EC2 Instance Types | Your Ultimate Guide for AWS Certification!

In this deep dive into Amazon EC2 Instance Types, you’ll learn everything you need to know about the wide variety of AWS EC2 instances and how to choose the right one for your needs. I’ll walk you through each major EC2 instance family – from general purpose servers to GPU-powered machines – explaining in simple terms what they do and when to use them. This lesson is beginner-friendly but detailed enough for AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate and Cloud Practitioner exam prep, complete with high-quality visuals and memory aids to help you retain the information. By the end of the video, you’ll have the confidence to select the best EC2 instance type for any real-world workload (and be well prepared for exam questions on EC2 instances!). Whether you’re studying for the AWS Cloud Practitioner or Solutions Architect Associate, this is your ultimate guide to EC2 instance types. 🚀💡 What You’ll Learn 📚🎓 All EC2 Instance Families Explained: Get an overview of all the major EC2 instance families and categories – General Purpose, Compute Optimized, Memory Optimized, Storage Optimized, Accelerated Computing – plus specialized options like burstable instances and bare metal instances. - ----- You’ll understand the strengths of each family and the use cases they’re built for. Real-World Use Cases: Learn which EC2 instances to choose for common scenarios: e.g. use general purpose instances for everyday applications, compute optimized instances for CPU-intensive batch processing, memory optimized instances for large in-memory databases, storage optimized instances for big data or high I/O needs, and GPU-based accelerated instances for machine learning or graphics workloads. We cover specific examples so you can align your workload with the right instance type. Selecting the Best EC2 Instance Type: Find out how to evaluate your requirements (CPU, memory, storage, GPU, network) and choose the best EC2 instance type for cost and performance. We break down the decision process (including burstable vs. fixed-performance instances like the T-series) so that selecting the best EC2 instance type for your project becomes straightforward. You’ll also get tips on picking the right instance size and see how AWS tools like Compute Optimizer can help fine-tune your choices. Exam Tips & Memory Aids: This video is packed with visuals, analogies, and study tricks to cement your understanding. Important points are highlighted to make sure you remember them come exam time. 🤓 If you’re preparing for AWS certification, you’ll gain the knowledge and confidence to answer EC2 instance questions and make real-world architecture decisions with ease. Chapters ⏱️ 0:00 Introduction & Overview – Why understanding EC2 instance types matters (for AWS exams and real-world projects). 2:19 EC2 Instance Families & Naming – How AWS groups EC2 instances into families, the naming convention (instance family, generation, features, size), and what those letters and numbers (M, C, R, etc.) mean. (Includes a look at bare metal instances and dedicated hardware options.) 9:36 General Purpose Instances (M & T Series) – Balanced CPU, memory, and network for a wide variety of workloads. Overview of the M family and the burstable T series for cost-effective performance bursts. 13:06 Compute Optimized Instances (C Series) – High CPU performance for compute-intensive tasks. Ideal for batch processing, high-performance computing, web servers, and other CPU-bound workloads. 16:07 Memory Optimized Instances (R & X Series) – Large RAM capacities for memory-intensive applications. Great for in-memory databases, big data analytics, caching, and real-time processing requiring tons of memory. 19:22 Storage Optimized Instances (I & D Series) – High I/O throughput and local storage capacity. Covers instances with fast NVMe SSD storage (I-family) and dense HDD storage (D-family) for big data, data warehousing, Elasticsearch, etc. 23:45 Accelerated Computing Instances (GPU & FPGA) – Specialized instances with hardware accelerators. Learn about GPU-powered instances (P- and G-series) for machine learning, AI training, video rendering, and graphics, as well as FPGA instances (F-series) for custom hardware acceleration. 38:21 Wrap-Up & Key Takeaways – Summary of all instance families and when to use them. Final tips on aligning workloads with the proper instance type and sizing. (By now, you’ll be well-equipped to choose the optimal EC2 instance for any scenario!) Resources 🔗 👉 Full Course (Early Access + Discount) – Want to master AWS with us? Get early access to the complete course here: https://cloudvikings.io/course/aws-certified-solutions-architect-associate-saa-c03 Enjoy the lesson! If you find this video helpful, don’t forget to like and subscribe for more AWS cloud tutorials. Good luck on your cloud journey and AWS certification prep! 💥🙌