Additional EBS-Optimized Instance Types for Amazon EC2

We are adding EBS-optimized support to four additional EC2 instance types. You can now request dedicated throughput between EC2 instances and your EBS (Elastic Block Store) volumes at launch time:

The dedicated network throughput that you get when you request EBS-optimized support will make volume performance more predictable and more consistent. You can use them with Standard and Provisioned IOPS EBS volumes as your needs dictate.

With this change you now have additional choices to make when you design and build your AWS-powered applications. You could, for example, use Standard volumes for reference and low-volume log files, stepping up to Provisioned IOPS volumes for more demanding, I/O intensive loads such as databases. I would also advise you to spend a few minutes studying the implications of the EBS pricing models for the two volume types. When you use Standard volumes you pay a modest charge for each I/O request ($0.10 for 1 million requests in the US East Region, for example). However, when you use Provisioned IOPS, there is no charge for individual requests. Instead, you pay a monthly fee based on the number of IOPS provisioned for the volume (e.g. $0.10 per provisioned IOPS per month, again in US East). The AWS Calculator has been updated and you can use it to explore your options and the related costs.

EBS-optimized support is now available in the US East (Northern Virginia), US West (Northern California) US West (Oregon), EU West (Ireland), Asia Pacific (Singapore), Asia Pacific (Sydney), Asia Pacific (Tokyo), and South America (So Paulo) Regions.

— Jeff;