Skip to content
This repository has been archived by the owner on Jun 15, 2023. It is now read-only.

Latest commit

 

History

History
213 lines (118 loc) · 14 KB

GettingStartedTutorial.md

File metadata and controls

213 lines (118 loc) · 14 KB
Raw

Getting Started with Amazon EC2 Auto Scaling

When you use Amazon EC2 Auto Scaling, you must use certain building blocks to get started. This tutorial walks you through the process for setting up the basic infrastructure for Amazon EC2 Auto Scaling.

Before you create an Auto Scaling group for use with your application, review your application thoroughly as it runs in the AWS Cloud. Take note of the following:

  • How long it takes to launch and configure a server.
  • What metrics have the most relevance to your application's performance.
  • How many Availability Zones the Auto Scaling group should span.
  • What existing resources can be used, such as security groups or Amazon Machine Images (AMIs).
  • Do you want to scale to increase or decrease capacity, or do you just want to ensure that a specific number of servers are always running? Keep in mind that Amazon EC2 Auto Scaling can do both simultaneously.

The better you understand your application, the more effective you can make your Auto Scaling architecture.

The following instructions are for a configuration template that defines your EC2 instances, creates an Auto Scaling group to maintain a fixed number of instances even if an instance becomes unhealthy, and optionally deletes this basic infrastructure.

This tutorial assumes that you are familiar with launching EC2 instances and have already created a key pair and a security group. For more information, see Setting Up with Amazon EC2 in the Amazon EC2 User Guide for Linux Instances.

Topics

Step 1: Create a Launch Template

For this step, you create a launch template that specifies the type of EC2 instance that Amazon EC2 Auto Scaling creates for you. Include information such as the ID of the Amazon Machine Image (AMI) to use, the instance type, key pairs, security groups, and block device mappings.

To create a launch template for an Auto Scaling group

  1. Open the Amazon EC2 console at https://console.aws.amazon.com/ec2/.

  2. On the navigation bar at the top of the screen, select an AWS Region. The Amazon EC2 Auto Scaling resources that you create are tied to the region you specify.

  3. On the navigation pane, choose Launch Templates.

  4. Choose Create launch template.
    [Launch templates welcome screen]

  5. Choose Create a new template. For Launch template name, enter a name (for example, my_template).

  6. For Template version description, enter a description for the initial version of the launch template to help you remember what this template is used for (for example, test launch template for an Auto Scaling group).

  7. For AMI ID, choose a version of Amazon Linux 2 (HVM) from the Quick Start list. The Amazon Machine Image (AMI) serves as basic configuration templates for your instances.

  8. For Instance type, choose a hardware configuration that is compatible with the AMI that you specified. Note that the free tier Linux server is a t2.micro instance. Note
    If your account is less than 12 months old, you can use a t2.micro instance for free within certain usage limits. For more information, see AWS Free Tier.

  9. (Optional) For Key pair name, type the name of the key pair to use when connecting to your instances.

  10. (Optional) For Network type, choose VPC.

  11. Skip Security Groups to configure a security group in the next step. When a network interface is specified, the security group must be a part of it.

  12. For Network interfaces, do the following to specify the primary network interface:

    1. Choose Add network interface.

    2. (Optional) To assign public IP addresses to instances in a nondefault VPC, for Auto-assign public IP, choose Enable. This allows your instances to communicate with the internet and other services in AWS.

    3. For Security group ID, specify a security group for the network interface.

    4. For Delete on termination, choose whether the network interface is deleted when the Auto Scaling group scales in and terminates the instance to which the network interface is attached.

  13. (Optional) For Storage (Volumes), specify volumes to attach to the instances in addition to the volumes specified by the AMI you specified.

  14. (Optional) For Instance Tags, specify one or more tags to associate with the instances and volumes.

  15. Choose Create launch template.

  16. On the confirmation page, choose Create Auto Scaling group.

If you are not currently using launch templates, you can create a launch configuration instead.

A launch configuration is similar to a launch template, in that it specifies the type of EC2 instance that Amazon EC2 Auto Scaling creates for you. Create the launch configuration by including information such as the ID of the Amazon Machine Image (AMI) to use, the instance type, the key pair, security groups, and block device mapping.

To create a launch configuration

  1. Open the Amazon EC2 console at https://console.aws.amazon.com/ec2/.

  2. On the navigation bar, select a Region. The Auto Scaling resources that you create are tied to the Region that you specify.

  3. On the navigation pane, under Auto Scaling, choose Auto Scaling Groups.

  4. On the Welcome to Auto Scaling page, choose Create Auto Scaling group.
    [Image NOT FOUND]

  5. On the Create Auto Scaling Group page, choose Launch Configuration, Create a new launch configuration, and then choose Next Step.

  6. For the Choose AMI step, there is a list of basic configurations, called Amazon Machine Images (AMIs), that serve as templates for your instances. Choose Select for the Amazon Linux 2 AMI.

  7. For the Choose Instance Type step, select a hardware configuration for your instances. We recommend that you keep the default, a t2.micro instance. Choose Next: Configure details.

  8. For the Configure details step, do the following:

    1. For Name, type a name for your launch configuration (for example, my-first-lc).

    2. For Advanced Details, select an IP address type. If you want to provide internet connectivity to instances in a VPC, you must select an option that assigns a public IP address. If you want to provide internet connectivity to your instances but aren't sure whether you have a default VPC, select Assign a public IP address to every instance.

