Instances›AWS EC2›d3›d3.xlarge
Compute
vCPUs4
Memory32 GiB
Mem / vCPU8.00 GiB
ProcessorXeon Platinum 8259
Clock speed3.1 GHz
Architecturex86_64
Storage
Type3 × 1,980 GB NVMe SSD
Bandwidth2,800 Mbps
Throughput350 MB/s
IOPS15,000
Networking
PerformanceUp to 15 Gigabit
Max ENIs4
IPv6Yes
GPUNone
Family sizes
d3.xlarge4 vCPU · 32 GiB
d3.2xlarge8 vCPU · 64 GiB
d3.4xlarge16 vCPU · 128 GiB
d3.8xlarge32 vCPU · 256 GiB
d3.xlarge

The d3.xlarge is a storage-optimized AWS EC2 instance: 4 vCPU and 32 GiB of memory, 8.00 GiB per vCPU. In the name, "d" is dense local storage, "3" is the generation and "xlarge" is the size within the d3 family. It runs on Intel Xeon Platinum 8259 (Cascade Lake) at 3.1 GHz, and AWS introduced it in December 2020. d3 is the current generation of the d family, so there is no newer AWS size to migrate to. Rackspace Spot's mh.vs1.large is a like-for-like substitute at 4 vCPU and 32 GiB, $0.499/hr on AWS in US East (N. Virginia), from $0.021/hr on Rackspace Spot.

Match qualityNo local disk

d3.xlarge comes with 3 × 1,980 GB NVMe SSD attached to the machine. Rackspace Spot nodes use network storage only, so that disk does not come with it.

If you were using the local disk as fast scratch space — temporary files, a local cache, an index — you will need a persistent volume or object storage instead, and both are slower to read. If it was just extra space you never depended on, nothing changes.

Pricing by region
1 hr
RegionAWS on-demandAWS Spot1-yr Reserved3-yr ReservedRackspace SpotYou save
US East, N. Virginia$0.499$0.100$0.315$0.216$0.021
$0.478 savings
US Central, Chicagono AWS region$0.061
US Central, Dallasno AWS region$0.021
Hong Kong$0.006
Sydney, Australia$0.626$0.141$0.394$0.270$0.006
$0.620 savings
London, UK$0.640$0.122$0.403$0.276$0.006
$0.634 savings
US West, San Jose$0.061
US Central, Dallas 2no AWS region$0.061
When to use it
Good for
  • ●Data warehousing and log processing
  • ●Distributed file systems and search indexes
  • ●Transactional databases with heavy random I/O
  • ●Workloads that fit inside 32 GiB of RAM
  • ●Jobs that want 3 × 1,980 GB of local NVMe scratch space
  • ●Network-heavy services — AWS rates this size at Up to 15 Gigabit
Avoid if
  • ●The working set needs more than 32 GiB of RAM
  • ●Workloads that never touch local disk. The instance-store premium is wasted.
  • ●More than 8.00 GiB of RAM per vCPU is needed — that ratio is fixed for the whole family
  • ●GPU or FPGA acceleration is needed
d3.xlarge runs $364/mo on AWS on-demand. The equivalent on Rackspace Spot: $15/mo.
  • Spot sells spare capacity at market prices. It is the cheapest compute on the internet.
  • Prices are set by supply and demand. You pay what the market decides.
  • Compute is delivered as fully managed Kubernetes. All infrastructure is taken care of.
  • Egress costs $0.01/GB after the free allowance. AWS charges $0.09/GB.
Build your Cloudspace
Frequently asked questions