For users not always requiring sustained high CPU performance, Amazon Web Services has released a new type of instance that slashes the costs for applications requiring less CPU.
The new instance does however have the ability to burst to full core performance if needed.
The instance, called T2, is on-demand, and Amazon says prices will start at $0.013 per hour ($9.50 per month).
Matt Garman, VP of Amazon EC2 at AWS, said: "Amazon EC2 provides an unmatched selection of instances to support customers running whatever workload they want on AWS. Some of our customers have requested instance types that optimize their performance and cost for applications that don’t use the full CPU capability frequently, but require the full CPU resources for short bursts.
"T2 instances address this need by providing a consistent baseline performance with the ability to burst to full CPU core performance – all at a very low cost."
The T2 instances are available in three sizes: t2.micro, t2.small, and t2.medium and work in combination with Amazon EBS General Purpose (SSD) volumes for instance block storage. The instances are backed by Xeon processors with clock speeds up to 3.3 GHz during burst periods.
This move by AWS brings the firm up to speed with the latest pricing hacks from competitors Google and Microsoft. Google Cloud’s shared core instances and Microsoft Azure’s "Basic" instances have the same features, offering lower costs to machines needing less computing power.
