthetransfer.
ForAmazonEC2runningIBMpricinginformation,pleasevisitthepricingsectionontheAmazonEC2running
IBMdetailpage.
Q.CanIuseAmazonDevPaywithAmazonEC2runningIBM?
No,youcannotuseDevPaytobundleproductsontopofAmazonEC2runningIBMatthistime.
ServiceLevelAgreement(SLA)
Q.WhatdoesyourAmazonEC2ServiceLevelAgreementguarantee?
OurSLAguaranteesaMonthlyUptimePercentageofatleast99.95%forAmazonEC2andAmazonEBSwithin
aRegion.
Q.HowdoIknowifIqualifyforaSLAServiceCredit?
YouareeligibleforaSLAcreditforeitherAmazonEC2orAmazonEBS(whicheverwasUnavailable,orbothif
bothwereUnavailable)iftheRegionthatyouareoperatinginhasanMonthlyUptimePercentageoflessthan
99.95%duringanymonthlybillingcycle.ForfulldetailsonallofthetermsandconditionsoftheSLA,aswellas
detailsonhowtosubmitaclaim,pleaseseehttp://aws.amazon.com/ec2/sla/

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Recurring RecurringHourly List

Model vCP CPU Maximum BaselineCPU

t2.micro 1 6 144 10%ofacore

t2.small 1 12 288 20%ofacore

t2.mediu 2 24 576 40%ofacore*

t2.large 2 36 864 60%ofacore**

t2.xlarge 4 54 1,296 90%ofacore***

t2.2xlarge 8 81 1,944 135%ofacore****

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