I want to use AWS Instance Scheduler with AWS CloudFormation to schedule Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2) instances.
Short description
Use CloudFormation templates to automate the deployment of AWS Instance Scheduler.
Note:
Currently, you can't use the templates in the Asia Pacific (Jakarta) and Asia Pacific (Osaka) AWS Regions.
Important:
If you use the Instance Scheduler for EC2 instances with an encrypted Amazon Elastic Block Store (Amazon EBS), then your instances can't be started. To start your instances, you must grant the Instance Scheduler a key user role with a key policy to encrypt or decrypt EBS volumes. You must add the key policy to the AWS Key Management Service (AWS KMS) key to allow the key user role to use this key.
Resolution
Install the Instance Scheduler command line interface (CLI).
To verify that the installation is successful, run the following command:
$ scheduler-cli --version
The stack deploys an AWS Lambda function, an Amazon DynamoDB table, an Amazon EventBridge rule, and Amazon CloudWatch custom metrics.
-
Open the AWS Management Console.
-
Open CloudFormation with the Instance Scheduler template. Or, go to the Step 1. Launch the instance scheduler stack page, and choose
Launch Solution
.
Note:
The template is launched in the US East (N. Virginia) Region by default.
-
In the navigation bar, select the AWS Region where you want to launch your stack with the template, and then choose
Next
.
-
For
Stack name
, name your stack.
-
For
Instance Scheduler TagName
, you can keep the default value as
Schedule
, or customize it.
-
For
Frequency
, choose a frequency in minutes to run your scheduler. For example, you can choose 5 minutes.
Note:
The frequency is the number of minutes that pass before EventBridge initiates the Lambda function again for the Instance Scheduler. If you have a large number of instances, then use the highest frequency possible to avoid throttling. If the frequency isn't often enough for your needs, then you can adjust the
Frequency
property later.
-
For
Enable CloudWatch Logs
, choose
Yes
.
-
For
Started tags
, enter
state=started
.
-
For
Stopped
tags
, enter
state=stopped
.
-
For cross-account scheduling, provide the
Cross-account roles
parameter. Put in the ARNs for every role from the secondary accounts, separated by commas. If you aren't using cross-account scheduling, then leave the parameter empty.
-
For all other parameters, customize the stack for your needs.
-
Choose
Next
.
-
On the
Options
page, choose
Next
.
-
Review your settings, and then select
I acknowledge that AWS CloudFormation might create IAM resources
.
-
Choose
Create
.
Create the periods
To create periods, you can use the Instance Scheduler CLI, DynamoDB console, or Custom resources. For more information on time periods, see Start and stop times.
The following example shows you how to create instances that:
-
Start at 9 AM and stop at 5 PM on Monday through Friday
-
Start at 9 AM and stop at 12 PM on Saturday
For this example, you must create two periods. For your own scenario, create the appropriate number of periods.
Using the Instance Scheduler CLI
Connect to the Instance Scheduler CLI, and then run the following commands:
$ scheduler-cli create-period --stack your_stack_name --region eu-west-1 --name mon-fri-9-5 --begintime 9:00 --endtime 16:59 --weekdays mon-fri
$ scheduler-cli create-period --stack your_stack_name --region eu-west-1 --name sat-9-12 --begintime 9:00 --endtime 11:59 --weekdays sat
Note:
Replace
your_stack_name
with the stack name that you chose in step 4 and
eu-west-1
with your own Region.
Using the DynamoDB console
-
Open the DynamoDB console.
-
Choose
Tables
, and then choose the configuration table.
Note:
The Instance Scheduler template automatically creates two DynamoDB tables: state and configuration. The state table stores the state of instances that the template stops and starts. The configuration table allows you to specify the periods and schedules for your requirements.
-
Choose
Explore Table Items
.
-
Choose
Create Item
.
-
Choose the
JSON
view, and then use the following javascript object notation (JSON) template:
{
"type": {
"S": "period"
},
"name": {
"S": "mon-fri-9-5"
},
"begintime": {
"S": "9:00"
},
"endtime": {
"S": "16:59"
},
"weekdays": {
"SS": [
"mon-fri"
]
}
}
Note:
The preceding JSON template creates the first period. Use a similar JSON template for the second period. Make sure to edit the templates for your requirements.
Create a schedule
To create a schedule, you can use the Instance Scheduler CLI, DynamoDB console, or Custom resources.
