Licensing Considerations for EC2 Instances

Reusing Existing Server-Bound Software Licensing

Question

Your company is moving a large application to AWS using a set of EC2 instances.

A key requirement is reusing existing server-bound software licensing.

Which of the following options is the best for satisfying the requirement?

Answers

Explanations

Click on the arrows to vote for the correct answer

A. B. C. D.

Answer: C.

Option A is INCORRECT because despite instances run on a single-tenant hardware, AWS does not give visibility to sockets and cores required for reusing server bound licenses.

AWS highlights this in the comparison table at the following link:

https://aws.amazon.com/ec2/dedicated-hosts/

Option B is INCORRECT because Reserved Instances are only a purchasing option and there's no way to control the hardware where these instances are running on.

Option C is CORRECT because instances run on a dedicated hardware where AWS gives visibility of physical characteristics.

AWS documentation mentions this with the following sentence:“...Dedicated Host gives you additional visibility and control over how instances are placed on a physical server, and you can consistently deploy your instances to the same physical server over time.

As a result, Dedicated Hosts enable you to use your existing server-bound software licenses and address corporate compliance and regulatory requirements.”

Option D is INCORRECT because Spot Instances are only a purchasing option.

Diagram: none.

References:

AWS documentation explains the possibility of reusing server bound license:

https://aws.amazon.com/ec2/dedicated-hosts/

The best option for reusing existing server-bound software licensing when moving a large application to AWS using a set of EC2 instances is EC2 Dedicated Hosts (option C).

EC2 Dedicated Hosts provide physical servers fully dedicated to your use, allowing you to use your existing server-bound software licenses. EC2 Dedicated Instances (option A) provide instances running on hardware dedicated to a single AWS account but still share the underlying physical hardware with other EC2 instances from other customers. EC2 Reserved Instances (option B) offer a discounted hourly rate but do not guarantee a dedicated host. EC2 Spot Instances (option D) allow you to bid for unused EC2 capacity and can be interrupted at any time, which is not a reliable option for running production workloads.

Therefore, EC2 Dedicated Hosts are the best option for satisfying the requirement of reusing existing server-bound software licensing when moving a large application to AWS using a set of EC2 instances.