To run servers in your own datacenter, you have to purchase hardware, install it, configure the OS, and set up networking yourself. Equipment procurement takes weeks, and changing specifications requires physical replacement.
A virtual machine (VM) replaces this process with software. You can create a server with your desired specifications in minutes and delete it immediately when no longer needed. It is the most fundamental cloud service that solved the flexibility problem of physical servers.
However, with VMs users must still manage OS patching, security configuration, and failure recovery themselves. To reduce this management burden, higher-level abstractions like containers and serverless emerged.
The figures above are as of the time this document was written and are subject to change. Check each vendor’s official pricing page for the latest prices.
Running everything on-demand and then complaining about cost — For stable, predictable workloads, Reserved Instances or Savings Plans can save up to 72%. Analyze your usage pattern.
Choosing an instance type once and never revisiting it — Vendors continuously release new generations. You can get higher performance for the same cost, so review regularly.
Manual configuration every time, without a golden image — Repeating package installs and configuration every time you create an instance breaks consistency and wastes time. Manage AMIs/images through a build pipeline.