AWS Certified SysOps Administrator – AssociateCost and Performance OptimizationMedium
A SysOps Administrator is reviewing the AWS bill for a fleet of Amazon EC2 instances. They notice that many instances are running 24/7 but have low average CPU utilization (under 15%) for most of the day, with occasional spikes. These instances are critical for a proprietary batch processing application that runs intermittently throughout the day. The company wants to reduce costs without impacting the application's ability to process batches when needed. Which EC2 purchasing option should be recommended?
- ASavings Plans.
- BSpot Instances.
- COn-Demand Instances.
- DReserved Instances (RIs).
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: A. Savings Plans.
Savings Plans offer flexible pricing models that provide significant discounts over On-Demand prices in exchange for a commitment to a consistent amount of compute usage (measured in USD/hour) for a 1-year or 3-year term. Unlike RIs, Savings Plans automatically apply to any EC2 instance usage, regardless of instance family, size, OS, or region, making them ideal for workloads with fluctuating instance types or usage patterns that still have a baseline commitment.
Why the other options are wrong
- B. Spot Instances are for fault-tolerant workloads that can tolerate interruptions, which is not suitable for a critical batch processing application that needs to run when required.
- C. On-Demand instances are the most expensive option, offering no cost savings for continuous usage.
- D. Reserved Instances offer discounts for specific instance types, regions, and tenancy. While good for consistent usage, they lack the flexibility of Savings Plans if instance types or families might change.
EC2 Savings Plans
A flexible pricing model that provides significant discounts over On-Demand prices in exchange for a commitment to a consistent amount of compute usage.
- Commitment in USD/hour.
- Applies to any EC2 instance family, size, OS, or region.
- Offers up to 66% savings compared to On-Demand.
Memory trick: EC2 savings: pay as you go, commit for less, or grab a spot deal.