Release: AWS SDK for Java 1.0.11

Amazon EC2 has added the ability to tag EC2 resources to simplify the administration of your cloud infrastructure. A form of metadata, tags can be used to create user-friendly names, enhance searchability, and improve coordination between multiple users. The AWS Management Console has also been updated to support tagging.

AmazonEC2 ec2 = new AmazonEC2Client(myCredentials);
ec2.createTags(new CreateTagsRequest(new Tag().withKey("stage").withValues("gamma"));

In addition to tagging, developers can now use sophisticated filters to filter their Amazon EC2 resources to quickly find resources that match specified criteria. For example, you can use filtering to quickly determine which instances are running in a particular Availability Zone or which snapshots are associated with a particular EBS volume.

AmazonEC2 ec2 = new AmazonEC2Client(myCredentials);
ec2.describeInstances(new DescribeInstancesRequest().withFilters(
    new Filter("instance-id").withValues(myInstanceId)));

You can also use your own RSA keys to access your Amazon EC2 instances instead of relying on AWS generated keys. This feature gives you complete control over your private keys and will also allow you to use the same RSA key across different regions, simplifying resource management.

AmazonEC2 ec2 = new AmazonEC2Client(myCredentials);
ec2.importKeyPair(new ImportKeyPairRequest("myKeyName", publicKeyMaterial));

Last but not least, you will also be able to idempotently launch instances so that timeouts or connection errors do not result in the launch of more instances than you originally intended, saving you time and money.

AmazonEC2 ec2 = new AmazonEC2Client(myCredentials);
RunInstancesRequest request = new RunInstancesRequest("ami-b232d0db", 1, 1);
request.setClientToken(UUID.randomUUID().toString());
List instances = ec2.runInstances(request).getReservation().getInstances();