Auto Scaling:Scale ECS instances by triggering scheduled tasks

Scenario

Description

Solution

You can create scheduled tasks for the time points when business fluctuations occur. By triggering these scheduled tasks, you can enable the automatic execution of scaling rules, effectively implementing automatic scaling of ECS instances.

Benefits

• Zero upfront resource setup costs

  Auto Scaling creates and releases ECS instances based on your business requirements, eliminating the need for any upfront costs related to resource setup. You only need to reserve computing resources for regular business traffic.

• Automatic scaling

  Scheduled tasks are utilized to enable automatic scaling at designated time points. This approach effectively conserves resources and reduces O&M costs while still meeting your business demands.

Prerequisites

Step 1: Create a scaling group

A scaling group refers to a group of instances designed to meet your business requirements, serving as the fundamental unit of Auto Scaling. Auto Scaling adds instances to or removes instances from scaling groups.

1. Enter the Scaling Groups page.

   1. Log on to the Auto Scaling console.

   2. In the left-side navigation pane, click Scaling Groups.

   3. In the top navigation bar, select the region where Auto Scaling is activated.

2. In the upper-left corner of the Scaling Groups page, click Create.

3. On the Create by Form tab, configure parameters to complete group creation and click Create.

   The following table describes the parameter settings used in this example. Parameters that are not covered in the following table default to their default settings. For information about how to create a scaling group, see Create scaling groups.

   Parameter	Example	Description
   Scaling Group Name	test	Enter a name for the scaling group. The name must adhere to the format requirements displayed on the UI.
   Type	ECS	Select ECS, which specifies that the scaling group contains ECS instances.
   Instance Configuration Source	Create from Scratch	The template for automatically creating instances is not designated first. Once the scaling group is created, you will need to proceed with creating a scaling configuration.
   Minimum Number of Instances	1	Define the minimum number of instances in the scaling group. If the number of instances in the scaling group is less than the value of this parameter, Auto Scaling adds instances to the scaling group until the number of instances in the scaling group reaches the minimum number.
   Maximum Number of Instances	5	Define the maximum number of instances in the scaling group. If the number of instances in the scaling group is greater than the value of this parameter, Auto Scaling removes instances from the scaling group until the number of instances in the scaling group does not exceed the maximum number.
   Network Type	VPC	Select VPC, which specifies that the ECS instances in the scaling group reside in a virtual private cloud (VPC).
   VPC	vpc-bp1jmxxau0lur929p****	Select a VPC for ECS instances in the scaling group.
   vSwitch	vsw-2zeknnyw2ewufbs4z**** vsw-2zesy03h8eaf9fe0l****	Select one or more vSwitches for ECS instances in the scaling group. We recommend that you select multiple vSwitches to improve the success rate of scale-out events.

Step 2: Create a scaling configuration and enable the scaling configuration and scaling group

A scaling configuration is a template used to create ECS instances during scale-out events, containing information such as the billing method, instance type, storage, and network settings. After you create a scaling configuration, you can enable the scaling configuration and then proceed to enable the scaling group.

1. Find a scaling group and use one of the following methods to go to the scaling group details page:

   • Click the ID of the scaling group in the Scaling Group Name/ID column.

   • Click Details in the Actions column.

2. In the upper part of the scaling group details page, click the Instance Configuration Sources tab.

3. On the Scaling Configurations tab, click Create Scaling Configuration.

4. On the Create Scaling Configuration page, configure parameters to complete the process for creating a scaling configuration and click Create.

   The following table describes the parameter settings used in this topic. Any parameters not covered in the following table default to their default settings. For more information about how to create a scaling configuration, see Create a scaling configuration of the ECS type.

   Section	Parameter	Example	Description
   Basic Information	Scaling Configuration Name	test	Enter a name for the scaling configuration. The name must adhere to the format requirements displayed on the UI.
   	Billing Method	Pay-as-you-go	Auto Scaling is free of charge. However, you must pay for the ECS instances that are created during scale-out events. In this example, the pay-as-you-go billing method is used. For more information, see Billing overview.
   Instance and Image	Instance Configuration Mode	Specify Instance Pattern	Select Specify Instance Pattern to configure specifications for ECS instances.
   	Instance Attribute Combination	2 vCPUs, 4 GiB Memory, Enterprise Level	Define the number of vCPUs and memory size for ECS instances based on your business requirements.
   	Select Image	Public Image: Alibaba Cloud Linux 3.2104 LTS 64-bit	Select an image to deploy ECS instances. In this example, a public image is used. In actual business scenarios, you can select the custom image of your application.
   Storage	System Disk	Enterprise SSD (ESSD), 40 GiB, and PL0	Select a system disk for ECS instances.
   Network and Security Group	Public IP Address	Assign Public IPv4 Address, Pay-by-bandwidth, and 1 Mbit/s bandwidth	Specify whether to assign public IP addresses to ECS instances. You are charged for the outbound public bandwidth. The bandwidth fees are built into your ECS instance fees.
   	Security Group	sg-bp18kz60mefsicfg****	Select an existing security group. For more information about how to create a security group, see Create a security group.
   Management Settings	Logon Credentials	Set Later	Select Set Later, which specifies that you must manually configure passwords for ECS instances after you create the ECS instances.

