Amazon Elastic Container Service Reviews

Name: Amazon Elastic Container Service
Brand: Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Rating: 4.2 (49 reviews)

Vendor: Amazon Web Services (AWS)

4.2 out of 5

49 reviews
94% willing to recommend

112 followers

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What is Amazon Elastic Container Service?

Amazon Elastic Container Service (Amazon ECS) is a highly scalable, high-performance container orchestration service that supports Docker containers and allows you to easily run and scale containerized applications on AWS. Amazon ECS eliminates the need for you to install and operate your own container orchestration software, manage and scale a cluster of virtual machines, or schedule containers on those virtual machines.

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Amazon Elastic Container Service is the #1 ranked solution in top Containers as a Service vendors and #7 ranked solution in Container Management software. PeerSpot users give Amazon Elastic Container Service an average rating of 8.4 out of 10. Amazon Elastic Container Service is most commonly compared to VMware Tanzu Platform: Amazon Elastic Container Service vs VMware Tanzu Platform. Amazon Elastic Container Service is popular among the large enterprise segment, accounting for 69% of users researching this solution on PeerSpot. The top industry researching this solution are professionals from a financial services firm, accounting for 32% of all views.

Buyer's Guide

Amazon Elastic Container Service

January 2025

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Featured reviews

FABIO NAGAO

Chief Technology Officer at Looplex SA

Currently, when scaling with Amazon Elastic Container Service, I have to choose between monitoring CPU or memory usage to scale up or scale out; there is no option to monitor both simultaneously. This limitation makes it challenging to define a balanced scale-out automation since a well-written software should balance between processing and memory.

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Sarbajit Rath

Senior Solutions Architect at Boeing

Amazon EC2 Container Service has reduced our infrastructure cost. We migrate some workloads from our on-premises data center to the cloud, where it runs as per the requirement, and we don't have to pay upfront. This helps reduce both the CapEx and OpEx. Some of those managed services help us to reduce the OpEx. On-demand computing efficiently manages the CapEx.

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DIRK UYTTERHOEVEN

Senior Enterprise Architect at DV Consulting

For Amazon EC2 Container Service, providing the ability for users to select specific processor, memory, disk, and interface types might be an ideal feature. But, the practicality of offering all possible physical combinations is nearly impossible due to the underlying physical machines. AWS and Azure organize options into groups based on essential components like powerful processors or critical interfaces, considering physical restrictions. While expanding these choices is conceivable, it may not be feasible from a financial and practical perspective. Customers generally comprehend this limitation, as even in their own data centers, exact physical machine requirements are often a result of a combination of factors such as price, availability, and new machine generations.

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Amazon Elastic Container Service mindshare

As of January 2025, the mindshare of Amazon Elastic Container Service in the Container Management category stands at 2.2%, down from 3.4% compared to the previous year, according to calculations based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Container Management

PeerAnalyst reports

Type	Title	Date
Category	Container Management	Jan 18, 2025	Download
Product	Reviews, tips, and advice from real users	Jan 18, 2025	Download
Comparison	Amazon Elastic Container Service vs Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform	Jan 18, 2025	Download
Comparison	Amazon Elastic Container Service vs Amazon EKS	Jan 18, 2025	Download
Comparison	Amazon Elastic Container Service vs VMware Tanzu Platform	Jan 18, 2025	Download

Title	Rating	Mindshare	Recommending
VMware Tanzu Platform	4.0	N/A	100%	20 interviews Add to research
Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform	4.2	31.5%	96%	48 interviews Add to research

Valuable Features

Amazon Elastic Container Service offers auto-scaling, cost-effective billing, high availability, and seamless integration with AWS services. Users appreciate its ease of use, managed Kubernetes, robust security, and containerization capabilities. Its features like Fargate simplify management by abstracting away hardware requirements, providing flexibility and stability. Users highlight its performance, scalability, and user-friendly interface, mentioning the integration with Elastic Load Balancer and CloudWatch for automatic scaling monitoring. ECS excels in providing reliable hosting with minimal downtime.

"The support from AWS is incredible."
"Amazon Elastic Container Service makes horizontal scaling easy and is especially effective when working under the ECS service."
"A really good feature of ECS is the integration with AWS services, especially the networking services like Elastic Load Balancer, Service Mesh, and Service Map, which simplifies the service discovery process."

