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The Register
theregister.com › 2022 › 11 › 22 › aws_ec2_nitro_legacy_systems
AWS gives older EC2 instances a legacy lifeline • The Register
November 22, 2022 - AWS users can finally use Nitro Enclaves on Arm Graviton EC2 instances · "The AWS Nitro System support for previous generation of general-purpose, compute optimized, storage optimized, and memory optimized instances allows our customers to ...
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AWS
docs.aws.amazon.com › amazon ec2 › instance types › instances built on the aws nitro system
Instances built on the AWS Nitro System - Amazon EC2
Nitro componentsNetwork feature supportVirtualized instancesBare metal instancesNitro instance requirements · The U-9tb1, U-12tb1, U-18tb1, and U-24tb1 instance types are no longer available for new instance launches.
Discussions

Trying to understand AWS Nitro
If you're talking about Nitro VPC card, then yes all network traffic is encrypted by the Nitro VPC controller. https://docs.aws.amazon.com/whitepapers/latest/security-design-of-aws-nitro-system/the-components-of-the-nitro-system.html More on reddit.com
🌐 r/aws
10
5
March 5, 2024
amazon web services - How to get the list of Nitro system based EC2 instance type by CLI? - Stack Overflow
I know this page lists up the instance types which based on Nitro system but I would like to know the list in a dynamic way with CLI. (for example, using aws ec2 describe-instances). Is it possib... More on stackoverflow.com
🌐 stackoverflow.com
Should we always migrate instances to the newer instance types?
Be careful. The new instances have a new hypervisor. We’ve already discovered one critical issue with it. The old hypervisor had dns caching locally. Now with the new one we saw a substantial increase in response times without that hypervisor caching. There are solutions to it, run your own cache, etc. but if you are really hammering the hell out of it with millions of request that latency will add up fast or will force you to use more resources to do your own local dns caching. Which means more $$$$ More on reddit.com
🌐 r/aws
21
20
July 5, 2019
Confused about instance types
You haven't given any indication what performance constraints you have, or are expecting. What's the load like right now on the existing instance? Look at some perf metrics and decide if the system is using all the resources available to it. If it is, or using enough that a bump in traffic would cause it to run at >90% sure consider upgrading. But it's not clear that's the case from your post. As for what instance type you would upgrade to, that again depends on your proposed needs. If you need more memory, rather than more CPU, consider an R-type instance. If it's the inverse and you need more CPU than memory, go for a C-type instance. If you just need a decent combination of both stick with an M-type. If you need more EBS throughput look at the dedicated EBS bandwidth for different instance types and sizes and pick the one that you need. If you're on an M4 you're at least one generation of instance type behind the current, and new generations typically are priced differently, so consider that. You didn't mention if you're on-demand or purchasing RIs. If you are on-demand, just bump the instance type to whatever you want and try it out. You can just change it whenever you decide it isn't the right fit. If you need to buy an RI for the new instance type, you need to go off and do some analysis before making this choice to ensure you have the requirements nailed. More on reddit.com
🌐 r/aws
22
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August 17, 2024
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NAKIVO
nakivo.com › cloud › the definitive guide to aws ec2 instance types
AWS EC2 Instance Types and Uses (Complete Guide)
June 1, 2023 - Currently, the A1 instance family ... instance type in only generation 1. ... Examples: a1.large, a1.4xlarge, a1.metal. AWS EC2 Mac instances are based on Apple Mac Mini computers with Intel Core i7 processors (3.2 GHz / 4.6 GHz Turbo). These instances are powered by the AWS Nitro System, a ...
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Amazon Web Services
docs.aws.amazon.com › amazon ec2 › user guide › amazon ec2 instances › amazon ec2 instance types
Amazon EC2 instance types - Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud
For more information about the supported versions of Nitro hypervisor, see Network feature support in the Amazon EC2 Instance Types Guide. ... The virtualization type of your instance is determined by the AMI that you use to launch it. Current generation instance types support hardware virtual machine (HVM) only. Some previous generation instance types support paravirtual (PV) and some AWS Regions support PV instances.
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AWS
aws.amazon.com › compute › amazon ec2 › aws nitro system
