In August 2006, Amazon introduced the EC2 (Elastic Compute Cloud).
Creating virtual machines somewhere across the Internet is what Amazon’s EC2 does. Amazon charges 10 cents for each hour a virtual machine is running. I can cancel or pause at anytime. Coupled with their storage network, it is possible to use precisely the amount of CPU and disk that I need with a remarkably simple setup process. Two minutes after I request my first machine, I’m SSHed into a root shell. My first hour of kicking the tires cost 11 cents. This freedom to experiment makes an enormous difference.
The machine is a virtual instance, with 1.7 Ghz x86 processor, 1.75 GB RAM, 160 GB local disk, and 250 Mb/s of network bandwidth. This costs $0.10/machine/hour. Machines with 4x or 8x specs are available for $0.40 and $0.80.
Persistent storage is independent of the virtual machines for $0.15/GB/month. Transfers within the cloud are free, with data moving between the cloud and the internet costing $0.10/GB on the way in and $0.18/GB for each transferred out. With larger volumes, outbound transfers fall to $0.13/GB.
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