I want an Ubuntu server on AWS to play around with, learn a few things, so am looking at Ubuntu 16.04.
But there are two versions:
- Ubuntu 16.04 LTS - Xenial (HVM)
- Ubuntu 16.04 LTS - Xenial
What is the difference between the two and which one should I pick for a basic web host using nginx?
Short answer: choose HVM, because Amazon suggests it.
These two images are for different instance types. From Linux AMI Virtualization Types you will understand the difference between these two types.
HVM:
PV:
In the document of AWS EC2, Amazon claims there is no significant performance difference between these two:
So just choose HVM.