Amazon  -Elastic Cloud Compute(EC2)

This is the basic structure of AWS EC2, where EC2 stands for Elastic Compute Cloud. EC2 allow users to use virtual machines of different configurations as per their requirement. It allows various configuration options, mapping of individual server, various pricing options, etc. We will discuss these in detail in AWS Products section. Following is the diagrammatic representation of the architecture.

In the above diagram S3 stands for Simple Storage Service. It allows the users to store and retrieve various types of data using API calls. It doesn’t contain any computing element

Amazon EC2 is a service provided by Amazon Web Services (AWS) that allows users to run virtual servers, known as instances, in the cloud. These servers can be used to run applications, store data, or perform computations without the need for physical hardware.

Amazon EC2 provides scalable computing capacity, allowing users to launch and manage virtual servers. It's designed to make web-scale cloud computing easier for developers. With EC2, you can:

• Quickly scale up or down to handle changes in demand.
• Choose from a variety of instance types, operating systems, and storage options.
• Pay for the computing resources you use, eliminating the need for upfront hardware investments.

 Features of EC2

• Scalability: You can increase or decrease the number of instances based on your needs. This is particularly useful for web applications that have varying levels of traffic.
• Elastic Load Balancing: EC2 integrates with Elastic Load Balancing (ELB) to distribute incoming traffic across multiple EC2 instances, enhancing fault tolerance.
• Auto Scaling: Automatically adjust the number of EC2 instances based on demand using Auto Scaling. It helps maintain performance during traffic surges and saves costs when demand is low.
• Security: EC2 instances can be placed in Virtual Private Clouds (VPCs) and secured using security groups and network access control lists (ACLs).
• Customizable: Users can select their operating system, CPU, memory, storage, and networking capacity for each instance.

 

 Instance Types

EC2 offers several instance types to cater to different use cases. These are categorized by performance characteristics, pricing, and functionality. Some common instance types include:

• General Purpose Instances: Suitable for a variety of workloads, offering a balance of compute, memory, and networking. Example: t3.micro.
• Compute Optimized Instances: Ideal for compute-heavy applications such as high-performance computing. Example: c5.large.
• Memory Optimized Instances: Used for memory-intensive workloads like databases. Example: r5.large.
• Storage Optimized Instances: Designed for applications that require high, sequential read and write access to large data sets. Example: i3.large.
• Accelerated Computing Instances: Utilize hardware accelerators like GPUs for intensive tasks such as machine learning. Example: p3.large.

  Pricing Models

EC2 offers multiple pricing models, giving users flexibility in how they pay for resources:

• On-Demand Instances: Pay for compute capacity by the hour or second with no long-term commitment. Useful for short-term, unpredictable workloads.
• Reserved Instances: Purchase instances at a significant discount for a 1- or 3-year term. Ideal for steady-state workloads.
• Spot Instances: Purchase unused EC2 capacity at up to a 90% discount. Suitable for fault-tolerant, flexible applications.
• Savings Plans: Commit to a consistent amount of compute usage (measured in $/hour) for a 1- or 3-year term to receive discounts, regardless of instance type.

Elastic Block Store (EBS)

Amazon EC2 instances use Elastic Block Store (EBS) for persistent storage. EBS volumes are network-attached storage that remains even after an instance is stopped or terminated.

• EBS Types:
• General Purpose SSD (gp2, gp3): Cost-effective for most workloads.
• Provisioned IOPS SSD (io1, io2): Designed for applications requiring high-performance storage, like large databases.
• Magnetic (standard): Cheaper but slower, suitable for infrequently accessed data.

Amazon Machine Images (AMIs)

AMIs are templates that include the necessary information to launch an EC2 instance, such as the operating system, application server, and applications themselves. You can use pre-configured AMIs provided by AWS or create your own custom AMIs to replicate a particular environment.

Security and Networking

• Security Groups: Act as virtual firewalls, controlling inbound and outbound traffic for EC2 instances.
• VPC (Virtual Private Cloud): Provides a logically isolated network environment for your EC2 instances. You can control IP addressing, subnets, route tables, and internet gateways.
• Key Pairs: For secure SSH access to instances, EC2 uses key pairs (private and public keys) that you generate and use to log in to your instance.

 Elastic IP Address

An Elastic IP is a static, public IPv4 address that can be attached to an instance. It allows you to mask the failure of an instance by remapping the address to another instance in your account.

 EC2 Auto Scaling

EC2 Auto Scaling ensures that the number of EC2 instances increases during high demand to maintain performance and decreases during low demand to save costs. Auto Scaling works with the following components:

• Launch Configurations/Launch Templates: Specifies the instance type, AMI, and configuration.
• Scaling Policies: Rules that determine when to scale in or out based on metrics such as CPU utilization.

Load Balancing

Elastic Load Balancing (ELB) distributes incoming traffic across multiple EC2 instances, improving availability and fault tolerance. AWS offers different types of load balancers:

• Application Load Balancer: Best for HTTP and HTTPS traffic, designed for web applications.
• Network Load Balancer: Handles TCP traffic and is designed for high-performance, low-latency applications.
• Classic Load Balancer: Works at both the application and network layers.

Monitoring and Management Tools

• Amazon CloudWatch: Monitors your EC2 instances and other AWS resources, providing real-time metrics on performance, health, and operational data.
• AWS Management Console: A user-friendly web interface to manage EC2 instances and other AWS services.
• AWS CLI: Command-line interface to manage AWS services, including EC2.
• AWS SDKs: Software development kits that allow you to access EC2 and other AWS services from your applications using various programming languages.

 Use Cases for EC2

• Web Hosting: Host scalable websites with load balancing and automatic scaling.
• Big Data Analytics: Run distributed big data frameworks like Hadoop or Spark on clusters of EC2 instances.
• Development and Testing: Quickly provision development and test environments.
• High-Performance Computing (HPC): Run compute-heavy workloads such as scientific simulations.
• Machine Learning: Use EC2 instances with GPUs to train machine learning models.

Advantages of EC2

• Elasticity: Quickly scale capacity based on needs.
• Flexible Pricing: Choose the pricing model that suits your workload.
• Customizability: Full control over the instance configurations.
• Global Reach: EC2 is available in multiple AWS regions worldwide.

Limitations

• Cost Management: Improperly managing your instances can lead to high costs.
• Complexity: Managing instances, networking, and security can be complex for beginners.

 How to Launch an EC2 Instance

1. Log into AWS Console: Use your AWS account to log in.
2. Navigate to EC2: Search for and select EC2 under AWS services.
3. Launch Instance: Choose "Launch Instance" and follow the steps to configure your instance.
• Select an AMI (e.g., Ubuntu, Amazon Linux).
• Choose an instance type (e.g., t2.micro for free tier).
• Configure instance details (number of instances, networking).
• Add storage (EBS volume).
• Configure security groups (allow inbound/outbound traffic).
• Review and launch the instance.
4. Connect to Your Instance: Use SSH or a web browser (depending on the instance type) to connect to your instance and start using it.

Amazon EC2 offers scalable, flexible cloud computing resources for students and professionals. By understanding instance types, pricing models, storage options, and security best practices, students can efficiently use EC2 to support a wide range of applications, from simple web hosting to large-scale scientific computing.