OpenSearch optimized instance (OR1) is game changing for indexing performance and cost

This article discusses the performance advantages of the new OR1 (OpenSearch Optimized) instance type for Amazon OpenSearch Service when dealing with indexing-heavy workloads.

Specifically, the article covers:

• An overview of the OR1 instance type, which uses Amazon EBS for primary storage and synchronously copies data to Amazon S3 for durability.
• A performance testing setup to compare indexing speeds across OR1, R6g, and Im4gn instance types using a custom Rust program to index OpenTelemetry JSON logs.
• Detailed performance testing results across different configurations of data nodes, primary shards, and parallel indexing jobs.
• Interpretation of results showing OR1 outperforming other instance types while using less CPU.
• Recommendations for sizing and configuring OR1 instances to optimize indexing performance and cost savings.