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EC2 T8i Arrives! The New Low-Cost Burstable Instance Beats T3 by Up to 30%!

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Hi, it's me! I just saw an exciting announcement from AWS and I couldn't wait to tell you about it — a new instance type that's both cheaper and more powerful!

AWS Blog aws.amazon.com

What was announced?

AWS Blog announced that the new burstable Amazon EC2 T8i instances are now generally available (GA). T8i instances run on custom 6th-generation Intel Xeon Scalable Processors (codenamed Granite Rapids), built on the AWS Nitro System. They're among the lowest-cost instances in EC2 and deliver up to 30% better price-performance compared to the previous-generation T3 instances.

The story so far

Until now, the go-to low-cost burstable option was the T3 family. T3 instances run at a modest baseline CPU performance and use CPU credits to burst above that baseline when needed, which made them cost-effective for workloads that don't need constant high performance. But as that generation aged, there was room to improve raw compute power and bandwidth while keeping the same low-cost, bursty model.

What changes

T8i keeps the same low-cost, burstable experience as T3, but with meaningfully upgraded internals. According to the announcement, compared to T3:

  • Up to 70% higher compute performance
  • Up to 1.25x higher network bandwidth
  • Up to 2.4x higher EBS bandwidth

If you run workloads that are usually light but occasionally spike, you get to keep the same usage pattern while getting more headroom for less money. AWS calls out use cases like freemium services, training and demo environments, staging and development, data processing, microservices, low-traffic websites, and login gateways.

Dive Deep

T8i currently ships in four sizes:

  • t8i.nano: 2 vCPUs / 0.5 GiB memory, 5% baseline performance, 3 credits/hour
  • t8i.micro: 2 vCPUs / 1 GiB memory, 10% baseline performance, 6 credits/hour
  • t8i.small: 2 vCPUs / 2 GiB memory, 20% baseline performance, 12 credits/hour
  • t8i.medium: 2 vCPUs / 4 GiB memory, 20% baseline performance, 12 credits/hour

All sizes support up to 6.25 Gbps of network burst bandwidth. The CPU credit model is the same as T3's: you can choose Standard mode or Unlimited mode (the default), where Unlimited lets the instance keep bursting even after credits run out.

You can launch T8i on-demand or as Spot Instances, with Savings Plans support coming soon. The t8i.micro and t8i.small sizes are included in the AWS Free Tier, so you can try them out at no cost.

T8i is available in these regions: US East (N. Virginia, Ohio), US West (Oregon, N. California), Asia Pacific (Hyderabad, Malaysia, Mumbai, Seoul, Singapore, Sydney, Tokyo), Canada (Central), and Europe (Frankfurt, Ireland, London, Paris).

Wrap-up

  • EC2 T8i is now GA, offering up to 30% better price-performance than T3
  • Up to 70% higher compute performance, 1.25x network bandwidth, and 2.4x EBS bandwidth
  • Four sizes are available — nano, micro, small, and medium — using the same CPU credit model as T3
  • t8i.micro and t8i.small are Free Tier eligible, and On-Demand/Spot purchasing is supported today

If you run workloads that are light most of the time but occasionally need a burst, this new instance family is worth trying out for a lower bill and more headroom.

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