Lightweight Hypervisor - AWS Nitro System - AWS
1 day ago - The Nitro System delivers practically all of the compute and memory resources of the host hardware to your instances resulting in better overall performance. Additionally, dedicated Nitro Cards enable high speed networking, high speed EBS, and I/O acceleration. Not having to hold back resources for management software means more savings that can be passed on to the customer. AWS Nitro System supports previous generation EC2 instances to extend the length of service beyond the typical lifetime of underlying hardware.
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AWS
aws.amazon.com › aws nitro system › nitro enclaves › faqs
AWS Nitro Enclaves FAQs - Amazon Web Services
November 14, 2025 - Nitro Enclaves is currently supported on the majority of Graviton, Intel, and AMD-based Amazon EC2 instance types built on the AWS Nitro System. Nitro Enclaves is not currently available on bare metal instances, burstable instance types (e.g.
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QA
qa.com › home › resources › blog › aws ec2 instance types explained
qa.com | AWS EC2 Instance Types Explained
April 1, 2019 - These instances are ideal for memory intensive applications such as real-time big data analytics, large in-memory caches, and high-performance databases. The R5 and R5a instances benefit from the AWS Nitro System, which gives you access to almost ...
Find elsewhere
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Amazon Web Services
amazonaws.cn › home › products › ec2
Amazon EC2 Instance Types
1 day ago - M5a instances deliver up to 10% cost savings over comparable instance types. With M5ad instances, local NVMe-based SSDs are physically connected to the host server and provide block-level storage that is coupled to the lifetime of the instance. ... AMD EPYC 7000 series processors (AMD EPYC 7571) with an all core turbo clock speed of 2.5 GHz. Up to 20 Gbps network bandwidth using Enhanced Networking. Requires HVM AMIs that include drivers for ENA and NVMe. Powered by the Amazon Nitro System, a combination of dedicated hardware and lightweight hypervisor.
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Amazon Web Services
docs.aws.amazon.com › amazon ec2 › user guide › security in amazon ec2 › nitrotpm for amazon ec2 instances › requirements for using nitrotpm with amazon ec2 instances
Requirements for using NitroTPM with Amazon EC2 instances - Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud
After you launch an instance using an AMI with NitroTPM enabled, if you want to change the instance type, the new instance type that you choose must also support NitroTPM. BitLocker volumes that are encrypted with NitroTPM-based keys can only be used on the original instance. The NitroTPM state is not displayed in the Amazon EC2 console. The NitroTPM state is not included in Amazon EBS snapshots. The NitroTPM state is not included in VM Import/Export images. NitroTPM is not supported on AWS Outposts., Local Zones, or Wavelength Zones.
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AWS
docs.aws.amazon.com › aws whitepapers › aws whitepaper › the components of the nitro system
The components of the Nitro System - The Security Design of the AWS Nitro System
Some instance types built on the Nitro System include hardware accelerators, both built by AWS and by third parties (such as graphics processing units, or GPUs).
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GeeksforGeeks
geeksforgeeks.org › devops › amazon-ec2-instance-types
Amazon EC2 - Instance Types - GeeksforGeeks
When choosing an EC2 instance, it is important to match the instance type to your application's specific needs. Different workloads require different resources. For example: A web server might need a balanced combination of CPU and memory. Big data analytics may require high memory and fast storage. Machine learning tasks often need GPUs for faster processing. AWS offers various instance families, each optimized for a particular use case.
Published   October 24, 2025
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Virtana
virtana.com › home › glossary › what is aws nitro
What is AWS Nitro?
March 20, 2025 - The goal of AWS Nitro is to accelerate AWS innovation, reduce customer cost, increase security, and deliver new instance types, including bare-metal instances where customers can bring their own hypervisor (or have no hypervisor).
Top answer
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2

You'd have to write a bit of additional code to get that information. aws ec2 describe-instances will give you InstanceType property. You should use a programming language to parse the JSON, extract InstanceType and then call describe-instances like so: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/cli/latest/reference/ec2/describe-instance-types.html?highlight=nitro

From the JSON you get back, extract hypervisor. That'll give you Nitro if the instance is Nitro.

