System admins looking to run smaller workloads at lower cost might be interested in a new, cheaper Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) instance now being offered by Amazon Web Services. It’s claimed to provide a temporary boost to compute performance when required.

AWS says its new T2 instances might be a more affordable option for customers who are running less-power hungry applications such as small databases, remote desktops and low-traffic websites. Users can run single or dual CPU virtual machines powered by 3.3GHz Xeon processors on the new instances,. Increased performance comes by redeeming CPU credits to give users extra power in one-minute bursts.

According to AWS, the CPU credit system is designed so the instances can run at low performance for the majority of the time, and jump into a higher gear for short periods of time when required. Users can bank and redeem their credits over a 24-hour period.

T2 instances are available in three options:

• The “micro” option that comes with a single vCPU, 1GB of RAM and six CPU credits for just $9.50 per month.
• The “small” option 2GB of RAM, and 12 CPU credits at $a cost of 19 per month
• The “medium” option packs two vCPUs, 4GB RAM and 24 CPU credits for $38 per month.

“Many interesting compute workloads follow a similar pattern, with modest demands for continuous compute power and occasional needs for a lot more,” writes Jeff Barr of AWS.

AWS’ T2 instances are similar to offerings from its rivals, such as Microsoft Azure’s low-cost instances and Google’s shared core compute engine instances.

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