AWS Dedicated Hosts are physical servers with Amazon EC2 instance capacity that are fully dedicated to your use. Unlike shared tenancy where multiple AWS customers share the same physical hardware, Dedicated Hosts provide you with an entire physical server exclusively for your organization.
From a…AWS Dedicated Hosts are physical servers with Amazon EC2 instance capacity that are fully dedicated to your use. Unlike shared tenancy where multiple AWS customers share the same physical hardware, Dedicated Hosts provide you with an entire physical server exclusively for your organization.
From a pricing perspective, Dedicated Hosts offer two payment options. First, On-Demand pricing allows you to pay for the Dedicated Host by the hour with no long-term commitments. Second, Reserved pricing enables you to save up to 70% compared to On-Demand by committing to a one-year or three-year term. You can also use Savings Plans to reduce costs on Dedicated Hosts.
Key benefits of Dedicated Hosts include licensing flexibility, as they allow you to use your existing server-bound software licenses such as Windows Server, SQL Server, and SUSE Linux Enterprise Server. This bring-your-own-license (BYOL) capability can result in significant cost savings for organizations with existing license investments.
Dedicated Hosts also provide visibility into the physical characteristics of the host, including the number of sockets, cores, and host ID. This information is essential for software licensing compliance and audit purposes.
From a compliance standpoint, Dedicated Hosts help meet corporate compliance requirements and regulatory obligations that may mandate dedicated physical infrastructure. Industries such as healthcare, finance, and government often require this level of isolation.
You can launch various EC2 instance types on a single Dedicated Host, depending on the host type you select. AWS provides tools like AWS License Manager to help track and manage your licenses across Dedicated Hosts.
In summary, Dedicated Hosts are ideal for organizations with strict licensing requirements, compliance needs, or those who want complete control over instance placement on physical servers while potentially reducing licensing costs through BYOL arrangements.
AWS Dedicated Hosts: Complete Guide for Cloud Practitioner Exam
What are AWS Dedicated Hosts?
AWS Dedicated Hosts are physical servers with Amazon EC2 instance capacity that are fully dedicated to your use. Unlike standard EC2 instances where you share the underlying hardware with other AWS customers, a Dedicated Host gives you an entire physical server exclusively for your organization.
Why are Dedicated Hosts Important?
Dedicated Hosts are crucial for several key reasons:
1. Licensing Compliance: Many enterprise software licenses (such as Windows Server, SQL Server, Oracle, and SUSE Linux) are tied to physical cores or sockets. Dedicated Hosts allow you to use your existing server-bound software licenses (BYOL - Bring Your Own License), potentially saving significant costs.
2. Regulatory Compliance: Some industries and organizations have strict regulatory requirements that mandate workloads run on dedicated physical infrastructure. Healthcare, finance, and government sectors often have these requirements.
3. Visibility and Control: Dedicated Hosts provide visibility into the number of sockets and physical cores on your server, which is essential for license tracking and compliance auditing.
How Dedicated Hosts Work
When you allocate a Dedicated Host:
• You select the instance family (e.g., m5, c5, r5) the host will support • AWS provisions an entire physical server for your exclusive use • You can launch instances of the specified family on that host • You have control over instance placement on the physical server • The host remains dedicated to your account until you release it
Dedicated Hosts vs. Dedicated Instances
This is a common point of confusion:
Dedicated Hosts: You get an entire physical server with visibility into sockets and cores. Supports BYOL licensing. You control instance placement.
Dedicated Instances: Your instances run on hardware dedicated to your account, but you do not have visibility into the physical server details. Does not support BYOL licensing that requires socket/core information.
Pricing Models for Dedicated Hosts
• On-Demand: Pay by the hour with no long-term commitment • Reservations: Commit to 1 or 3 years for significant discounts (up to 70% off On-Demand pricing) • Savings Plans: Can also apply to Dedicated Host usage
Exam Tips: Answering Questions on Dedicated Hosts
Key Scenarios Where Dedicated Hosts is the Answer:
1. When the question mentions software licensing requirements tied to physical cores, sockets, or per-server licensing - choose Dedicated Hosts
2. When BYOL (Bring Your Own License) is mentioned for software like Windows Server, SQL Server, or Oracle - the answer is Dedicated Hosts
3. When compliance requirements specify dedicated physical infrastructure with visibility into hardware - select Dedicated Hosts
4. When the scenario requires tracking physical server attributes for audit purposes - Dedicated Hosts is correct
Common Exam Traps to Avoid:
• Do not confuse Dedicated Hosts with Dedicated Instances - if the question requires socket/core visibility or BYOL, it must be Dedicated Hosts • Reserved Instances alone do not provide dedicated hardware - they are a pricing model • Dedicated Hosts are more expensive than shared tenancy options, so they are not the cost-optimal choice unless licensing or compliance is involved
Keywords to Watch For:
• "Per-socket licensing"• "Per-core licensing"• "Bring Your Own License" or "BYOL"• "Software license compliance"• "Dedicated physical server"• "Visibility into physical cores"• "Regulatory compliance requiring dedicated hardware" Summary
Dedicated Hosts provide a physical server dedicated to your use, enabling license compliance for server-bound software and meeting strict regulatory requirements. For the exam, associate Dedicated Hosts with BYOL scenarios and situations requiring visibility into physical hardware attributes.