The Change EC2 Instance Type action can be used to change the type/size or EBS optimized property of an EC2 instance. Later, it can (optionally) be changed back.

For example, at 8am, a micro (t1.micro) instance can be upgraded to a large instance type (m1.large), then 8 hours later, it can be reverted back to it's original size (t1.micro).

The instance type of an EC2 instance can only be changed when the instance is stopped. When the action is executed, if the instance is running, it will be stopped so the instance type can be changed. Afterwards, it will be restarted. If an Elastic IP address was allocated to the instance, it will be restored.

If the EC2 instance is not running, it's instance type will be changed, but the instance will not be started.

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

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".

Instance Type

Optional. Specify the instance type (machine size) that the instance should be changed to.

EBS Optimized

Optional. Indicates whether the instance is optimized for EBS I/O. This optimization isn't available with all instance types.

Revert the Instance Type

Indicate whether the instance type should be automatically reverted 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 remain at the new instance type before it is reverted. This value is only required if "Revert the Instance Type" is checked.

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