[Cialug] Amazon EC2 Spot Instances

[Todd Walton]

Amazon EC2 now has an auction of sorts.  Smart for Amazon, if it
works.  Below is what they sent me in the AWS newsletter.  I'm
assuming you could automate this, so you'd have your regular instances
doing your computing tasks, and then extend it to pull in spot
instances when you need it.  Tweak your bid as your needs rise and
fall.  Very cyber!

*Amazon EC2 Spot Instances*

Spot Instances are a new way to purchase and consume Amazon EC2 Instances by
allowing you to bid on unused Amazon EC2 capacity and run those instances for as
long as your bid exceeds the current Spot Price. The Spot Price
changes periodically
based on supply and demand, and when your bid meets or exceeds the Spot Price,
you'll gain access to the available Spot Instances (paying only the Spot Price,
regardless of what amount you bid).  These instances will continue to
run until you
choose to terminate the instances, or your maximum bid falls below the
Spot Price
(whichever is sooner).  Spot Instances are complementary to On-Demand
Instances and
Reserved Instances, providing another option for obtaining compute capacity.

If you have flexibility in when your applications can run, Spot Instances can
significantly lower your Amazon EC2 costs. Additionally, Spot
Instances can provide
access to large amounts of additional capacity for applications with
urgent needs. A
few examples of categories of applications well suited to Spot Instances include
image and video processing, conversion and rendering, scientific research data
processing, and financial modeling and analysis.