    3. Choose Skip to review.

  9. For the Review step, choose Edit security groups. Follow the instructions to choose an existing security group, and then choose Review.

  10. For the Review step, choose Create launch configuration.

  11. Complete the Select an existing key pair or create a new key pair step as instructed. You won't connect to your instance as part of this tutorial. Therefore, you can select Proceed without a key pair unless you intend to connect to your instance.

  12. Choose Create launch configuration. The launch configuration is created and the wizard to create an Auto Scaling group is displayed.

Step 2: Create an Auto Scaling Group

An Auto Scaling group is a collection of EC2 instances, and the core of Amazon EC2 Auto Scaling. When you create an Auto Scaling group, you include information such as the subnets for the instances and the initial number of instances to start with.

Use the following procedure to continue where you left off after creating the launch configuration or template.

To create an Auto Scaling group

  1. For the Configure Auto Scaling group details step, do the following:

    1. For Group name, type a name for your Auto Scaling group (for example, my-first-asg).
      [Auto Scaling group creation screen]

    2. [Launch template] For Launch template version, choose whether the Auto Scaling group uses the default, the latest, or a specific version of the launch template when scaling out.

    3. [Launch template] For Fleet Composition, choose Adhere to the launch template.

    4. Keep Group size set to the default value of 1 instance for this tutorial.

    5. Keep Network set to the default VPC for your chosen AWS Region, or select your own VPC.

    6. For Subnet, choose a subnet for the VPC. Note
      You can choose the Availability Zone for your instance by choosing its corresponding default subnet.

    7. Choose Next: Configure scaling policies.

  2. On the Configure scaling policies page, select Keep this group at its initial size and choose Review.

  3. On the Review page, choose Create Auto Scaling group.

  4. On the Auto Scaling group creation status page, choose Close.

Step 3: Verify Your Auto Scaling Group

Now that you have created your Auto Scaling group, you are ready to verify that the group has launched an EC2 instance.

To verify that your Auto Scaling group has launched an EC2 instance

  1. On the Auto Scaling Groups page, select the Auto Scaling group that you just created.

  2. The Details tab provides information about the Auto Scaling group.
    [Auto Scaling group details]

  3. On the Activity History tab, the Status column shows the current status of your instance. While your instance is launching, the status column shows In progress. The status changes to Successful after the instance is launched. You can also use the refresh button to see the current status of your instance.

  4. On the Instances tab, the Lifecycle column shows the state of your instance. You can see that your Auto Scaling group has launched your EC2 instance, and that it is in the InService lifecycle state. The Health Status column shows the result of the EC2 instance health check on your instance.
    [Auto Scaling group instances]

(Optional) Terminate an Instance in Your Auto Scaling Group

If you want, you can try the following experiment to learn more about Amazon EC2 Auto Scaling. The minimum size for your Auto Scaling group is one instance. Therefore, if you terminate the running instance, Amazon EC2 Auto Scaling must launch a new instance to replace it.

  1. On the Instances tab, select the ID of the instance. This shows you the instance on the Instances page.

  2. Choose Actions, Instance State, Terminate. When prompted for confirmation, choose Yes, Terminate.

  3. On the navigation pane, choose Auto Scaling Groups. Select your Auto Scaling group and choose the Activity History tab. The default cooldown for the Auto Scaling group is 300 seconds (5 minutes), so it takes about 5 minutes until you see the scaling activity. When the scaling activity starts, you see an entry for the termination of the first instance and an entry for the launch of a new instance. The Instances tab shows the new instance only.
    [Auto Scaling group activity history]

  4. On the navigation pane, choose Instances. This page shows both the terminated instance and the running instance.

Go to the next step if you would like to delete your basic infrastructure for automatic scaling. Otherwise, you can use this infrastructure as your base and try one or more of the following:

Step 4: (Optional) Delete Your Scaling Infrastructure

You can either delete your scaling infrastructure or delete just your Auto Scaling group and keep your launch template to use later.

If you launched an instance that is not within the AWS Free Tier, you should terminate your instances to prevent additional charges. The EC2 instance and the data associated will be deleted.

To delete your Auto Scaling group

  1. Open the Amazon EC2 console at https://console.aws.amazon.com/ec2/.

  2. On the navigation pane, under Auto Scaling, choose Auto Scaling Groups.

  3. Select your Auto Scaling group.

  4. Choose Actions, Delete. When prompted for confirmation, choose Yes, Delete.

    The Name column indicates that the Auto Scaling group is being deleted. The Desired, Min, and Max columns show 0 instances for the Auto Scaling group.

Skip this procedure if you would like to keep your launch template.

To delete your launch template

  1. On the navigation pane, choose Launch Templates.

  2. Select your launch template.

  3. Choose Actions, Delete template. When prompted for confirmation, choose Delete launch template.

Skip this procedure if you would like to keep your launch configuration.

To delete your launch configuration

  1. On the navigation pane, under Auto Scaling, choose Launch Configurations.

  2. Select your launch configuration.

  3. Choose Actions, Delete launch configuration. When prompted for confirmation, choose Yes, Delete.