
AWS Fargate is a great way to build containerized applications. Compatible with both Amazon ECS or Amazon EKS, Fargate takes care of all infrastructure management tasks so you can focus on application development and deployment.
You can also use Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) to run containers on AWS and develop applications faster. Both Fargate and EC2 are good techniques to operate, manage, and scale containers. But which method is “better” than the other?
Let’s explore the differences between these services so you can make an informed choice.
Differences between AWS Fargate and Amazon EC2
The one big difference between AWS Fargate and Amazon EC2 is that with EC2, you must deploy a cluster of instances to run containers whereas with Fargate, you can run containers directly.
Also, you will own and control all instances with EC2. However, you will have to scale, monitor, and patch these instances yourself. There are no instances to manage with Fargate.
Here are some other differences between Fargate and EC2:
Solution complexity
EC2 is more complex than Fargate. Even though you have complete control over EC2 instances, you are responsible for a large chunk of maintenance and security activities. The result: increased complexity.
Solution flexibility
Amazon EC2 offers enhanced flexibility in configuration choices for your application. Fargate also provides flexible configuration options for your application’s needs. However, this flexibility is limited to specific container configurations.
Pricing
With EC2, you will be billed per running instance. You can optimize your bill by choosing between on-demand/spot/reserved instances. But to get the best use out of them, you should densely pack containers onto them, otherwise you will waste money.
This problem is eliminated with AWS Fargate because you won’t pay for any unused capacity. Rather, you will only pay for each running task and the number of resources it uses.
Different use cases
Before choosing Fargate or EC2, understand the various use cases where each service truly shines. For instance, for a large workload that consistently requires many CPU cores and a large amount of memory, select EC2. However, Fargate is the better choice if you don’t want to manage, patch, or secure a large cluster of EC2 instances.
AWS Fargate is also a good option for small workloads with occasional bursts, workloads with periodic tasks, and small test environments. Running these workloads on EC2 can be very costly whereas Fargate gives better control over costs.
Conclusion
This article unpacks the differences between AWS Fargate and Amazon EC2 so you can pick the best technique for your containerization requirements. Remember – it’s not about which method is better, but about selecting the method that’s best for your specific needs. Contact Axcess.io to discuss your containerization requirements using AWS Fargate or Amazon EC2.