Compute
Amazon EC2
Resizable virtual servers that give customers control over the guest operating system, software, and instance configuration.
Key points
- EC2 supports many instance families optimized for different compute, memory, storage, or accelerator needs.
- Customers manage the guest OS and applications under the shared responsibility model.
- Purchasing models change price, commitment, interruption, tenancy, or capacity assurance—not the basic EC2 service purpose.
Best-known use cases
- Run software that needs virtual-server control.
- Choose an instance family aligned to a broad workload characteristic.
What candidates often confuse it with
- EC2 provides server control; Lambda runs event-driven code without server management.
- Elastic Beanstalk deploys supported applications while managing more of the platform workflow.
- Auto Scaling changes instance count; load balancing distributes traffic.
Key Cloud Practitioner takeaway
Choose EC2 when the requirement includes control of a virtual server or guest operating system.
Related services
- AWS Lambda
- AWS Elastic Beanstalk
- AWS Auto Scaling and Elastic Load Balancing
Relevant exam tasks
- D2.1
- D3.3
- D4.1