2.2. Core AWS Services: Compute

Compute services are the backbone of any application, providing the processing power needed to run code. AWS offers a range of compute services, each designed with distinct first principles to address various workload needs.

💡 First Principle: The First Principle of AWS compute is to provide scalable, flexible, and cost-effective processing power, enabling users to choose the right resource for their application while shifting the burden of infrastructure management to AWS. This allows businesses to run virtually any type of application.

This section provides a high-level overview of the most common AWS compute services: Amazon EC2, AWS Lambda, and container services like Amazon ECS and AWS Fargate.

Scenario: A company needs to run a web application, a background processing task, and a containerized microservice. They need to choose the appropriate compute service for each.

Reflection Question: How do diverse AWS compute services (e.g., EC2, Lambda, Fargate) fundamentally enable businesses to choose the right processing power for their application while simplifying the management of underlying infrastructure?