Question #857
A company intends to run a non-stop workload on Amazon EC2 instances for a duration exceeding 18 months. Which option provides a discounted hourly rate relative to On-Demand pricing?
AWS Outposts
EC2 Spot Instances
Compute Savings Plans
Dedicated Hosts
Explanation
The correct answer is C (Compute Savings Plans) because:
- Compute Savings Plans offer significant discounts (up to 66%) for committing to a consistent amount of compute usage over 1 or 3 years. Since the workload runs non-stop for over 18 months, a 3-year commitment maximizes savings while aligning with the long-term requirement.
Why other options are incorrect:
- A (AWS Outposts): Designed for hybrid cloud setups (on-premises AWS infrastructure), not for discounts on EC2 usage.
- B (EC2 Spot Instances): Cheaper but unsuitable for non-stop workloads due to potential interruptions.
- D (Dedicated Hosts): Provide physical server isolation but no inherent discount unless combined with Reserved Instances, which are less flexible than Savings Plans.
Key Points:
- Savings Plans apply to EC2, Lambda, and Fargate usage, offering flexibility across instance families and regions.
- Long-term commitments (1/3 years) yield higher discounts than On-Demand pricing.
- Spot Instances are risky for critical workloads; Reserved Instances/Dedicated Hosts are less flexible than Savings Plans.
Answer
The correct answer is: C