Auto-Scaling

There are three types of auto scaling services:

1. AWS Auto Scaling Service: Holistic scaling view + predictive scaling feature

2. EC2 Auto Scaling Service: Focused specifically on EC2 instance scaling

3. Application Auto Scaling Service: API for scaling non-EC2 AWS services

AWS Auto Scaling Service

• Provides holistic view of all auto scaling activities

• Manages scaling across different application layers

• Accessed through dedicated console

• Offers business-oriented scaling strategies

Application Auto Scaling

API-based service for non-EC2 resources. Manages scaling for services like:

• DynamoDB

• ECS

• EMR

Application Auto Scaling Consolidates various service-specific scaling capabilities into a single API.

There are three Application Auto Scaling types:

EC2 Auto Scaling Service

Core Components

1. EC2 Auto Scaling Service

   • Primary service for EC2 resource scaling

   • Manages core scaling functionality

   • Handles policies, metrics, configurations

2. EC2 Auto Scaling Groups (ASG)

   • Logical grouping of EC2 instances

   • Implements scaling mechanisms

   • Manages instance monitoring

   • Controls min/max instances

   • Applies policies and health checks

ASG Scaling Types

1. Dynamic Scaling

Responds to real-time demand through three policy types:

2. Predictive Scaling

• Leverages machine learning algorithms

• Analyzes historical data to forecast scaling needs

• Offers automatic scaling and advisory insights

• Optional data collection feature

3. Scheduled Scaling

• Time-based pattern scaling

• Useful for known traffic patterns

ASG Operating Modes

1. Maintain Mode

   • Keeps a fixed instance count

   • No scaling types involved

   • Simply maintains desired capacity

2. Manual Mode

   • User-controlled scaling

   • No automatic scaling types

   • Changes made through manual intervention

3. Schedule-based Mode

   • Uses Scheduled Scaling

   • Time-based pattern scaling

   • Useful for known traffic patterns

4. Dynamic Mode

   • Uses both Dynamic and Predictive Scaling

   • Dynamic Scaling Options:

     • Target Tracking Policy

     • Simple Scaling Policy

     • Step Scaling Policy

   • Predictive Scaling Features:

     • ML-based forecasting

     • Historical data analysis

     • Optional data collection

Configuration Elements

Launch Configuration

• AMI specifications

• VPC settings

• Load balancer integration

• Network configurations

Health Check Grace Period

• Allows time for instance initialization

• Prevents premature health check failures

Cooldown Periods

• Default: 300 seconds

• Purpose: Stabilization time between scaling events

• Applies to:

  • Dynamic scaling (mandatory)

  • Manual scaling (optional)

  • Scheduled scaling (not supported)

• Can be customized for specific scenarios

Scaling Based on Amazon SQS