Manage VSS components package for Windows VSS based EBS snapshots

Before you create VSS based EBS snapshots, ensure that you have the latest version of the VSS components package installed on your Windows instance. There are several ways that you can install the AwsVssComponents package onto an existing instance, as follows:

• (Recommended) Run the AWSEC2-VssInstallAndSnapshot command document (recommended). This automatically installs or updates if needed every time it runs.

• Manually install the VSS components on an EC2 Windows instance.

• Update the VSS components package on your EC2 Windows instance.

You can also create an AMI with EC2 Image Builder that uses the aws-vss-components-windows managed component to install the AwsVssComponents package for the image. The managed component uses AWS Systems Manager Distributor to install the package. After Image Builder creates the image, every instance that you launch from the associated AMI will have the VSS package installed on it. For more information about how you can create an AMI with the VSS package installed, see Distributor package managed components for Windows in the EC2 Image Builder User Guide.

Manually install the VSS components on an EC2 Windows instance

Your EC2 Windows instance must have VSS components installed before you can create application-consistent snapshots with Systems Manager. If you don't run the AWSEC2-VssInstallAndSnapshot command document to automatically install or update the package every time you create application-consistent snapshots, you must manually install the package.

You must also install manually if you plan to use one of the following methods to create application-consistent snapshots from your EC2 instance.

• Create VSS snapshots using AWS Backup

• Create VSS snapshots using Amazon Data Lifecycle Manager

If you need to perform a manual install, we recommend that you use the latest AWS VSS component package to improve the reliability and performance of application-consistent snapshots on your EC2 Windows instances.

Note

To automatically install or update the AwsVssComponents package whenever you create application-consistent snapshots, we recommend that you use Systems Manager to run the AWSEC2-VssInstallAndSnapshot document. For more information, see Run the AWSEC2-VssInstallAndSnapshot command document (recommended).

To install the VSS components on an Amazon EC2 Windows instance, follow the steps for your preferred environment.

Console

To install the VSS components using SSM Distributor

1. Open the AWS Systems Manager console at https://console.aws.amazon.com/systems-manager/.

2. In the navigation pane, choose Run Command.

3. Choose Run command.

4. For Command document, choose the button next to AWS-ConfigureAWSPackage.

5. For Command parameters, do the following:

   1. Verify that Action is set to Install.

   2. For Name, enter AwsVssComponents.

   3. For Version, enter a version or leave the field empty so that Systems Manager installs the latest version.

6. For Targets, identify the instances on which you want to run this operation by specifying tags or selecting instances manually.

   Note

   If you choose to select instances manually, and an instance you expect to see is not included in the list, see Where Are My Instances? in the AWS Systems Manager User Guide for troubleshooting tips.

7. For Other parameters:

   • (Optional) For Comment, type information about this command.

   • For Timeout (seconds), specify the number of seconds for the system to wait before failing the overall command execution.

8. (Optional) For Rate control:

   • For Concurrency, specify either a number or a percentage of instances on which to run the command at the same time.

     Note

     If you selected targets by choosing Amazon EC2 tags, and you are not certain how many instances use the selected tags, then limit the number of instances that can run the document at the same time by specifying a percentage.

   • For Error threshold, specify when to stop running the command on other instances after it fails on either a number or a percentage of instances. For example, if you specify three errors, then Systems Manager stops sending the command when the fourth error is received. Instances still processing the command might also send errors.

9. (Optional) For Output options section, if you want to save the command output to a file, select the box next to Enable writing to an S3 bucket. Specify the bucket and (optional) prefix (folder) names.

   Note

   The S3 permissions that grant the ability to write the data to an S3 bucket are those of the instance profile assigned to the instance, not those of the user performing this task. For more information, see Configure EC2 instance permissions in the AWS Systems Manager User Guide.

10. (Optional) Specify options for SNS notifications.

    For information about configuring Amazon SNS notifications for Run Command, see Configuring Amazon SNS Notifications for AWS Systems Manager.

11. Choose Run.

AWS CLI

Use the following procedure to download and install the AwsVssComponents package on your instances by using Run Command from the AWS CLI. The package installs two components: a VSS requester and a VSS provider. The system copies these components to a directory on the instance, and then registers the provider DLL as a VSS provider.

To install the VSS package by using the AWS CLI

• Run the following command to download and install the required VSS components for Systems Manager.

  aws ssm send-command \
  --document-name "AWS-ConfigureAWSPackage" \
  --instance-ids "i-01234567890abcdef" \
  --parameters '{"action":["Install"],"name":["AwsVssComponents"]}'

PowerShell

Use the following procedure to download and install the AwsVssComponents package on your instances by using Run Command from the Tools for Windows PowerShell. The package installs two components: a VSS requester and a VSS provider. The system copies these components to a directory on the instance, and then registers the provider DLL as a VSS provider.

To install the VSS package using the AWS Tools for Windows PowerShell

• Run the following command to download and install the required VSS components for Systems Manager.

