A database on EC2 needs consistently high IOPS beyond what general-purpose volumes deliver, with provisioned IOPS independent of volume size. Which EBS volume family is designed for this?
A.st1 throughput-optimized HDD
st1 is for big sequential throughput (e.g., log processing), not high random IOPS.
B.io2 Block Express (Provisioned IOPS SSD)
Correct. Provisioned IOPS SSD targets sustained high-IOPS databases.
C.sc1 cold HDD
sc1 is the lowest-cost cold-data HDD tier — the slowest option.
D.Instance store
Instance store is fast but ephemeral; data is lost on stop/termination — unsuitable for durable databases.
Why this answer
io2/io2 Block Express volumes are Provisioned IOPS SSDs for latency-sensitive, high-IOPS workloads, delivering tens of thousands of IOPS independent of volume size. gp3 suits general use; HDD families optimize sequential throughput, not IOPS.
Correct answer: B · Last reviewed 2026-10-25
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