Create Auto Scaling Groups from Running Amazon EC2 Instances

Posted on: Jan 2, 2014

We are pleased to announce that you can now create Auto Scaling groups based on running instances and attach running instances to existing groups. You can also retrieve your limits for Auto Scaling groups and launch configurations.

Create Auto Scaling resources from running instances

You can now:

  • Add a running instance to an existing Auto Scaling group using the new AttachInstances action.
  • Create an Auto Scaling Group based on a running instance using the CreateAutoScalingGroup action by specifying an instance ID. This will also create a launch configuration based on the instance and associate it with the group.
  • Create a launch configuration based on a running instance using the CreateLaunchConfiguration action by specifying an instance ID.

You can use these features if you are interested in enabling Auto Scaling for your existing applications, and want to do so without having to shut down your instances. You can also use these features to warm up instances ahead of time before bringing them into service.

View limits on Auto Scaling groups and launch configurations

In addition, you can also use the new DescribeAccountLimits action to view your limits for Auto Scaling groups and launch configurations. If you want to raise these limits, submit an Amazon EC2 limit increase request and specify your desired number of Auto Scaling groups or launch configurations in the Use Case Description field.

Specify additional EBS volume and block device mapping settings

When creating launch configurations, you can also specify provisioned IOPs EBS volumes as well as DeleteOnTermination and NoDevice block device mappings.

These features are available using the AWS SDKs, Auto Scaling APIs, and command-line tools. CloudFormation also supports these new features.