How to use SPOT instances

Spot instances can increase your workload capacity cost-effectively, but do you know how and when to use them? Discover the advantages of this solution.

Have you ever wanted to increase the workload capacity of your applications? Adding resources cost-effectively is good for any business. But maintaining the availability, efficiency, and security of your applications while doing so is challenging.

What are SPOT instances?

Spot instances Amazon Web Services' way of selling unused Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) at a significant discount. To acquire spot instances, you participate in a kind of auction. As long as there is capacity, your spot instances will run. If AWS needs capacity, it will reclaim your instance, with only 2 minutes' notice.

When should you use Spot instances?

Spot instances are not designed to handle 100% of your workload. They are recommended to supplement the capacity of your on-demand instances and can be used to run and scale applications such as image rendering, big data , massive computations… Any application where occasional downtime is acceptable.

Advantages of SPOT instances

• instances can be up to 90% cheaper than on-demand solutions;
• Although Spot instance prices may vary, the gradual adjustment based on long-term supply and demand means you can rest a little easier while running on Spot;
• Almost all instance types are available in SPOT, with only the billing method associated with them changing.

Disadvantages of SPOT instances

• Spot instances will stop working if Amazon Web Services (AWS) decides to remove them. As long as you don't cancel your bid, the spot instances will be reactivated when AWS makes them available again.
• Amazon Web Services (AWS) warns that your SPOT instances will be terminated just two minutes before this happens. Without the right solution, you risk the operation of your applications and your market credibility.
• Spot instances are not suitable for those who need availability in a production environment.

How to use SPOT instances in your company

Successfully running your applications on SPOT instances requires strategies to handle scenarios where they fail or are interrupted for any reason. For time-sensitive applications, your strategy also needs to include contingency management, such as the possibility of not obtaining SPOT instances for a period of time. SPOT instance failures , using whichever architectural type is convenient.

Is there an easy, efficient, and cost-effective solution for SPOT instances?

While these are valid options, they consume time and money. Wouldn't it be amazing if there was a solution that offered the availability of EC2 instances for the price of Spot instances ? That's the promise of Sky.Saver : high availability, scalability, and efficiency.

We offer all the security of EC2 instances with the cost-effectiveness of SPOT instances, allowing you to save up to 80% on your Amazon Web Services (AWS) infrastructure costs. By combining your solution architecture and real-time analysis of the SPOT instance market, Sky.Saver adapts to scaling and availability strategies. The price of SPOT instances on-demand stability .

Through an dashboard , you have access to simplified management to monitor your costs and savings in real time. Paying only a percentage of the amount you save (in local currency), Sky.Saver is a smart solution for those who need a stable infrastructure.

How about trying Sky.Saver for free for 15 days? Talk to one of our consultants to learn more.

Written by Skyone