The document discusses the M instance type in AWS. It is a general purpose instance type that was the first released by AWS in 2006. It provides a good balance of CPU, RAM, and disk resources for most workloads. The document recommends considering other instance types like C, R, X, D, H, or I instances when higher performance is needed for specific hardware characteristics. It also discusses the T instance type as a lower-cost alternative to M instances for non-production workloads. Statistics are provided on usage of different instance types across AWS and ParkMyCloud customers.

1. The M Instance Type:
EC2 Starts Here
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2. About the M Instance Type
● The M family is a “General Purpose” instance
type in AWS
● The first instance family released by AWS in
2006
● Good balance of CPU, RAM, and disk
size/performance
● A good start for running most workloads
● Mnemonics: Main choice, happy Medium
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3. When to Consider Other Types
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The M instance type is typically best for a normal web application server
workload, unless you need higher performance for certain hardware
characteristics. When that happens, consider:
■ “C” instances for Compute/CPU performance.
■ “R” or “X” instances for lots of memory – RAM or eXtreme
RAM
■ “D”, “H”, or “I” instances optimize for storage with different
types/quantities of local storage drives (i.e., HDD or SDD that
are part of the physical hardware the instance is running on)
for high-Density storage (up to 48TB), High sequential
throughput, or fast random I/O IOPS, respectively.

4. The “T” Instance: Another Alternative
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● Much like the “M” family - general purpose, but at a lower
price point
● Key difference: CPU performance is restricted to bursts
(mnemonic: bursTs)
● AWS tracks usage via CPU credit system. Credits build during
idle times and “burst” when the CPU load exceeds a certain
baseline
○ Once the balance has been used, the CPU is Throttle to a
fraction of its full speed
● Good for low-load web servers and non-production systems
(those used by developers or testers) where continuous
predictable high performance is not needed

5. Statistics
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From the Botmetric Public Cloud Usage Report (2017)
● 46% of AWS EC2 usage is on the M instance family
● 83% of non-production workloads are on T instances
Across ParkMyCloud customer environments:
● I instances: 39%
● M instances: 22%
● T instances: 27%
● 49% of resources are in the General Purpose M and T families

6. The Nitty Gritty
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Table 1 – The M Instance
Family Specs (Pricing per
hour for on-demand
instances in US-East-1
Region)

7. Key Takeaways
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● If you’re not sure how your application is going to behave
under a production load, start with an M instance and
migrate to something more specialized if needed.
● If you do not need consistent and continuous high CPU
performance, like for dev/test or low usage systems, consider
using the similarly General Purpose T instance family.
● If you are launching a new instance, use the M5 generation
for the better value.

8. Questions about optimizing cloud costs?
ParkMyCloud provides an easy-to-use platform that helps enterprises
automatically identify and eliminate wasted cloud spend. More than 800
enterprises around the world - including Unilever, Sysco, Hitachi ID Systems,
Papa John’s, and National Geographic - trust ParkMyCloud to cut their cloud
spend by millions of dollars annually. ParkMyCloud’s SaaS offering allows
enterprises to easily manage, govern, and optimize their spend across multiple
public clouds. For more information, visit www.parkmycloud.com.
For more information, visit https://www.parkmycloud.com.
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