Question #1163
A company needs to deploy memory-intensive applications across several Amazon EC2 instances. Which EC2 instance type is most appropriate for this requirement?
General purpose instances
Compute optimized instances
Memory optimized instances
Storage optimized instances
Explanation
Memory optimized EC2 instances (e.g., R5, X1, z1d families) are specifically optimized for workloads requiring large amounts of RAM. They provide the highest memory-to-vCPU ratios, which is critical for memory-intensive applications such as in-memory databases (e.g., Redis), real-time big data analytics, and high-performance caching.
Why other options are incorrect:
- A. General purpose instances: These offer a balance of compute, memory, and networking resources but lack the specialized high memory capacity required for memory-heavy workloads.
- B. Compute optimized instances: These prioritize high CPU performance (e.g., C5, C6g instances) and are suited for compute-bound tasks, not memory-intensive applications.
- D. Storage optimized instances: These focus on high storage density and I/O (e.g., I3, D2 instances) and are designed for storage-heavy workloads like NoSQL databases, not memory-bound tasks.
Key Point: Always match the instance type to the workload's primary resource requirement—memory optimized instances are explicitly designed for memory-intensive use cases.
Answer
The correct answer is: C