AWS Batch is a fully managed service that efficiently runs hundreds or thousands of batch computing jobs on AWS.
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It dynamically provisions the right compute resources (EC2 or Spot) and schedules jobs based on their requirements and priority.
š¦ Use Cases
| Use Case |
Example |
| Data Processing |
ETL, log analysis, data normalization |
| Image & Video Rendering |
Render farm jobs for animation or video pipelines |
| Machine Learning |
Large-scale training and inference jobs |
| Genomic Processing |
DNA sequencing workflows |
| Simulations |
Monte Carlo simulations, scientific calculations |
āļø Key Components of AWS Batch
| Component |
Description |
| Job |
A unit of work (like a script or container task) |
| Job Definition |
Specifies how to run the job (e.g., Docker image, vCPUs, memory) |
| Job Queue |
Where jobs are submitted; maps to compute environments |
| Compute Environment |
Manages compute resources (EC2, Spot, Fargate) to run jobs |
| Scheduler |
Determines when and where jobs run based on priority and resources |
š How AWS Batch Works
1. Submit job āĀ
2. Job goes into queue āĀ
3. AWS Batch scheduler evaluates āĀ
4. Dynamically provisions compute āĀ
5. Runs job using Docker container āĀ
6. Job completes ā compute deallocates
š§ Job Definition Example (JSON)
š§° Execution Example using AWS CLI
āļø Compute Environment Types
| Type |
Description |
| Managed |
AWS handles instance provisioning and scaling |
| Unmanaged |
You provide and manage the EC2 instances |
| Fargate |
Serverless ā no EC2 needed (for smaller jobs) |
š Benefits of AWS Batch
| Benefit |
Description |
| Fully Managed |
No need to manage batch schedulers or servers |
| Scales Automatically |
Based on workload |
| Cost-Efficient |
Supports EC2 Spot Instances |
| Containerized Jobs |
Supports Docker images |
| Prioritized Queues |
Assign different priorities |
š Limitations
- Cold start latency if no compute is running
- Job dependency graph is limited in complexity
- Requires VPC/subnet setup for compute environments
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Summary
| Feature |
AWS Batch |
| Scheduler |
Built-in job scheduling |
| Resource Provisioning |
Dynamic (EC2, Spot, Fargate) |
| Pricing |
Pay only for underlying compute (no extra fees) |
| Job Packaging |
Docker container image |
| Integration |
CloudWatch, IAM, S3, ECR, ECS, Lambda, etc. |
