Application Auto Scaling examples using AWS CLI - AWS Command Line Interface
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This documentation is for Version 1 of the AWS CLI only. For documentation related to Version 2 of the AWS CLI, see the Version 2 User Guide.

Application Auto Scaling examples using AWS CLI

The following code examples show you how to perform actions and implement common scenarios by using the AWS Command Line Interface with Application Auto Scaling.

Actions are code excerpts from larger programs and must be run in context. While actions show you how to call individual service functions, you can see actions in context in their related scenarios.

Each example includes a link to the complete source code, where you can find instructions on how to set up and run the code in context.

Topics

Actions

The following code example shows how to use delete-scaling-policy.

AWS CLI

To delete a scaling policy

This example deletes a scaling policy for the Amazon ECS service web-app running in the default cluster.

Command:

aws application-autoscaling delete-scaling-policy --policy-name web-app-cpu-lt-25 --scalable-dimension ecs:service:DesiredCount --resource-id service/default/web-app --service-namespace ecs

The following code example shows how to use delete-scheduled-action.

AWS CLI

To delete a scheduled action

The follwing delete-scheduled-action example deletes the specified scheduled action from the specified Amazon AppStream 2.0 fleet:

aws application-autoscaling delete-scheduled-action \
    --service-namespace appstream \
    --scalable-dimension appstream:fleet:DesiredCapacity \
    --resource-id fleet/sample-fleet \
    --scheduled-action-name my-recurring-action

This command produces no output.

For more information, see Scheduled Scaling in the Application Auto Scaling User Guide.

The following code example shows how to use deregister-scalable-target.

AWS CLI

To deregister a scalable target

This example deregisters a scalable target for an Amazon ECS service called web-app that is running in the default cluster.

Command:

aws application-autoscaling deregister-scalable-target --service-namespace ecs --scalable-dimension ecs:service:DesiredCount --resource-id service/default/web-app

This example deregisters a scalable target for a custom resource. The custom-resource-id.txt file contains a string that identifies the Resource ID, which, for a custom resource, is the path to the custom resource through your Amazon API Gateway endpoint.

Command:

aws application-autoscaling deregister-scalable-target --service-namespace custom-resource --scalable-dimension custom-resource:ResourceType:Property --resource-id file://~/custom-resource-id.txt

Contents of custom-resource-id.txt file:

https://example.execute-api.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/prod/scalableTargetDimensions/1-23456789

The following code example shows how to use describe-scalable-targets.

AWS CLI

To describe scalable targets

The following describe-scalable-targets example describes the scalable targets for the ecs service namespace.

aws application-autoscaling describe-scalable-targets \
    --service-namespace ecs

Output:

{
    "ScalableTargets": [
        {
            "ServiceNamespace": "ecs",
            "ScalableDimension": "ecs:service:DesiredCount",
            "ResourceId": "service/default/web-app",
            "MinCapacity": 1,
            "MaxCapacity": 10,
            "RoleARN": "arn:aws:iam::123456789012:role/aws-service-role/ecs.application-autoscaling.amazonaws.com/AWSServiceRoleForApplicationAutoScaling_ECSService",
            "CreationTime": 1462558906.199,
            "SuspendedState": {
                "DynamicScalingOutSuspended": false,
                "ScheduledScalingSuspended": false,
                "DynamicScalingInSuspended": false
            },
            "ScalableTargetARN": "arn:aws:application-autoscaling:us-west-2:123456789012:scalable-target/1234abcd56ab78cd901ef1234567890ab123"
        }
    ]
}

For more information, see AWS services that you can use with Application Auto Scaling in the Application Auto Scaling User Guide.

The following code example shows how to use describe-scaling-activities.

