Why is my AWS OpsWorks Stacks instance not starting and stuck in the "setup_failed" state?

Short description

An OpsWorks Stacks instance can enter the setup_failed state and not start during a setup lifecycle event for a variety of reasons. However, the problem is usually because one of the following resources is misconfigured:

• Custom recipes
• Applications
• Custom Berkshelf cookbooks
• Custom JSON that's used to override stack attributes

For more information on how to troubleshoot instances in the setup_failed state, see Logging in to a failed instance in the OpsWorks User Guide.

Note: For instances stuck in the start_failed state, see Why is my AWS OpsWorks Stacks instance not starting and stuck in the "start_failed" state?

Resolution

Verify that your instance's Amazon Elastic Block Store (Amazon EBS) volume is configured correctly

Review Registering Amazon EBS volumes with a stack and make sure that your instance meets all of the requirements listed.

Verify that your custom recipe is configured correctly

Review your instance's Chef logs to identify what's causing the issue. Then, debug your custom recipe based on the error message that's recorded in the logs.

For more information, see Recipes in the OpsWorks User Guide.

Verify that your instance has enough memory to allocate during the setup lifecycle event

For instructions on how to review your instance's memory metrics, see Monitoring Stacks using Amazon CloudWatch.