Answer: Reserved Instances, Savings Plans

## Explanation **Correct Answers: Reserved Instances and Savings Plans** ### Why these options are correct: 1. **Reserved Instances (RIs)**: - Allow you to make an upfront commitment (1 or 3 years) for EC2 instance usage - Provide significant discounts (up to 72%) compared to On-Demand pricing - Require commitment to specific instance types, families, and regions - Offer the lowest cost for predictable, steady-state workloads 2. **Savings Plans**: - Offer flexible pricing models with 1 or 3-year commitments - Provide similar discounts to Reserved Instances (up to 72%) - More flexible than RIs - apply to instance usage regardless of instance family, size, OS, tenancy, or region - Two types: Compute Savings Plans (most flexible) and EC2 Instance Savings Plans ### Why other options are incorrect: - **Spot Instances**: Provide the lowest cost (up to 90% discount) but are interruptible and not suitable for production workloads that require reliability. No upfront commitment required. - **On-Demand Instances**: Pay-as-you-go with no commitment, but highest cost for long-term usage. No upfront commitment. - **Dedicated Hosts**: Physical servers dedicated to your use, but more expensive than RIs/Savings Plans unless you have specific compliance or licensing requirements. ### Key Considerations: - Both Reserved Instances and Savings Plans require upfront commitments (1 or 3 years) - Savings Plans offer more flexibility than Reserved Instances - For production workloads requiring reliability, RIs and Savings Plans are preferred over Spot Instances - The question specifically asks for options with "upfront commitment" and "lowest cost" - RIs and Savings Plans meet both criteria

Author: Ritesh Yadav