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EC2 vs. S3
Both Amazon EC2 and Amazon S3 are important services that allow
developers to maximize use of the AWS cloud. The main difference between
Amazon EC2 and S3 is that EC2 is a computing service that allows
companies to run servers in the cloud. While S3 is an object storage service
used to store and retrieve data from AWS through the Internet. S3 is like a
giant hard drive in the cloud, while EC2 offers CPU and RAM in addition to
storage. Many developers use both services for their cloud computing needs.
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Amazon EC2 vs Amazon S3: Difference and Use Cases

Amazon Web Services allows its users to build complex interconnected
applications in the cloud. To do that, you can use the virtual machines of
Amazon EC2 or the expandable storage of Amazon S3. This article
explains in detail what each of the given services does, the difference
between them, how you can use Amazon EC2 and Amazon S3 together,
and what additional AWS services (such as EFS and EBS) you might wish
to use combined with EC2 and S3.
What Is Amazon EC2?
Amazon EC2 (short for Amazon Elastic Cloud Compute) is a service for
running servers in the cloud. When Amazon Web Services introduced EC2
in 2006, this type of service made a big difference as it allowed
companies to quickly and easily deploy servers in the cloud, instead of
buying, configuring, and maintaining their own servers locally.
Most Amazon EC2 server instances are virtual machines hosted on
Amazon Web Services infrastructure, although AWS now also offers
bare-metal EC2 instances. (Bare-metal cloud instances allow users to
host a workload directly on a physical server, instead of a virtual machine.
The server is managed by the cloud provider, so users do not have to set

up or maintain the hardware.)
A wide variety of EC2 instances are available at different price points;
in general, the more computing power you want, the higher the cost of
the required EC2 instance. Certain Amazon EC2 instances are
designed for specific uses, such as GPU parallel processing for big
data workloads.
In addition to the quick and easy configuration of your server, Amazon
EC2 offers features such as autoscaling, which (among other benefits)
automates the process of increasing or decreasing the compute
resources
that are available to a given workload. In this way, autoscaling helps to
optimize costs and performance, especially for workloads that
fluctuate widely.
What Is Amazon S3?
Amazon S3 (or Amazon Simple Storage Service) provides a cloud storage
infrastructure where users can store unstructured data and manage their
workloads via AWS-supported interfaces, like Web interface, AWS
Command Line Interface, and AWS API. To get started with S3, users need
to create a “bucket” - the endpoint resource where all uploaded data will

virtually exist. (By virtually here we mean, that physically your data will be
stored at different decentralized nodes or even data-centers across various
geographical areas).
Amazon S3 is an object storage that was designed for storing data of any
size, of non-standard format, or highly dynamic. (To learn more about the
benefits of object storage, especially in the context of cloud computing,
check out our article on cloud object storage.)
Amazon S3 is not the only storage service available on AWS. There are also
Amazon Elastic Block Storage (EBS) and Elastic File System (EFS) that are
designed especially for Amazon EC2. Compare Amazon S3, EBS and EFS to
learn more.
AWS and MSP360: A Powerful Combo for Your Data Protection Strategy
Discover how MSP360 and Amazon S3 can benefit your business
Amazon S3 vs. EC2: What’s Similar, What’s Different?
Amazon EC2 serves as an instance to access cloud-based servers, while
Amazon S3 is used for storing data. However, you might need both of them
for your operations.

If you use one, there is a good chance you will use the other. That is
particularly true for:
● Amazon EC2 is a popular solution for running various applications in
the cloud. However, these applications might need some static data
to operate with. For those use cases, Amazon S3 offers an easy and
highly scalable storage for any static data, such as data for website
hosting, for example.
● You can set up Amazon S3 buckets as a backup destination for
Amazon EC2 data.
● Amazon S3 buckets might be used to exchange data between EC2
instances or between the cloud and local infrastructure.
On the other hand, EC2 and S3 don’t go hand-in-hand in all situations.
Amazon S3 is not ideal for storing highly dynamic website data, such as
server-side session data. Besides, S3 buckets backups are supposed to
transfer only data stored in these buckets, that's why you need to consider
additional backup approaches to back up data stored in the EC2 instance,
for example. For an overview of EC2 backup strategies, see this article:
Amazon EC2 and Amazon S3 are fundamentally different types of services.

One allows you to run servers in the cloud with minimal effort on your part,
while the other is designed for storing large amounts of static data and
ideal for data backups. Yet despite these differences, Amazon EC2 and
Amazon S3 complement each other in significant ways, and you’ll often find
them being used together.
Cloud Computing Companies and Services (Image source: imelgrat.me)
Amazon EC2 vs Amazon S3: Difference and Use Cases

Amazon Web Services allows its users to build complex interconnected
applications in the cloud. To do that, you can use the virtual machines of
Amazon EC2 or the expandable storage of Amazon S3. This article explains
in detail what each of the given services does, the difference between them,

how you can use Amazon EC2 and Amazon S3 together, and what
additional AWS services (such as EFS and EBS) you might wish to use
combined with EC2 and S3.
What Is Amazon EC2?
Amazon EC2 (short for Amazon Elastic Cloud Compute) is a service for
running servers in the cloud. When Amazon Web Services introduced EC2
in 2006, this type of service made a big difference as it allowed companies
to quickly and easily deploy servers in the cloud, instead of buying,
configuring, and maintaining their own servers locally.
Most Amazon EC2 server instances are virtual machines hosted on
Amazon Web Services infrastructure, although AWS now also offers
bare-metal EC2 instances. (Bare-metal cloud instances allow users to host
a workload directly on a physical server, instead of a virtual machine. The
server is managed by the cloud provider, so users do not have to set up or
maintain the hardware.)
A wide variety of EC2 instances are available at different price points; in
general, the more computing power you want, the higher the cost of the
required EC2 instance. Certain Amazon EC2 instances are designed for
specific uses, such as GPU parallel processing for big data workloads.