AWS CLI

Example 1: To describe scaling activities for the specified Amazon ECS service

The following describe-scaling-activities example describes the scaling activities for an Amazon ECS service called web-app that is running in the default cluster. The output shows a scaling activity initiated by a scaling policy.

aws application-autoscaling describe-scaling-activities \
    --service-namespace ecs \
    --resource-id service/default/web-app

Output:

{
    "ScalingActivities": [
        {
            "ScalableDimension": "ecs:service:DesiredCount",
            "Description": "Setting desired count to 1.",
            "ResourceId": "service/default/web-app",
            "ActivityId": "e6c5f7d1-dbbb-4a3f-89b2-51f33e766399",
            "StartTime": 1462575838.171,
            "ServiceNamespace": "ecs",
            "EndTime": 1462575872.111,
            "Cause": "monitor alarm web-app-cpu-lt-25 in state ALARM triggered policy web-app-cpu-lt-25",
            "StatusMessage": "Successfully set desired count to 1. Change successfully fulfilled by ecs.",
            "StatusCode": "Successful"
        }
    ]
}

For more information, see Scaling activities for Application Auto Scaling in the Application Auto Scaling User Guide.

Example 2: To describe scaling activities for the specified DynamoDB table

The following describe-scaling-activities example describes the scaling activities for a DynamoDB table called TestTable. The output shows scaling activities initiated by two different scheduled actions.

aws application-autoscaling describe-scaling-activities \
    --service-namespace dynamodb \
    --resource-id table/TestTable

Output:

{
    "ScalingActivities": [
        {
            "ScalableDimension": "dynamodb:table:WriteCapacityUnits",
            "Description": "Setting write capacity units to 10.",
            "ResourceId": "table/my-table",
            "ActivityId": "4d1308c0-bbcf-4514-a673-b0220ae38547",
            "StartTime": 1561574415.086,
            "ServiceNamespace": "dynamodb",
            "EndTime": 1561574449.51,
            "Cause": "maximum capacity was set to 10",
            "StatusMessage": "Successfully set write capacity units to 10. Change successfully fulfilled by dynamodb.",
            "StatusCode": "Successful"
        },
        {
            "ScalableDimension": "dynamodb:table:WriteCapacityUnits",
            "Description": "Setting min capacity to 5 and max capacity to 10",
            "ResourceId": "table/my-table",
            "ActivityId": "f2b7847b-721d-4e01-8ef0-0c8d3bacc1c7",
            "StartTime": 1561574414.644,
            "ServiceNamespace": "dynamodb",
            "Cause": "scheduled action name my-second-scheduled-action was triggered",
            "StatusMessage": "Successfully set min capacity to 5 and max capacity to 10",
            "StatusCode": "Successful"
        },
        {
            "ScalableDimension": "dynamodb:table:WriteCapacityUnits",
            "Description": "Setting write capacity units to 15.",
            "ResourceId": "table/my-table",
            "ActivityId": "d8ea4de6-9eaa-499f-b466-2cc5e681ba8b",
            "StartTime": 1561574108.904,
            "ServiceNamespace": "dynamodb",
            "EndTime": 1561574140.255,
            "Cause": "minimum capacity was set to 15",
            "StatusMessage": "Successfully set write capacity units to 15. Change successfully fulfilled by dynamodb.",
            "StatusCode": "Successful"
        },
        {
            "ScalableDimension": "dynamodb:table:WriteCapacityUnits",
            "Description": "Setting min capacity to 15 and max capacity to 20",
            "ResourceId": "table/my-table",
            "ActivityId": "3250fd06-6940-4e8e-bb1f-d494db7554d2",
            "StartTime": 1561574108.512,
            "ServiceNamespace": "dynamodb",
            "Cause": "scheduled action name my-first-scheduled-action was triggered",
            "StatusMessage": "Successfully set min capacity to 15 and max capacity to 20",
            "StatusCode": "Successful"
        }
    ]
}

For more information, see Scaling activities for Application Auto Scaling in the Application Auto Scaling User Guide.

The following code example shows how to use describe-scaling-policies.

AWS CLI

To describe scaling policies

This example command describes the scaling policies for the ecs service namespace.

