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AWS C6g Instances: Compute-Optimized Power with AWS Graviton2

Amazon Web Services (AWS) offers a wide portfolio of EC2 instances optimized for different workloads. Among them, the C6g family is part of the compute-optimized line, designed to deliver high performance at low cost for compute-intensive applications. What makes C6g instances stand out is that they are powered by the AWS Graviton2 processors—custom silicon built by AWS using Arm architecture.

What Are C6g Instances?

C6g instances are compute-optimized EC2 instances designed for high-performance workloads that require significant processing power but don’t need large amounts of memory. They’re based on AWS Graviton2, a processor built on 64-bit Arm Neoverse cores running at up to 2.5 GHz.

Compared to the previous C5 family, C6g delivers:

  • Up to 40% better price-performance
  • Generational efficiency improvements due to Graviton2
  • Lower cost per vCPU, making them very attractive for scale-out workloads

Key Features

  • Processor: AWS Graviton2 (64-bit Arm Neoverse N1 cores, up to 2.5 GHz)
  • Architecture: Arm-based (AArch64)
  • vCPUs: From 1 to 64 depending on size
  • Memory: 2 GiB per vCPU (ratio optimized for compute-intensive tasks)
  • Networking: Up to 25 Gbps with Elastic Network Adapter (ENA)
  • EBS Bandwidth: Up to 19 Gbps for fast storage throughput
  • Nitro System: AWS Nitro for enhanced performance and security
  • Built for Linux/Arm: Works best with Arm-compatible operating systems and software stacks

Instance Sizes

C6g instances come in multiple sizes, giving flexibility to match different workload needs:

  • c6g.medium – 1 vCPU, 2 GiB RAM
  • c6g.large – 2 vCPUs, 4 GiB RAM
  • c6g.xlarge – 4 vCPUs, 8 GiB RAM
  • c6g.2xlarge – 8 vCPUs, 16 GiB RAM
  • c6g.4xlarge – 16 vCPUs, 32 GiB RAM
  • c6g.8xlarge – 32 vCPUs, 64 GiB RAM
  • c6g.12xlarge – 48 vCPUs, 96 GiB RAM
  • c6g.16xlarge – 64 vCPUs, 128 GiB RAM

Use Cases

C6g instances are well-suited for compute-heavy workloads that can benefit from a high-performance CPU with a cost-efficient architecture. Common use cases include:

  • High-performance web servers
  • Batch processing and data analytics
  • Distributed computing and scientific modeling
  • Media transcoding
  • Ad serving and real-time bidding
  • Microservices and containerized workloads

Because C6g is Arm-based, workloads that are compiled for Arm64 architecture will see the best results. Many popular applications (databases, containers, languages) are already optimized for Graviton2.

Benefits of Choosing C6g

  1. Price-Performance Advantage – Up to 40% better price-performance compared to similar x86 instances.
  2. Energy Efficiency – Graviton2 is highly efficient, enabling greener computing.
  3. Scalability – Wide instance sizes support everything from small microservices to large compute clusters.
  4. Modern Ecosystem – Growing support in major Linux distributions (Amazon Linux 2, Ubuntu, Red Hat, etc.), container platforms (Docker, Kubernetes), and open-source software.

C6g vs. Other Compute-Optimized Families

  • C6g – Powered by AWS Graviton2 (Arm), offering the best cost efficiency.
  • C6i – Intel Xeon Scalable (x86), for workloads needing Intel-only features.
  • C6a – AMD EPYC processors (x86), offering lower costs than Intel-based C6i.

If your workloads run well on Arm, C6g is the best choice for maximum savings and efficiency.

Things to Keep in Mind

  • Arm Compatibility – Applications must be compiled for Arm (AArch64). Most modern software supports it, but legacy or proprietary applications may not.
  • Not Always Best for Memory-Intensive Workloads – With only 2 GiB per vCPU, memory-heavy workloads may be better suited for general-purpose (M6g) or memory-optimized (R6g) instances.

Conclusion

AWS C6g instances bring high-performance compute at significantly lower cost thanks to the AWS Graviton2 Arm-based processor. They’re an ideal choice for workloads like web servers, microservices, and compute-heavy applications that can take advantage of Arm architecture.

By adopting C6g, organizations not only reduce infrastructure costs but also benefit from AWS’s push towards more efficient and sustainable cloud computing.