AWS EC2 stands for Amazon Web Services Elastic Compute Cloud. It is a web service provided by Amazon that allows users to rent virtual servers, also known as instances, on which they can run their applications. EC2 provides resizable compute capacity in the cloud, which means users can easily scale their computing resources up or down based on their requirements.
Here are some key features and aspects of AWS EC2:
- Virtual Instances: EC2 allows users to create and manage virtual instances of servers in the cloud. These instances can be selected from a variety of configurations, such as different CPU capacities, memory sizes, storage options, and network performance levels.
- Scalability: EC2 provides flexibility in terms of scaling computing resources. Users can easily increase or decrease the number of instances they are using, allowing them to handle changes in demand and ensure optimal performance for their applications.
- Pricing Models: AWS EC2 offers various pricing options, including On-Demand Instances, which allow users to pay for compute capacity by the hour with no long-term commitments. There are also Reserved Instances, where users can reserve capacity for a specific term and receive a discount, and Spot Instances, which enable users to bid for unused EC2 instances and potentially achieve significant cost savings.
- Multiple Operating Systems: EC2 supports a wide range of operating systems, including popular options like Amazon Linux, Windows Server, Ubuntu, and more. This allows users to choose the operating system that best suits their application requirements.
- Security: AWS EC2 provides several security features to protect instances and data. These include Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) integration, network access control, security groups, encryption options, and the ability to manage access and permissions through AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM).
- Integration with Other AWS Services: EC2 seamlessly integrates with other Amazon Web Services. Users can leverage additional services such as Amazon S3 for storage, Amazon RDS for managed databases, Amazon EBS for block storage, and many others to build scalable and comprehensive solutions.
EC2 is widely used by businesses and individuals for a variety of purposes, such as hosting websites, running applications, performing data analysis, running virtual desktops, and much more. Its flexibility, scalability, and integration with other AWS services make it a powerful and popular choice for deploying and managing virtual server instances in the cloud.