Start EC2 Instance Actions
Matt Houser avatar
Written by Matt Houser
Updated over a week ago

Description

The Start EC2 Instance action can be used to start an EC2 instance at a specific time of day. Once the instance has been started, it can be optionally stopped after it has been running for a specific amount of time.

For example, an instance can be started at 8am and stopped 8 hours later with a single Start Instance action.

Settings

Please see Common Action Settings for a description of settings common to all action types.

Instance Identification Method

Indicate the method in which the instance is to be identified. Valid options are:

  • Instance ID - Identify the instance by it's unique instance ID value.

  • Instance Name - Identify the instance by it's "Name" tag.

Instance ID

Indicate the instance id of your EC2 instance. This value usually looks like "i-84a3dc7b". This instance must reside in the region specified. Required only if Instance Identification Method is set to "Instance ID".

Instance Name

Indicate the value of the "Name" tag of the EC2 instance. This instance must reside in the region specified. Required only if Instance Identification Method is set to "Instance Name".

Elastic IP

Optional. Specify any Elastic IP address that should be assigned to the instance.

Stop the Instance

Indicate whether the instance should be automatically stopped later. The running time of the instance must also be specified if this is checked.

Running Duration

Indicate the length of time the instance should run before it is stopped. This value is only required if "Stop the Instance" is checked.

Check Reachability

Indicate whether the reachability of the instance should be checked. Status of the reachability is output to the action log.

Send Email When Reachability Fails

Indicate whether an email notification should be sent if reachability fails.

Load Balancer Name

Optional. Specify the name of the Elastic Load Balancer that the instance is to be registered with.

Amazon Commands Used

The following Amazon AWS commands are used. The access key should have permission to execute all of them.

  • ec2:AssociateAddress

  • ec2:DescribeAddresses

  • ec2:DescribeInstances

  • ec2:DescribeInstanceStatus

  • ec2:StartInstances

  • ec2:StopInstances

  • elb:DeregisterInstancesFromLoadBalancer

  • elb:RegisterInstancesWithLoadBalancer

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