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I'm playing with Amazon EC2, and I've got a 64bit AMI, but when I launch it, the 'Instance Type' only has 'Large', 'Extra Large' and 'High-CPU Extra Large', no 'Small' which the documentation lists as the default and the cheapest.

Is it cause I'm using 64bit? Can you run a small EC2 instance on 64bit AMI?

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No, the small instances are 32-bit only while the large/extra large instances are 64-bit, so you need to use either the large, extra-large or high-CPU extra-large instances for a 64-bit system.

See the EC2 instance type list for more details on the different types.

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This is true for the smalls. However, you CAN run a 32-bit OS image on a med/large/xl instance. – user5336 Aug 11 '09 at 18:57
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Additionally, EC2 now also has a micro instance size that can run a 64 bit AMI – wf01 Sep 24 '10 at 22:02
So, as of now, if you want 2008 R2 reserved for 3 years, you can either get 613MB RAM for $30/year, or 7.5GB RAM for $470/year. Where's the inbetween option?... – romkyns Jun 14 '11 at 16:37
@user5336; how do you run a 32-bit in a large instance? The UI doesn't seem to allow it. – Dogweather Sep 19 '11 at 16:15
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Currently, you can't run a small instance as 64-bit. That could change; if you look at the instance types available for Amazon's just-announced RDS service, they're offering an instance type that's the equivalent of a small 64-bit node. I wouldn't be surprised to see it made generally available to EC2 in the future.

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