AWS Difference between a snapshot and AMI

Question

So I am having trouble working out what, specifically is the difference between these two.

As I understand it, a snapshot is simply a backup of the disk drive, whereas the AMI is a backup of the entire system (or instance I should say), but isn't the entire system technically wholly located on the disk drive? and if that's the case then there is no clear difference and I am missing something?

Answer 1

• Most basic difference between AMIs and snapshots are the type of services they are associated with. Snapshots are associated with EBS while AMIs are associared with EC2 instances.
• Snapshots are the backup of the data on EBS volumes, whereas AMIs are bootable copy of the whole EC2 instances.
• AMIs are used to store the current instance configuration
• Taking snapshots of non EBS backed instances are not possible but AMI of a non EBS backed instances can be created.

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Answer 2

The primary distinction between AMIs and snapshots lies in the type of services they relate to. Snapshots are linked to EBS, while AMIs pertain to EC2 instances. Snapshots serve as backups for data on EBS volumes, whereas AMIs provide a bootable copy of entire EC2 instances. AMIs are utilized to save the current configuration of an instance. It is not possible to take snapshots of instances that are not EBS-backed, but you can create an AMI of non-EBS-backed instances.

Answer 3

The primary distinction between AMIs and snapshots lies in the type of services they relate to. Snapshots are linked to EBS, while AMIs pertain to EC2 instances. Snapshots serve as backups for data on EBS volumes, whereas AMIs provide a bootable copy of entire EC2 instances. AMIs are utilized to save the current configuration of an instance. It is not possible to take snapshots of instances that are not EBS-backed, but you can create an AMI of non-EBS-backed instances.