  Send-SSMCommand -DocumentName AWS-ConfigureAWSPackage -InstanceId "i-01234567890abcdef" -Parameter @{'action'='Install';'name'='AwsVssComponents'}

Verify the signature on AWS VSS components

Use the following procedure to verify the signature on the AwsVssComponents package.

1. Connect to your Windows instance. For more information, see Connect to your Windows instance using RDP.

2. Navigate to C:\Program Files\Amazon\AwsVssComponents.

3. Open the context (right-click) menu for ec2-vss-agent.exe, and then choose Properties.

4. Navigate to the Digital Signatures tab and verify that the name of the signer is Amazon Web Services Inc.

5. Use the preceding steps to verify the signature on Ec2VssInstaller and Ec2VssProvider.dll.

Update the VSS components package on your EC2 Windows instance

We recommend that you keep the VSS components updated with the latest recommended version. There are several different ways that you can update components when a new version of the AwsVssComponents package is released.

Update methods

• You can repeat the steps described in Manually install the VSS components on an EC2 Windows instance when a new version of the AWS VSS components is released.

• You can configure a Systems Manager State Manager association to automatically download and install new or updated VSS components when the AwsVssComponents package becomes available.

• You can automatically install or update the AwsVssComponents package whenever you create application-consistent snapshots, when you use Systems Manager to run the AWSEC2-VssInstallAndSnapshot document.

Note

We recommend that you use Systems Manager to run the AWSEC2-VssInstallAndSnapshot command document, which automatically installs or updates the AwsVssComponents package before it creates the application-consistent snapshots. For more information, see Run the AWSEC2-VssInstallAndSnapshot command document (recommended).

To create a Systems Manager State Manager association, follow the steps for your preferred environment.

Console

When you create a Systems Manager State Manager association, there are two options for updating the AwsVssComponents package, as follows:

Uninstall and reinstall

This method downloads and installs the package with no additional prerequisites.

In-place update

This performs an in-place update for the package, and has the following prerequisites:

• The SSM Agent version that's installed on the instance must be version 3.3.808.0 or later. For more information, see Working with SSM Agent on EC2 instances for Windows Server in the AWS Systems Manager User Guide.

• If specified, the AwsVssComponents package version must be version 2.5.0 or later. Earlier versions don't support in-place update.

Note

if your instance doesn't meet these prerequisites, in-place update will fail. Use the Uninstall and reinstall option instead.

Create a State Manager association from the AWS Management Console

1. Open the AWS Systems Manager console at https://console.aws.amazon.com/systems-manager/.

2. In the navigation pane, choose State Manager.

   Or, if the Systems Manager homepage opens first, open the navigation pane and then choose State Manager.

3. Choose Create association.

4. In the Name field, enter a descriptive name.

5. In the Document list, choose AWS-ConfigureAWSPackage.

6. In the Parameters section, choose Install from the Action list.

7. For Installation type, choose either Uninstall and reinstall or In-place update.

8. In the Name field, enter AwsVssComponents. You can keep the Version and Additional Arguments fields empty.

9. In the Targets section, choose an option.

   Note

   If you choose to target instances by using tags, and you specify tags that map to Linux instances, the association succeeds on the Windows instance but fails on the Linux instances. The overall status of the association shows Failed.

10. In the Specify schedule section, choose an option.

11. In the Advanced options section, for Compliance severity, choose a severity level for the association. For more information, see Learn about association compliance. For Change Calendars, select a preconfigured change calendar. For more information, see about AWS Systems Manager Change Calendar.

12. For Rate control, do the following:

    • For Concurrency, specify either a number or a percentage of managed nodes on which to run the command at the same time.

    • For Error threshold, specify when to stop running the command on other managed nodes after it fails on either a number or a percentage of nodes.

13. (Optional) For Output options, to save the command output to a file, select Enable writing output to S3. Enter the bucket and prefix (folder) names in the boxes.

14. Choose Create association, and then choose Close. The system attempts to create the association on the instances and immediately apply the state.

    Note

    If EC2 instances for Windows Server show a status of Failed, verify that the SSM Agent is running on the instance, and verify that the instance is configured with an AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) role for Systems Manager. For more information, see Setting up AWS Systems Manager.

AWS CLI

You can run create-association command to update a Distributor package on a schedule without taking the associated application offline. Only new or updated files in the package are replaced.

To create a State Manager association using the AWS CLI

1. Install and configure the AWS CLI, if you haven't already. For information, see Install or update the latest version of the AWS CLI.

2. Run the following command to create an association. The value of --name, the document name, is always AWS-ConfigureAWSPackage. The following command uses the key InstanceIds to specify target instances.

   aws ssm create-association \
   --name "AWS-ConfigureAWSPackage" \
   --parameters '{"action":["Install"],"installationType":["Uninstall and reinstall"],"name":["AwsVssComponents"]}' \
   --targets [{\"Key\":\"InstanceIds\",\"Values\":[\"i-01234567890abcdef\",\"i-000011112222abcde\"]}]

For information about other options you can use with the create-association command, see create-association in the AWS Systems Manager section of the AWS CLI Command Reference.