AWS Certified Solutions Architect – ProfessionalAccelerate Workload Migration and ModernizationMedium
A financial services company is migrating a legacy batch processing application to AWS. The application performs complex calculations on large datasets, takes several hours to complete, and runs only once a day. The company wants to optimize costs and minimize the operational burden of managing underlying infrastructure while ensuring the jobs complete reliably. Which AWS service combination is MOST appropriate for this migration?
- AAmazon EC2 instances with Auto Scaling, using On-Demand Instances.
- BAmazon EMR on EC2 Reserved Instances.
- CAWS Lambda with Step Functions for orchestration.
- DAWS Batch with Amazon EC2 Spot Instances.
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: D. AWS Batch with Amazon EC2 Spot Instances.
AWS Batch is designed for efficient execution of batch computing workloads, automatically provisioning and scaling resources. Using Spot Instances with AWS Batch significantly reduces costs for fault-tolerant, non-time-sensitive workloads like daily batch processing.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. On-Demand EC2 instances are more expensive than Spot Instances, and managing Auto Scaling groups still involves some operational overhead.
- B. Amazon EMR is suitable for big data processing, but for a single daily batch job that primarily involves calculations, AWS Batch might be a more cost-effective and simpler solution, especially with Spot Instances. Reserved Instances are for predictable, long-running workloads, not necessarily for jobs that run only once a day for a few hours.
- C. AWS Lambda has execution limits (currently 15 minutes) and is not suitable for jobs that take 'several hours'. Step Functions orchestrate serverless workflows, but Lambda's duration limit makes it unsuitable here.
AWS Batch with Spot Instances
A combination of AWS Batch for managing batch computing workloads and EC2 Spot Instances for cost-effective, interruptible compute capacity.
- AWS Batch handles job scheduling, resource provisioning, and scaling.
- Spot Instances offer significant cost savings (up to 90% off On-Demand price).
- Ideal for fault-tolerant, flexible batch jobs.
Memory trick: Batch + Spot = Best for Batch Cost