Here's a Python code that might work. I have not tested it fully but you can tweak this to get the results you want.

"""List all EC2 instances"""
import boto3

def ec2_connection():
    """Connect to AWS using API"""

    region = 'us-east-2'

    aws_key = 'xxx'
    aws_secret = 'xxx'

    session = boto3.Session(
        aws_access_key_id = aws_key,
        aws_secret_access_key = aws_secret
    )

    ec2 = session.client('ec2', region_name = region)

    return ec2


def get_reservations(ec2):
    """Get a list of instances as a dictionary"""

    response = ec2.describe_instances()

    return response['Reservations']


def process_instances(reservations, ec2):
    """Print a colorful list of IPs and instances"""

    if len(reservations) == 0:
        print('No instance found. Quitting')
        return

    for reservation in reservations:
        for instance in reservation['Instances']:

            # get friendly name of the server
            # only try this for mysql1.local server
            friendly_name = get_friendly_name(instance)
            if friendly_name.lower() != 'mysql1.local':
                continue

            # get the hypervisor based on the instance type
            instance_type = get_instance_info(instance['InstanceType'], ec2)

            # print findings
            print(f'{friendly_name} // {instance["InstanceType"]} is {instance_type}')
            break


def get_instance_info(instance_type, ec2):
    """Get hypervisor from the instance type"""

    response = ec2.describe_instance_types(
        InstanceTypes=[instance_type]
    )

    return response['InstanceTypes'][0]['Hypervisor']


def get_friendly_name(instance):
    """Get friendly name of the instance"""

    tags = instance['Tags']
    for tag in tags:
        if tag['Key'] == 'Name':
            return tag['Value']

    return 'Unknown'


def run():
    """Main method to call"""

    ec2 = ec2_connection()
    reservations = get_reservations(ec2)
    process_instances(reservations, ec2)


if __name__ == '__main__':

    run()
    print('Done')
2 of 5
2

Just to give a more up-to-date answer, you can get this information using the describe-instance-types EC2 API. It allows you to use a filter for the hypervisor.

aws ec2 describe-instance-types --filter Name=hypervisor,Values=nitro --query 'InstanceTypes[*].InstanceType'

response…

// example response
[
    "m5dn.large",
    "is4gen.4xlarge",
    ...
]
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Cloud Kinetics
cloud-kinetics.com › home › cloud migration › choosing the right ec2 instance types
Choosing The Right EC2 Instance Types | Cloud Kinetics
July 11, 2024 - Large represents the amount of vCPU and RAM for the instances type (as in size). Another important point to note is that from M5 or any other fifth generation Instance class (R5 & C5), AWS comes with its own Virtualization layer called Nitro system.
🌐
AWS
aws.amazon.com › amazon ec2 › instance types › t3 instances
Amazon EC2 T3 Instances – Amazon Web Services (AWS)
1 day ago - By doing so, the AWS Nitro System enables high performance, high availability, and high security while also reducing virtualization overhead. The T3 instances feature either the 1st or 2nd generation Intel Xeon Platinum 8000 series processor (Skylake-SP or Cascade Lake) with a sustained all ...
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Amazon Web Services
docs.aws.amazon.com › amazon ec2 › user guide › security in amazon ec2 › nitrotpm for amazon ec2 instances
NitroTPM for Amazon EC2 instances - Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud
Nitro Trusted Platform Module (NitroTPM) is a virtual device that is provided by the AWS Nitro System ... . It securely stores artifacts (such as passwords, certificates, or encryption keys) that are used to authenticate the instance.
🌐
DEV Community
dev.to › aws-builders › aws-ec2-instances-types-all-you-need-to-know-3ndn
AWS EC2 Instances Types (all you need to know) - DEV Community
April 1, 2024 - The type of instances is named based on its family, generation, processor family, additional capabilities, and size. The first position is the family. It can be c,r,m. The second position indicates the generation-version of the instance. Do not confuse this with the generation instances (previous or Nitro powered).