EC2 Vs. Serverless Architecture

When building applications in the cloud, one of the first decisions developers face is choosing the right compute model. Two popular options in Amazon Web Services (AWS) are EC2 instances and serverless architecture. While they both provide ways to run your applications, their approaches are fundamentally different. Let’s break it down in simple terms.

What Are EC2 Instances?

Think of EC2 (Elastic Compute Cloud) instances as renting virtual computers. These are virtual machines in the cloud where you control everything: the operating system, software, storage, and network settings. You can use them just like a physical server sitting in a data center.

What Makes EC2 Special?

• Full Control: You decide everything, from what operating system to use to how much CPU power and memory you need.
• Consistency: Once set up, an EC2 instance runs continuously, like a traditional server, until you stop or terminate it.
• Flexibility: Perfect for applications that require custom configurations or constant, predictable usage.

The Downside:

• You’re responsible for maintenance, like installing updates and scaling resources.
• You pay for the time the instance is running, even if it’s sitting…