An administrator is planning a new NC2 on AWS deployment. The workload VMs to be deployed on the new cluster have low storage and memory, but high CPU frequency (>3.0 GHz) requirements. The administrate! has also been tasked with ensuring that the cluster nodes have the lowest number of CPU cores to reduce application licensing requirements. Which node type will satisfy this new deployment?

The workload requires a high CPU frequency (>3.0 GHz) and the lowest possible core count to minimize licensing costs. The z1d.metal instance type is specifically designed for high-frequency computing, offering a sustained all-core turbo frequency of up to 4.0 GHz. Among the given options, it also has the lowest core count at 24 physical cores (48 vCPUs). This combination directly satisfies both of the administrator's primary requirements, making it the optimal choice for this deployment.

A. i3.metal: This instance has a lower clock speed (max turbo 3.0 GHz, not consistently >3.0 GHz) and a higher core count (36 cores) than the z1d.metal.
C. i4i.metal: While it has a high clock speed (3.5 GHz), it has a very high core count (64 cores), which would significantly increase application licensing costs.
D. m5d.metal: This instance has a higher core count (48 cores) and a lower maximum frequency (3.1 GHz) compared to the z1d.metal.

Nutanix Clusters on AWS Deployment and User Guide v6.8, "Supported AWS Bare-Metal Instance Types". This section lists the specifications for supported instances. The z1d.metal is noted for its high-frequency processors.

Amazon Web Services, "Amazon EC2 z1d Instances". The official AWS documentation states, "z1d instances deliver a sustained all-core turbo frequency of up to 4.0 GHz... z1d.metal [has] 24 [cores]".

Amazon Web Services, "Amazon EC2 Instance Types". This documentation provides a comparative overview of instance families, confirming the core counts and CPU performance characteristics of i3, i4i, m5d, and z1d instances.