Using the Instance Scheduler CLI
Run the following command:
$ scheduler-cli create-schedule --stack your_stack_name --name m-f9-5-sat9-12 --region eu-west-1 --periods mon-fri-9-5,sat-9-12 --timezone UTC
Using the DynamoDB console
-
Open the DynamoDB console.
-
Choose
Tables
, and then choose the configuration table.
-
Choose
Explore Table Items
.
-
Choose
Create
Item
.
-
Choose the
JSON
view, and then use the following JSON template:
{
"type": {
"S": "schedule"
},
"name": {
"S": "m-f9-5-sat9-12"
},
"timezone": {
"S": "UTC"
},
"periods": {
"SS": [
"mon-fri-9-5"
]
}
}
Tag the instance and test the schedule
When you use a CloudFormation stack with the Instance Scheduler, you must define the
Instance Scheduler TagName
parameter. The default value for this parameter is
Schedule
.
The Instance Scheduler monitors tags on instances. If the instance tag key matches the defined scheduler tag, then the Instance Scheduler applies the schedule that's set for the instance tag value. For example, a tag's
key
is set to
Schedule
and the
value
is set to
m-f9-5-sat9-12
. In this example, the instances start at 9 AM and stop at 5 PM on Monday through Friday. The instances also start at 9 AM and stop at 12 PM on Saturday.
Note:
Tag
keys
and
values
are case sensitive. The Instance Scheduler doesn't stop running instances if they're manually started outside of the running period. The Instance Scheduler also doesn't start an instance if the instance is stopped manually during the running period, unless the schedule is enforced. For more information, see Schedule definitions.
Use predefined schedules
In addition to custom schedules, you can also use any of the predefined schedules from the configuration table. For example, the following steps test the predefined schedule named
running
:
-
Open the Amazon EC2 console.
-
Choose the
stopped
instances that you want to tag.
-
Choose the
Tags
view, and then choose
Manage Tags
.
-
Choose
Add Tag
.
-
For
Key
, enter
Schedule
.
-
For
Value
, enter
running
.
-
Choose
Save
.
-
Refresh the Amazon EC2 console, and then wait for the Lambda function to be initiated.
Note:
When the Lambda function is initiated and runs without errors, then the
Instance State
displays as
running
, depending on the schedule that you're testing. In the CloudWatch console, you can check Lambda metrics for invocations and errors.
-
Open the DynamoDB console.
-
Choose
Tables
, and then choose the state table.
-
Choose the
Explore Table Items
and confirm that the tagged instance is started.
Note:
The state data is stored in the state table.
Important:
You can be charged additional costs based on the frequency and duration of the Lambda function that you're using. You can also be charged additional costs for the DynamoDB tables or EventBridge rules that you create.
For cross-account scheduling: Launch the remote stack in secondary accounts
To schedule instances in secondary accounts using the Instance Scheduler, deploy the
aws-instance-scheduler-remote
CloudFormation template. This template creates the role that allows the Instance Scheduler from the primary account to manage instances in the secondary account.
Note:
You must provide the role's ARN as a parameter for the Instance Scheduler stack in the primary account. Make sure to create or update your Instance Scheduler stack with the correct parameter.
-
Open the AWS Management Console of the
secondary
account and launch the
aws-instance-scheduler-remote
CloudFormation template. You can also download the template for future use.
Note:
The template is launched in the US East (N. Virginia) Region by default.
-
In the navigation bar, select the AWS Region where you want to launch your stack with the template, and then choose
Next
.
-
On the
Select Template
page, verify that you selected the correct template, and then choose
Next
.
-
On the
Specify Details
page, assign a name to your remote stack.
-
Under
Parameters
, review and modify the
Primary account
parameter. Put in the account number of the primary account.
-
Choose
Next
.
-
On the
Options
page, choose
Next
.
-
Review your settings, and then select
I acknowledge that AWS CloudFormation might create IAM resources
.
-
Choose
Create
.
-
Choose the stack
Outputs
tab, and then copy the
CrossAccountRole
value.
-
From the primary account, choose your CloudFormation stack, and then choose
Update
.
-
On the
Update stack
page, choose
Use current template
.
-
In the
Cross-account roles
parameter, paste the
CrossAccountRole
value.
-
Choose
Next
, and then select
I acknowledge that AWS CloudFormation might create IAM resources
.
-
Choose
Update Stack
.
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