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Amazon EC2 Spot Instances

5 minutes 5 Questions

Amazon EC2 Spot Instances are unused EC2 instances whose capacity is available for purchase at a significantly lower price compared to On-Demand instances. Spot Instances can be used for fault-tolerant, flexible workloads or applications with significant cost savings. However, they can be interrupted and reclaimed by AWS with a two-minute notice when AWS requires the capacity back, so they are best suited for workloads that can handle occasional interruptions.

Guide: Amazon EC2 Spot Instances

What are Amazon EC2 Spot Instances?
Amazon EC2 Spot Instances provide you with the ability to purchase spare computing power at a discount from the on-demand price. It allows you to use unused EC2 instances which are available for less than the On-Demand price.

Why are Amazon EC2 Spot Instances important?
Spot Instances are important because they can reduce costs of running your applications, perform fault-tolerant workloads, or accelerate workloads at a lower cost. It allows businesses to optimize their costs on the AWS cloud and increase their computing power without substantial investments.

How does Amazon EC2 Spot Instances work?
When you request Spot Instances, you provide a maximum price you are willing to pay per instance hour. If your request is successful and your instance is terminated or interrupted by Amazon EC2, you won't be charged for your usage in that hourly period.

Exam Tips: Answering Questions on Amazon EC2 Spot Instances
1. Understand the pricing model: The pricing for Spot Instances is market-based, and it fluctuates based on supply and demand for unused EC2 instances. Hence, they are significantly cheaper than regular instances.
2. Spot Instance Interruptions: Spot instances may be interrupted by Amazon EC2 for price, capacity, or a Spot Instance termination request. If your Spot Instance is terminated or interrupted by Amazon EC2 in the first instance hour, you will not be charged for that hour.
3. Use Cases: Make sure you know the various use scenarios. They are ideal for data analysis, batch jobs, background processing, and optional tasks.

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AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Amazon EC2 Example Questions

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Question 1

You have a cost-sensitive application that processes large datasets. You want to use Spot Instances to save costs, but you're concerned about data persistence if an instance is terminated. Which storage option should you use?

Correct Answer: Amazon EBS volumes with data checkpointing

Amazon EBS volumes with data checkpointing allow you to persist data even if an instance is terminated. Data checkpointing helps save the state of your data at specific points in time, ensuring that you can resume your work after an instance is terminated.

Question 2

You deploy an AWS Batch environment for a scientific simulation that requires compute-intensive Spot Instances. The workload can support interruption, but it must be completed within a specific timeframe. How do you ensure the job finishes quickly at the lowest possible cost?

Correct Answer: Use a compute environment with multiple instance types and bidding a higher maximum price for Spot Instances

Using a compute environment with multiple instance types and bidding a higher maximum price for Spot Instances increases the chances of getting the required capacity at a lower cost, as it allows your workload to run on the instance types with the lowest prices. The wrong answers either do not address the problem or create new problems such as higher costs or reduced flexibility.

Question 3

Your company runs an application on EC2 On-Demand Instances. They want to reduce costs by using Spot Instances for fault-tolerant application components. How should you configure your application to continue processing after a Spot Instance termination?

Correct Answer: Use EC2 Fleet to manage Spot Instances and set up Auto Scaling with a custom termination policy

EC2 Fleet allows you to manage Spot Instances and configure Auto Scaling with a custom termination policy to ensure the instances are terminated gracefully. This way, your application can continue processing after a Spot Instance is terminated. The wrong answers are not designed to address the problem of Spot Instance terminations, or they create other problems such as increased costs or potential data loss.

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