In addition to the quick and easy configuration of your server, Amazon EC2
offers features such as autoscaling, which (among other benefits)
automates the process of increasing or decreasing the compute resources
that are available to a given workload. In this way, autoscaling helps to
optimize costs and performance, especially for workloads that fluctuate
widely.
What Is Amazon S3?

learn more.
Cloud Computing compiled by src7cse@gmail.com Last update 14-Sept-2021 Page 36 of 39

Amazon EC2 data.

Conclusion

Amazon S3 complement each other in significant ways, and you’ll often find
them being used together.
Cloud Computing compiled by src7cse@gmail.com Last update 14-Sept-2021 Page 39 of 39 Cloud
What Is Amazon S3?

learn more.

Amazon EC2 data.

Conclusion
Amazon S3 complement each other in significant ways, and you’ll

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Amazon EC2 vs S3 src7cse@gmail.com 5-Nov-2023 Pg 1 of 15

Amazon EC2 vs S3 src7cse@gmail.com 5-Nov-2023 Pg 2 of 15

Amazon EC2 vs Amazon S3: Difference and Use Cases

Amazon EC2 or the expandable storage of Amazon S3. This article

to use combined with EC2 and S3.

What Is Amazon EC2?

in 2006, this type of service made a big difference as it allowed

companies to quickly and easily deploy servers in the cloud, instead of

buying, configuring, and maintaining their own servers locally.

Most Amazon EC2 server instances are virtual machines hosted on

Amazon Web Services infrastructure, although AWS now also offers

bare-metal EC2 instances. (Bare-metal cloud instances allow users to

host a workload directly on a physical server, instead of a virtual machine.

Amazon EC2 vs S3 src7cse@gmail.com 5-Nov-2023 Pg 3 of 15

up or maintain the hardware.)

A wide variety of EC2 instances are available at different price points;

the required EC2 instance. Certain Amazon EC2 instances are

In addition to the quick and easy configuration of your server, Amazon

EC2 offers features such as autoscaling, which (among other benefits)

automates the process of increasing or decreasing the compute

that are available to a given workload. In this way, autoscaling helps to

optimize costs and performance, especially for workloads that

What Is Amazon S3?

Amazon S3 (or Amazon Simple Storage Service) provides a cloud storage

workloads via AWS-supported interfaces, like Web interface, AWS

Amazon EC2 vs S3 src7cse@gmail.com 5-Nov-2023 Pg 4 of 15

stored at different decentralized nodes or even data-centers across various

benefits of object storage, especially in the context of cloud computing,

check out our article on cloud object storage.)

Discover how MSP360 and Amazon S3 can benefit your business

Amazon S3 vs. EC2: What’s Similar, What’s Different?

Amazon EC2 serves as an instance to access cloud-based servers, while

for your operations.

Amazon EC2 vs S3 src7cse@gmail.com 5-Nov-2023 Pg 5 of 15

particularly true for:

● Amazon EC2 is a popular solution for running various applications in

hosting, for example.

● You can set up Amazon S3 buckets as a backup destination for

Amazon EC2 data.

● Amazon S3 buckets might be used to exchange data between EC2

instances or between the cloud and local infrastructure.

On the other hand, EC2 and S3 don’t go hand-in-hand in all situations.

server-side session data. Besides, S3 buckets backups are supposed to

additional backup approaches to back up data stored in the EC2 instance,

Amazon EC2 and Amazon S3 are fundamentally different types of services.

Amazon EC2 vs S3 src7cse@gmail.com 5-Nov-2023 Pg 6 of 15

them being used together.

Cloud Computing Companies and Services (Image source: imelgrat.me)

Amazon EC2 vs Amazon S3: Difference and Use Cases

Amazon EC2 vs S3 src7cse@gmail.com 5-Nov-2023 Pg 7 of 15

combined with EC2 and S3.

What Is Amazon EC2?

in 2006, this type of service made a big difference as it allowed companies

to quickly and easily deploy servers in the cloud, instead of buying,

configuring, and maintaining their own servers locally.

Most Amazon EC2 server instances are virtual machines hosted on

Amazon Web Services infrastructure, although AWS now also offers

bare-metal EC2 instances. (Bare-metal cloud instances allow users to host

a workload directly on a physical server, instead of a virtual machine. The

server is managed by the cloud provider, so users do not have to set up or

maintain the hardware.)

A wide variety of EC2 instances are available at different price points; in