Command:

aws application-autoscaling describe-scaling-policies --service-namespace ecs

Output:

{
    "ScalingPolicies": [
        {
            "PolicyName": "web-app-cpu-gt-75",
            "ScalableDimension": "ecs:service:DesiredCount",
            "ResourceId": "service/default/web-app",
            "CreationTime": 1462561899.23,
            "StepScalingPolicyConfiguration": {
                "Cooldown": 60,
                "StepAdjustments": [
                    {
                        "ScalingAdjustment": 200,
                        "MetricIntervalLowerBound": 0.0
                    }
                ],
                "AdjustmentType": "PercentChangeInCapacity"
            },
            "PolicyARN": "arn:aws:autoscaling:us-west-2:012345678910:scalingPolicy:6d8972f3-efc8-437c-92d1-6270f29a66e7:resource/ecs/service/default/web-app:policyName/web-app-cpu-gt-75",
            "PolicyType": "StepScaling",
            "Alarms": [
                {
                    "AlarmName": "web-app-cpu-gt-75",
                    "AlarmARN": "arn:aws:cloudwatch:us-west-2:012345678910:alarm:web-app-cpu-gt-75"
                }
            ],
            "ServiceNamespace": "ecs"
        },
        {
            "PolicyName": "web-app-cpu-lt-25",
            "ScalableDimension": "ecs:service:DesiredCount",
            "ResourceId": "service/default/web-app",
            "CreationTime": 1462562575.099,
            "StepScalingPolicyConfiguration": {
                "Cooldown": 1,
                "StepAdjustments": [
                    {
                        "ScalingAdjustment": -50,
                        "MetricIntervalUpperBound": 0.0
                    }
                ],
                "AdjustmentType": "PercentChangeInCapacity"
            },
            "PolicyARN": "arn:aws:autoscaling:us-west-2:012345678910:scalingPolicy:6d8972f3-efc8-437c-92d1-6270f29a66e7:resource/ecs/service/default/web-app:policyName/web-app-cpu-lt-25",
            "PolicyType": "StepScaling",
            "Alarms": [
                {
                    "AlarmName": "web-app-cpu-lt-25",
                    "AlarmARN": "arn:aws:cloudwatch:us-west-2:012345678910:alarm:web-app-cpu-lt-25"
                }
            ],
            "ServiceNamespace": "ecs"
        }
    ]
}

The following code example shows how to use describe-scheduled-actions.

AWS CLI

To describe scheduled actions

The following describe-scheduled-actions example displays details for the scheduled actions for the specified service namespace:

aws application-autoscaling describe-scheduled-actions \
    --service-namespace dynamodb

Output:

{
    "ScheduledActions": [
        {
            "ScalableDimension": "dynamodb:table:WriteCapacityUnits",
            "Schedule": "at(2019-05-20T18:35:00)",
            "ResourceId": "table/my-table",
            "CreationTime": 1561571888.361,
            "ScheduledActionARN": "arn:aws:autoscaling:us-west-2:123456789012:scheduledAction:2d36aa3b-cdf9-4565-b290-81db519b227d:resource/dynamodb/table/my-table:scheduledActionName/my-first-scheduled-action",
            "ScalableTargetAction": {
                "MinCapacity": 15,
                "MaxCapacity": 20
            },
            "ScheduledActionName": "my-first-scheduled-action",
            "ServiceNamespace": "dynamodb"
        },
        {
            "ScalableDimension": "dynamodb:table:WriteCapacityUnits",
            "Schedule": "at(2019-05-20T18:40:00)",
            "ResourceId": "table/my-table",
            "CreationTime": 1561571946.021,
            "ScheduledActionARN": "arn:aws:autoscaling:us-west-2:123456789012:scheduledAction:2d36aa3b-cdf9-4565-b290-81db519b227d:resource/dynamodb/table/my-table:scheduledActionName/my-second-scheduled-action",
            "ScalableTargetAction": {
                "MinCapacity": 5,
                "MaxCapacity": 10
            },
            "ScheduledActionName": "my-second-scheduled-action",
            "ServiceNamespace": "dynamodb"
        }
    ]
}

For more information, see Scheduled Scaling in the Application Auto Scaling User Guide.