Room for Improvement

Users indicate that Amazon Elastic Container Service requires improvements in pricing and billing complexity. Instances face reliability issues and require manual intervention. Documentation and user interface need enhancement for better usability. Monitoring relies heavily on external services like CloudWatch, making it cumbersome. Integration with multiple platforms and compatibility with different operating systems, including enhanced security policies and auto-scaling capabilities, are areas needing attention. Improved support, customization, and container control are also desired by users.

"Currently, when scaling with Amazon Elastic Container Service, I have to choose between monitoring CPU or memory usage to scale up or scale out; there is no option to monitor both simultaneously."
"Currently, when scaling with Amazon Elastic Container Service, I have to choose between monitoring CPU or memory usage to scale up or scale out; there is no option to monitor both simultaneously."
"The user interface of ECS could be improved for better navigation and to assist in quickly setting up a deployment."

ROI

Clients experienced significant cost savings, reducing monthly expenses from $2,000 to $400-$500 after transitioning to Amazon Elastic Container Service. Organizations have noted improved efficiency, auto-scalable functionality, and cost-effective resource management. The system eliminates infrastructure maintenance needs and benefits companies with its pay-as-you-go model. Users report notable returns on investment, particularly with combined use of Fargate, which reduces costs by managing resources dynamically rather than running entire virtual machines continuously.

Pricing

Amazon Elastic Container Service offers a pay-as-you-go model, with costs based on resource usage like CPU and memory. The service's pricing is competitive, sometimes higher than alternatives, but often mitigated by reduced infrastructure maintenance costs. Users report variable costs dependent on regional use and service specifics, with some experiencing high charges due to misconfigurations. While considered expensive by some, many find it cost-effective for its features and scalability potential, especially when efficiently managed.

"Although AWS has successfully captured over 60 percent of the market in the cloud part, the tool is competitively way cheaper for the resources it provides compared to the other solutions."
"Amazon ECS is expensive."
"They offer a pay-as-you-go pricing model for the product."

Popular Use Cases

Users primarily employ Amazon Elastic Container Service for managing and orchestrating Docker containers, deploying microservices architecture, hosting and running diverse applications, and supporting web hosting tasks. Many leverage it for efficient on-demand cluster management and container orchestration, including feature scaling and bug identification. Organizations often choose it for its automation capabilities and the flexibility to accommodate both serverless and EC2 instances. They utilize it for various environments, ranging from development to production.

Service and Support

Amazon Elastic Container Service support is often described as responsive and knowledgeable, but experiences vary. Many find the team helpful and quick to respond, though some customers mention high costs or insufficient guidance. Timely updates and effective communication are appreciated, yet some users note a lack of documentation and less effective resolution for complex issues. Support quality can depend on subscription level, influencing response times and assistance quality.

Deployment

Initial setup of Amazon Elastic Container Service is generally straightforward and easy for users with experience. Some find it complex, needing familiarity with concepts like tasks and networking. Deployment times vary, often quick with proper configuration. Users appreciate AWS documentation and seek more tutorials. Learning curve exists due to ECS-specific concepts, but with time and practice, simplicity becomes apparent. Larger setups benefit from a team, though individual implementation is possible.

Scalability

Amazon Elastic Container Service demonstrates excellent scalability, effectively handling both horizontal and vertical scaling without significant issues. With ratings often between eight and ten out of ten, users in various organizations appreciate its capability to easily scale resources. Although some limitations exist in specific regions or network connectivity, most users find it highly efficient for managing increasing workloads and accommodating numerous users across different deployments. The auto-scaling features and easy integration with Amazon EKS are particularly valued by users.

Stability

Amazon Elastic Container Service is regarded as highly stable, with many highlighting a 99.99% uptime. Users are satisfied with stability, indicating minimal glitches or crashes. Some rate its stability between eight to ten out of ten, although a few noted occasional issues, often related to user errors rather than the service itself. Stability is reliable when managed with expertise, especially using AWS Fargate, which eliminates server management complexities, enhancing trust among adopters.

These insights are based on the in-depth reviews provided by peers to help you make a better buying decision.

Download our Amazon Elastic Container Service Buyer's Guide for additional reliable information.