AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Associate
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A company has a highly dynamic batch processing job that uses many Amazon EC2 instances to complete it. The job is stateless in nature, can be started and stopped at any given time with no negative impact, and typically takes upwards of 60 minutes total to complete. The company has asked a solutions architect to design a scalable and cost-effective solution that meets the requirements of the job.
What should the solutions architect recommend?
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UAnonymous
A
Implement EC2 Spot Instances.
B
Purchase EC2 Reserved Instances.
C
Implement EC2 On-Demand Instances.
D
Implement the processing on AWS Lambda.
Explanation:
Explanation
Correct Answer: A. Implement EC2 Spot Instances.
Why Spot Instances are the best choice:
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Cost-effectiveness: Spot Instances offer up to 90% discount compared to On-Demand Instances, making them the most cost-effective option for batch processing workloads.
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Stateless nature: The job is described as "stateless in nature" and can be "started and stopped at any given time with no negative impact." This is a perfect match for Spot Instances, which can be interrupted with little notice.
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Batch processing characteristics: The job takes "upwards of 60 minutes total to complete" and is "highly dynamic," meaning it doesn't run continuously. Spot Instances are ideal for fault-tolerant, flexible workloads like batch processing.
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Scalability: Spot Instances can be used with Auto Scaling groups to scale the batch processing job up and down based on demand.
Why other options are not optimal:
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B. Purchase EC2 Reserved Instances: Reserved Instances require a 1- or 3-year commitment and are best for predictable, steady-state workloads. This batch job is "highly dynamic" and doesn't run continuously, making Reserved Instances cost-ineffective.
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C. Implement EC2 On-Demand Instances: While On-Demand Instances provide flexibility, they are significantly more expensive than Spot Instances for this type of workload. The job's fault-tolerant nature makes the cost savings of Spot Instances more compelling.
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D. Implement the processing on AWS Lambda: Lambda has a 15-minute execution timeout, and the job takes "upwards of 60 minutes total to complete," exceeding Lambda's limits. Lambda is better suited for short-running, event-driven functions rather than long-running batch processing jobs.
Additional considerations:
- The solutions architect should implement checkpointing and job segmentation to handle potential Spot Instance interruptions gracefully.
- Using Spot Fleets or EC2 Auto Scaling with Spot Instances can provide capacity optimization and interruption handling.
- For critical portions of the batch job, a mix of Spot and On-Demand Instances could be considered, but given the stateless nature described, pure Spot Instances are appropriate.
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