What is the purpose of Amazon ECR?

The purpose of Amazon Elastic Container Registry (ECR) is to serve as a Docker container image registry. This makes it an essential service for users who want to store, manage, and deploy their container images securely. ECR integrates seamlessly with Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service (EKS), Amazon Elastic Container Service (ECS), and AWS Lambda, making it easier for developers to automate workflows and deploy applications within containerized environments.

By using Amazon ECR, users benefit from features such as image versioning, vulnerability scanning, and lifecycle policies that help maintain storage efficiency. This service is designed to streamline the process of managing containerized applications, ensuring that images are easily retrievable and that deployments can occur smoothly.

In contrast, the other options describe functionalities that do not align with ECR’s primary purpose. For example, managing EC2 instances pertains to virtual machines, conducting data analytics refers to services that analyze data, and providing user authentication management is related to AWS IAM (Identity and Access Management) services. Therefore, focusing on the correct role of ECR solidifies understanding of container management and deployment within the AWS ecosystem.