The following code example shows how to use list-tags-for-resource.

AWS CLI

To list the tags for a scalable target

The following list-tags-for-resource example lists the tag key names and values that are attached to the scalable target specified by its ARN.

aws application-autoscaling list-tags-for-resource \
    --resource-arn arn:aws:application-autoscaling:us-west-2:123456789012:scalable-target/1234abcd56ab78cd901ef1234567890ab123

Output:

{
    "Tags": {
        "environment": "production"
    }
}

For more information, see Tagging support for Application Auto Scaling in the Application Auto Scaling User Guide.

The following code example shows how to use put-scaling-policy.

AWS CLI

Example 1: To apply a target tracking scaling policy with a predefined metric specification

The following put-scaling-policy example applies a target tracking scaling policy with a predefined metric specification to an Amazon ECS service called web-app in the default cluster. The policy keeps the average CPU utilization of the service at 75 percent, with scale-out and scale-in cooldown periods of 60 seconds. The output contains the ARNs and names of the two CloudWatch alarms created on your behalf.

aws application-autoscaling put-scaling-policy --service-namespace ecs \
--scalable-dimension ecs:service:DesiredCount \
--resource-id service/default/web-app \
--policy-name cpu75-target-tracking-scaling-policy --policy-type TargetTrackingScaling \
--target-tracking-scaling-policy-configuration file://config.json

This example assumes that you have a config.json file in the current directory with the following contents:

{
     "TargetValue": 75.0,
     "PredefinedMetricSpecification": {
         "PredefinedMetricType": "ECSServiceAverageCPUUtilization"
     },
     "ScaleOutCooldown": 60,
    "ScaleInCooldown": 60
}

Output:

{
    "PolicyARN": "arn:aws:autoscaling:us-west-2:012345678910:scalingPolicy:6d8972f3-efc8-437c-92d1-6270f29a66e7:resource/ecs/service/default/web-app:policyName/cpu75-target-tracking-scaling-policy",
    "Alarms": [
        {
            "AlarmARN": "arn:aws:cloudwatch:us-west-2:012345678910:alarm:TargetTracking-service/default/web-app-AlarmHigh-d4f0770c-b46e-434a-a60f-3b36d653feca",
            "AlarmName": "TargetTracking-service/default/web-app-AlarmHigh-d4f0770c-b46e-434a-a60f-3b36d653feca"
        },
        {
            "AlarmARN": "arn:aws:cloudwatch:us-west-2:012345678910:alarm:TargetTracking-service/default/web-app-AlarmLow-1b437334-d19b-4a63-a812-6c67aaf2910d",
            "AlarmName": "TargetTracking-service/default/web-app-AlarmLow-1b437334-d19b-4a63-a812-6c67aaf2910d"
        }
    ]
}

Example 2: To apply a target tracking scaling policy with a customized metric specification

The following put-scaling-policy example applies a target tracking scaling policy with a customized metric specification to an Amazon ECS service called web-app in the default cluster. The policy keeps the average utilization of the service at 75 percent, with scale-out and scale-in cooldown periods of 60 seconds. The output contains the ARNs and names of the two CloudWatch alarms created on your behalf.

aws application-autoscaling put-scaling-policy --service-namespace ecs \
--scalable-dimension ecs:service:DesiredCount \
--resource-id service/default/web-app \
--policy-name cms75-target-tracking-scaling-policy
--policy-type TargetTrackingScaling \
--target-tracking-scaling-policy-configuration file://config.json

This example assumes that you have a config.json file in the current directory with the following contents:

{
    "TargetValue":75.0,
    "CustomizedMetricSpecification":{
        "MetricName":"MyUtilizationMetric",
        "Namespace":"MyNamespace",
        "Dimensions": [
            {
                "Name":"MyOptionalMetricDimensionName",
                "Value":"MyOptionalMetricDimensionValue"
            }
        ],
        "Statistic":"Average",
        "Unit":"Percent"
    },
    "ScaleOutCooldown": 60,
    "ScaleInCooldown": 60
}

Output:

{
    "PolicyARN": "arn:aws:autoscaling:us-west-2:012345678910:scalingPolicy: 8784a896-b2ba-47a1-b08c-27301cc499a1:resource/ecs/service/default/web-app:policyName/cms75-target-tracking-scaling-policy",
    "Alarms": [
        {
            "AlarmARN": "arn:aws:cloudwatch:us-west-2:012345678910:alarm:TargetTracking-service/default/web-app-AlarmHigh-9bc77b56-0571-4276-ba0f-d4178882e0a0",
            "AlarmName": "TargetTracking-service/default/web-app-AlarmHigh-9bc77b56-0571-4276-ba0f-d4178882e0a0"
        },
        {
            "AlarmARN": "arn:aws:cloudwatch:us-west-2:012345678910:alarm:TargetTracking-service/default/web-app-AlarmLow-9b6ad934-6d37-438e-9e05-02836ddcbdc4",
            "AlarmName": "TargetTracking-service/default/web-app-AlarmLow-9b6ad934-6d37-438e-9e05-02836ddcbdc4"
        }
    ]
}

Example 3: To apply a target tracking scaling policy for scale out only

The following put-scaling-policy example applies a target tracking scaling policy to an Amazon ECS service called web-app in the default cluster. The policy is used to scale out the ECS service when the RequestCountPerTarget metric from the Application Load Balancer exceeds the threshold. The output contains the ARN and name of the CloudWatch alarm created on your behalf.

aws application-autoscaling put-scaling-policy \
    --service-namespace ecs \
    --scalable-dimension ecs:service:DesiredCount \
    --resource-id service/default/web-app \
    --policy-name alb-scale-out-target-tracking-scaling-policy \
    --policy-type TargetTrackingScaling \
    --target-tracking-scaling-policy-configuration file://config.json

Contents of config.json:

{
     "TargetValue": 1000.0,
     "PredefinedMetricSpecification": {
         "PredefinedMetricType": "ALBRequestCountPerTarget",
         "ResourceLabel": "app/EC2Co-EcsEl-1TKLTMITMM0EO/f37c06a68c1748aa/targetgroup/EC2Co-Defau-LDNM7Q3ZH1ZN/6d4ea56ca2d6a18d"
     },
     "ScaleOutCooldown": 60,
    "ScaleInCooldown": 60,
    "DisableScaleIn": true
}

Output:

{
    "PolicyARN": "arn:aws:autoscaling:us-west-2:123456789012:scalingPolicy:6d8972f3-efc8-437c-92d1-6270f29a66e7:resource/ecs/service/default/web-app:policyName/alb-scale-out-target-tracking-scaling-policy",
    "Alarms": [
        {
            "AlarmName": "TargetTracking-service/default/web-app-AlarmHigh-d4f0770c-b46e-434a-a60f-3b36d653feca",
            "AlarmARN": "arn:aws:cloudwatch:us-west-2:123456789012:alarm:TargetTracking-service/default/web-app-AlarmHigh-d4f0770c-b46e-434a-a60f-3b36d653feca"
        }
    ]
}

For more information, see Target Tracking Scaling Policies for Application Auto Scaling in the AWS Application Auto Scaling User Guide.

The following code example shows how to use put-scheduled-action.

AWS CLI

To add a scheduled action to a DynamoDB table

This example adds a scheduled action to a DynamoDB table called TestTable to scale out on a recurring schedule. On the specified schedule (every day at 12:15pm UTC), if the current capacity is below the value specified for MinCapacity, Application Auto Scaling scales out to the value specified by MinCapacity.

