A company is running a batch processing workload on EC2 instances that takes approximately 10 hours to complete daily. The workload is predictable and runs at the same time every day. They want to achieve significant cost savings compared to On-Demand pricing. Which EC2 purchasing option offers the best balance of cost savings and commitment for this predictable, long-running workload?
- AOn-Demand Instances
- BDedicated Hosts
- CSpot Instances
- DEC2 Instance Savings Plans
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: D. EC2 Instance Savings Plans
EC2 Instance Savings Plans offer significant discounts (up to 72%) on EC2 usage in exchange for a commitment to a consistent amount of compute usage (measured in $/hour) for a 1- or 3-year term. For a predictable, daily 10-hour workload, this provides substantial cost savings without requiring a specific instance type or family, offering flexibility not present in Reserved Instances.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. On-Demand Instances are the most expensive and don't offer cost savings for predictable, long-running workloads.
- B. Dedicated Hosts are for specific licensing or compliance needs and are very expensive, not primarily for general cost optimization of a batch workload.
- C. Spot Instances are for interruptible workloads, which might not be suitable for a critical 10-hour batch job that needs to complete reliably.
EC2 Instance Savings Plans
EC2 Instance Savings Plans offer significant savings (up to 72%) over On-Demand prices in exchange for a commitment to a consistent amount of compute usage (measured in $/hour) for a 1- or 3-year term.
- Commitment is to a dollar amount of usage per hour, not specific instances.
- Automatically applies to any EC2 instance usage in a region.
- Provides flexibility across instance families, OS, and tenancy.
- Ideal for consistent, predictable compute usage.
Memory trick: Choose your EC2 payment plan like choosing a phone plan: pay-as-you-go, long-term contract, or flexible commitment.