Fargate vs EC2 launch type in AWS - Interactive Practice

Practice - 5 Tasks

1fill in blank

easy

Complete the code to specify the launch type for an ECS task using Fargate.

AWS

LaunchType: "[1]"

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

ALAMBDA

BEC2

CFARGATE

DON_DEMAND

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using 'EC2' instead of 'FARGATE' for serverless launch type

Using lowercase or incorrect casing

Fargate is specified as "FARGATE" in the launch type to run containers without managing servers.

2fill in blank

medium

Complete the code to define the required CPU units for a Fargate task.

AWS

Cpu: "[1]"

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

A1024

B256

C512

D2048

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using numbers instead of strings

Choosing CPU values not supported by Fargate

256 CPU units is a common minimal CPU configuration for Fargate tasks.

3fill in blank

hard

Fix the error in the ECS task definition to correctly specify the network mode for Fargate.

AWS

NetworkMode: "[1]"

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

Abridge

Bhost

Cnone

Dawsvpc

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using 'bridge' or 'host' network modes with Fargate

Omitting the network mode setting

Fargate requires the network mode to be set to "awsvpc" for proper networking.

4fill in blank

hard

Fill both blanks to configure the ECS service to use EC2 launch type and specify the desired count.

AWS

LaunchType: "[1]",
DesiredCount: [2]

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

AEC2

BFARGATE

C3

D1

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Mixing launch types

Using string instead of integer for DesiredCount

EC2 launch type is specified as "EC2" and desired count is the number of task instances to run.

5fill in blank

hard

Fill all three blanks to define a Fargate task with 512 CPU units, 1024 MiB memory, and the correct launch type.

AWS

Cpu: "[1]",
Memory: "[2]",
LaunchType: "[3]"

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

A256

B512

C1024

DFARGATE

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using unsupported CPU or memory values

Incorrect launch type casing

512 CPU units and 1024 MiB memory are valid Fargate task sizes, and launch type must be "FARGATE".

Practice

1. What is the main difference between AWS Fargate and EC2 launch types for running containers?

easy

A. Fargate runs containers without managing servers, EC2 requires managing servers.

B. Fargate requires managing servers, EC2 runs containers without servers.

C. Both require managing servers but use different operating systems.

D. Both run containers without any server management.

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand Fargate's server management

   Fargate abstracts server management, so you don't handle servers directly.

2. Step 2: Understand EC2 launch type server management

   EC2 launch type requires you to manage the servers where containers run.

3. Final Answer:

   Fargate runs containers without managing servers, EC2 requires managing servers. -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Server management difference = D [OK]

Hint: Fargate = no servers to manage, EC2 = you manage servers [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Confusing which launch type manages servers
• Thinking both require server management
• Assuming Fargate needs server setup

2. Which of the following is the correct way to specify the launch type as Fargate in an ECS service JSON?

easy

A. "launchType": "EC2"

B. "launchType": "FARGATE"

C. "launchType": "Serverless"

D. "launchType": "Container"

Solution

1. Step 1: Check valid launch type values in ECS

   ECS supports "EC2" and "FARGATE" as launch type values in uppercase.

2. Step 2: Identify correct Fargate syntax

   The correct string for Fargate is "FARGATE" in uppercase letters.

3. Final Answer:

   "launchType": "FARGATE" -> Option B

4. Quick Check:

   Fargate launch type syntax = A [OK]

Hint: Use uppercase "FARGATE" for launchType in ECS JSON [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using lowercase "fargate" instead of uppercase
• Using invalid launch type names like "Serverless"
• Confusing EC2 and Fargate strings

3. Given this ECS service configuration snippet, what launch type will it use?

{
  "launchType": "EC2",
  "taskDefinition": "my-task-def"
}

medium

A. It will run containers on EC2 instances you manage.

B. It will run containers on AWS Fargate without server management.

C. It will fail because "EC2" is not a valid launch type.

D. It will run containers on Lambda functions.

Solution

1. Step 1: Read the launchType value

   The launchType is set to "EC2" which means containers run on EC2 instances.

2. Step 2: Understand EC2 launch type behavior

   EC2 launch type requires you to manage the servers where containers run.

3. Final Answer:

   It will run containers on EC2 instances you manage. -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   launchType "EC2" means managed servers = A [OK]

Hint: launchType "EC2" means you manage servers [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Thinking "EC2" means serverless
• Assuming "EC2" is invalid syntax
• Confusing EC2 with Lambda

4. You tried to deploy an ECS task with this launch type: "launchType": "fargate" but got an error. What is the likely cause?

medium

A. Fargate launch type is not supported in ECS.

B. The launch type should be a boolean, not a string.

C. You must specify the launch type as "EC2" for tasks.

D. The launch type value is case-sensitive and must be uppercase "FARGATE".

Solution

1. Step 1: Check launch type case sensitivity

   ECS launch type values are case-sensitive and require uppercase strings like "FARGATE".

2. Step 2: Identify error cause

   Using lowercase "fargate" causes a validation error because it's invalid syntax.

3. Final Answer:

   The launch type value is case-sensitive and must be uppercase "FARGATE". -> Option D

4. Quick Check:

   Case-sensitive launchType = B [OK]

Hint: Use uppercase "FARGATE" to avoid launch type errors [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using lowercase launch type values
• Thinking Fargate is unsupported
• Confusing data types for launchType

5. You want to run a containerized app with minimal server management and automatic scaling. Which launch type should you choose and why?

hard

A. EC2 launch type, because it gives full control over servers and scaling.

B. EC2 launch type, because it is cheaper and requires no scaling setup.

C. Fargate launch type, because it removes server management and handles scaling automatically.

D. Fargate launch type, because it requires manual server setup but better performance.

Solution

1. Step 1: Identify launch type for minimal server management

   Fargate removes the need to manage servers, unlike EC2 which requires server control.

2. Step 2: Consider automatic scaling capabilities

   Fargate automatically scales containers based on demand without manual server scaling.

3. Final Answer:

   Fargate launch type, because it removes server management and handles scaling automatically. -> Option C

4. Quick Check:

   Minimal management + auto scaling = Fargate = C [OK]

Hint: Choose Fargate for no servers and auto scaling [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Choosing EC2 for minimal management
• Assuming EC2 auto scales automatically
• Thinking Fargate needs manual server setup