5. In the Preview Scaling Configuration dialog box, confirm the information and click Create.

6. In the The scaling configuration is created. message, click Enable.

7. In the Enable Scaling Configuration dialog box, click OK.

   Note

   In a scaling group, you must enable one scaling configuration. After you enable the scaling configuration, the scaling configuration is in the Active state.

8. In the Enable Scaling Group message, click OK.

   After you enable the scaling group, Auto Scaling triggers automatic instance scaling based on your business requirements.

   In this example, the Minimum Number of Instances parameter is set to 1. Therefore, after you enable the scaling group, Auto Scaling automatically creates one ECS instance from the scaling configuration in the scaling group. You can go to the Instances tab of the scaling group details page and check the instance information on the Auto Created tab.

   

Step 3: Create scaling rules

A scaling rule specifies the action that adds instances to or removes instances from a scaling group.

1. On the details page of the scaling group, click the Scaling Rules and Event-triggered Tasks tab. Then, click the Scaling Rules tab.

2. Click Create Scaling Rule, configure parameters to complete the process for creating the scaling rule, and click OK.

   In this example, simple scaling rules are created. For information about how to create a scaling rule, see Manage scaling rules.

   Parameter	Description
   Rule Name	Enter a name for the scaling rule. The name must adhere to the format requirements displayed on the UI.
   Rule Type	In this example, simple scaling rules are created. For more information about scaling rules, see Overview.
   Operation	Define the number of instances to add or remove when the scaling rule is executed. The number of instances to add or remove during each scaling event cannot exceed 1,000.
   Cooldown Time	Optional. Define a cooldown period for the scaling rule. Unit: seconds. If you do not configure this parameter, the cooldown period of the scaling group takes effect. For more information, see Cooldown period.

   Repeat this step to create scale-out and scale-in rules. Sample configurations:

   Scaling rule	Example
   Scale-out rule	Rule Name: add Rule Type: Simple Scaling Rule Operation: Add 1 Instance
   Scale-in rule	Rule Name: remove Rule Type: Simple Scaling Rule Operation: Remove 1 Instance.

Step 4: Create scheduled tasks

A scheduled task is a pre-set task that can execute a specific scaling rule at a designated time point.

1. On the details page of the scaling group, click the Scaling Rules and Event-triggered Tasks tab. Then, click the Scheduled Tasks tab.

2. Click Create Scheduled Task, configure parameters based on your business requirements, and then click OK.

   The following table describes the parameter settings used in this topic. Any parameters that are not covered in the following table default to their default settings. For information about how to configure a scheduled task, see Overview.

   Parameter	Description
   Task Name	Enter a task name. The name must adhere to the format requirements displayed on the UI.
   Executed At	Specify the specific time point when you want to trigger the task.
   Scaling Method	Select Select Existing Scaling Rule.
   Simple Scaling Rule	Select the scaling rule that you want to execute.
   Recurrence	Specify a time interval for the periodic triggering of the scheduled task. For example, you can trigger the task once daily.

   Repeat this step to create scheduled tasks that execute scale-out and scale-in rules. The following table describes the sample configurations used in this topic.

   Scheduled task	Example
   Scheduled scale-out	Task Name: scheduled-add Executed At: May 16, 2024, 6:00 PM Scaling Method: Select Existing Scaling Rule Simple Scaling Rule: add Recurrence: By Day (Execute the simple scaling rule once daily)
   Scheduled scale-in	Task Name: scheduled-remove Executed At: May 16, 2024, 11:00 PM Scaling Method: Select Existing Scaling Rule Simple Scaling Rule: remove Recurrence: By Day (Execute the simple scaling rule once daily)

Verify the effect of automatic scaling

After you create scheduled tasks, Auto Scaling triggers the scheduled tasks at the designated time points to execute the specified scaling rules.

In this example, the following results are achieved:

• Automatically add one ECS instance to the scaling group at 18:00:00 every day

• Automatically remove one ECS instance from the scaling group at 23:00 every day

You can use one of the following methods to confirm the effect:

• When the scheduled tasks are triggered, go to the scaling group details page and choose Instances > Auto Create. Then, check the changes in the number of instances.

• When the scheduled tasks are triggered, go to the scaling group details page and click the Scaling Activities tab. Then, check whether any scaling activity is generated. If a corresponding scaling activity is generated, click its ID to view the scaling activity details.