AWS ‐ EC2 | Fargate - FullstackCodingGuy/Developer-Fundamentals GitHub Wiki
| Feature | EC2 (Elastic Compute Cloud) 🖥️ | Fargate (Serverless Containers) 🐳 |
|---|---|---|
| Infrastructure Management | You manage EC2 instances (OS, scaling, patching) | Fully managed by AWS (no servers to manage) |
| Scaling | Manual or Auto Scaling (requires configuration) | Auto-scales seamlessly (AWS handles scaling) |
| Cost Model | Pay for provisioned instances (even when idle) | Pay per vCPU & memory usage (only when running) |
| Startup Time | Slower (depends on AMI boot time) | Faster (containers start in seconds) |
| Security & Isolation | Full control over security settings (IAM roles, SGs, etc.) | More isolated (each task runs in its own environment) |
| Flexibility | Supports all workloads (Windows, Linux, custom AMIs) | Optimized for container workloads |
| Networking | You manage VPC & security groups | AWS manages networking (needs awsvpc mode) |
| Use Case | Best for long-running workloads or when custom infra control is needed | Best for short-lived tasks, microservices, and auto-scaling apps |
✅ Need full control over instances (e.g., install custom software).
✅ Running persistent workloads (e.g., databases, batch jobs).
✅ Need custom networking or specific OS requirements.
✅ Want a fully managed container service (no infrastructure management).
✅ Need automatic scaling without managing EC2 instances.
✅ Running microservices or event-driven tasks (e.g., serverless applications).
- EC2 → More control, good for custom setups but requires more management.
- Fargate → Serverless, fully managed, ideal for containers & auto-scaling workloads.
- If you need cost efficiency & scalability → Fargate is usually better.
- If you need custom configurations, persistent workloads, or more control → EC2 is the way to go.
The deployment time for EC2 vs. Fargate depends on multiple factors, but generally:
| Deployment Type | Average Time | Why? |
|---|---|---|
| EC2 (Elastic Compute Cloud) | 5-15 mins | Takes time to provision instances, attach storage, install dependencies, and configure networking. |
| Fargate (Serverless Containers) | 2-10 mins | Faster since it only provisions containers without managing instances. |
✅ No Instance Boot Time → EC2 requires time to provision and boot the OS
✅ No Manual Scaling → Fargate automatically handles scaling
✅ Optimized Networking → AWS manages networking for Fargate tasks
✅ Less Configuration → No need to manage AMIs, SSH, or OS-level configurations
- If you're using a pre-baked AMI (Amazon Machine Image) with all software installed
- If your instance type is small and doesn't require complex networking
- If your stack avoids Elastic Load Balancers (ELBs), which can slow down deployment
- If you have large container images (pulling big images takes time)
- If your task depends on slow external services (e.g., database migrations)
- If AWS experiences cold start delays in provisioning Fargate resources
✅ Fargate is usually faster than EC2 because it avoids instance provisioning and OS boot time.
❌ However, EC2 can be faster if using a pre-configured AMI with minimal dependencies.
If speed is a major concern, consider:
- Fargate for quick deployments and auto-scaling
- EC2 for pre-configured, stable environments