Command:

aws application-autoscaling put-scheduled-action --service-namespace dynamodb --scheduled-action-name my-recurring-action --schedule "cron(15 12 * * ? *)" --resource-id table/TestTable --scalable-dimension dynamodb:table:WriteCapacityUnits --scalable-target-action MinCapacity=6

For more information, see Scheduled Scaling in the Application Auto Scaling User Guide.

The following code example shows how to use register-scalable-target.

AWS CLI

Example 1: To register an ECS service as a scalable target

The following register-scalable-target example registers an Amazon ECS service with Application Auto Scaling. It also adds a tag with the key name environment and the value production to the scalable target.

aws application-autoscaling register-scalable-target \
    --service-namespace ecs \
    --scalable-dimension ecs:service:DesiredCount \
    --resource-id service/default/web-app \
    --min-capacity 1 --max-capacity 10 \
    --tags environment=production

Output:

{
    "ScalableTargetARN": "arn:aws:application-autoscaling:us-west-2:123456789012:scalable-target/1234abcd56ab78cd901ef1234567890ab123"
}

For examples for other AWS services and custom resources, see the topics in AWS services that you can use with Application Auto Scaling in the Application Auto Scaling User Guide.

Example 2: To suspend scaling activities for a scalable target

The following register-scalable-target example suspends scaling activities for an existing scalable target.

aws application-autoscaling register-scalable-target \
    --service-namespace dynamodb \
    --scalable-dimension dynamodb:table:ReadCapacityUnits \
    --resource-id table/my-table \
    --suspended-state DynamicScalingInSuspended=true,DynamicScalingOutSuspended=true,ScheduledScalingSuspended=true

Output:

{
    "ScalableTargetARN": "arn:aws:application-autoscaling:us-west-2:123456789012:scalable-target/1234abcd56ab78cd901ef1234567890ab123"
}

For more information, see Suspending and resuming scaling for Application Auto Scaling in the Application Auto Scaling User Guide.

Example 3: To resume scaling activities for a scalable target

The following register-scalable-target example resumes scaling activities for an existing scalable target.

aws application-autoscaling register-scalable-target \
    --service-namespace dynamodb \
    --scalable-dimension dynamodb:table:ReadCapacityUnits \
    --resource-id table/my-table \
    --suspended-state DynamicScalingInSuspended=false,DynamicScalingOutSuspended=false,ScheduledScalingSuspended=false

Output:

{
    "ScalableTargetARN": "arn:aws:application-autoscaling:us-west-2:123456789012:scalable-target/1234abcd56ab78cd901ef1234567890ab123"
}

For more information, see Suspending and resuming scaling for Application Auto Scaling in the Application Auto Scaling User Guide.

The following code example shows how to use tag-resource.

AWS CLI

To add a tag to a scalable target

The following tag-resource example adds a tag with the key name environment and the value production to the scalable target specified by its ARN.

aws application-autoscaling tag-resource \
    --resource-arn arn:aws:application-autoscaling:us-west-2:123456789012:scalable-target/1234abcd56ab78cd901ef1234567890ab123 \
    --tags environment=production

This command produces no output.

For more information, see Tagging support for Application Auto Scaling in the Application Auto Scaling User Guide.

  • For API details, see TagResource in AWS CLI Command Reference.

The following code example shows how to use untag-resource.

AWS CLI

To remove a tag from a scalable target

The following untag-resource example removes the tag pair with the key name environment from the scalable target specified by its ARN.

aws application-autoscaling untag-resource \
    --resource-arn arn:aws:application-autoscaling:us-west-2:123456789012:scalable-target/1234abcd56ab78cd901ef1234567890ab123 \
    --tag-keys "environment"

This command produces no output.

For more information, see Tagging support for Application Auto Scaling in the Application Auto Scaling User Guide.

  • For API details, see UntagResource in AWS CLI Command Reference.