Instances›AWS EC2›m5dn›m5dn.12xlarge
Compute
vCPUs48
Memory192 GiB
Mem / vCPU4.00 GiB
ProcessorXeon Platinum 8259
Clock speed3.1 GHz
Architecturex86_64
Storage
Type2 × 900 GB NVMe SSD
Bandwidth9,500 Mbps
Throughput1187.5 MB/s
IOPS40,000
Networking
Performance50 Gigabit
Max ENIs8
IPv6Yes
GPUNone
Family sizes
m5dn.large2 vCPU · 8 GiB
m5dn.xlarge4 vCPU · 16 GiB
m5dn.2xlarge8 vCPU · 32 GiB
m5dn.4xlarge16 vCPU · 64 GiB
m5dn.8xlarge32 vCPU · 128 GiB
m5dn.12xlarge48 vCPU · 192 GiB
m5dn.16xlarge64 vCPU · 256 GiB
m5dn.24xlarge96 vCPU · 384 GiB
m5dn.metal96 vCPU · 384 GiB
m5dn.12xlarge

The m5dn.12xlarge pairs 48 vCPU with 192 GiB of RAM, the 4.00 GiB-per-vCPU ratio that marks a general-purpose instance. In the name, "m" is the general-purpose line, "5" is the generation, "dn" marks local NVMe storage and enhanced networking and "12xlarge" is the size within the m5dn family. It runs on Intel Xeon Platinum 8259 (Cascade Lake) at 3.1 GHz, and AWS introduced it in October 2019. AWS has since shipped m6i, m7i, m8i and m9g; m6i.12xlarge is the direct replacement at this size. Spot's node ladder tops out below this size, so m5dn.12xlarge becomes 3 × gp.vs1.2xlarge (48 vCPU, 192 GiB combined), $3.26/hr on AWS in US East (N. Virginia), from $0.123/hr on Rackspace Spot. Spot delivers compute as managed Kubernetes, so a node pool of that size is the native shape of the answer rather than a workaround — provided the workload scales horizontally.

Match qualityScale-out match

m5dn.12xlarge gives you 48 vCPU and 192 GiB in a single machine. The largest comparable Spot node, gp.vs1.2xlarge, is 16 vCPU and 64 GiB, so the equivalent here is 3 nodes rather than one.

Spot runs as managed Kubernetes, so a 3-node pool is the normal way to run things rather than a workaround. If your workload already sits behind a load balancer, a queue or a scheduler, it spreads across them without changes. If it needs all 48 cores and 192 GiB in one process, it does not.

No local diskm5dn.12xlarge comes with 2 × 900 GB NVMe SSD attached to the machine. Spot nodes use network storage only, so that disk doesn't come with it. If you were using it as fast scratch space, you'd move to a persistent volume or object storage, which are slower to read.
Pricing by region
1 hr
RegionAWS on-demandAWS Spot1-yr Reserved3-yr ReservedRackspace SpotYou save
US East, N. Virginia$3.264$1.049$2.056$1.269$0.123
$3.141 savings
US Central, Chicagono AWS region$0.123
US Central, Dallasno AWS region$0.153
Hong Kong$0.033
Sydney, Australia$0.483
London, UK$0.663
US West, San Jose$0.453
US Central, Dallas 2no AWS region$0.003
US East, N. Virginia 2$3.264$1.049$2.056$1.269$0.453
$2.811 savings
When to use it
Good for
  • ●Queue workers and scheduled jobs
  • ●Web and application servers with mixed CPU and memory demand
  • ●Microservices and container fleets
  • ●Workloads that fit inside 192 GiB of RAM
  • ●Jobs that want 2 × 900 GB of local NVMe scratch space
  • ●Network-heavy services — AWS rates this size at 50 Gigabit
  • ●Anything that shards cleanly across 3 nodes, which is how it maps onto Rackspace Spot
Avoid if
  • ●Starting a new deployment. m6i.12xlarge is the newer generation at this size.
  • ●The working set needs more than 192 GiB of RAM
  • ●More than 4.00 GiB of RAM per vCPU is needed — that ratio is fixed for the whole family
  • ●The work is single-threaded. Most of these 48 vCPU would sit idle.
  • ●GPU or FPGA acceleration is needed
  • ●Sustained full-core CPU load. A compute-optimized family costs less per unit of work.
Stop overpaying AWS. This compute costs $2,383/mo on AWS vs $90/mo on Rackspace Spot.
  • 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.
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