Using the default Amazon Linux AMI for Amazon EMR
Each Amazon EMR release version uses a default Amazon Linux AMI for Amazon EMR unless you specify a custom AMI. Starting with Amazon EMR 5.36, Amazon EMR 6.6, and Amazon EMR 7.0 releases the default behavior for updating Amazon Linux 2 (AL2 for EMR 5.x and 6.x, AL2023 for EMR 7.x) in an Amazon EMR default AMI is to automatically apply the latest Amazon Linux release for the default Amazon EMR AMI.
Automatic Amazon Linux updates for Amazon EMR releases
When you launch a cluster with the latest patch release of Amazon EMR 7.0 or higher, 6.6 or higher, or 5.36 or higher, Amazon EMR uses the latest Amazon Linux release for the default Amazon EMR AMI. For example:
-
Where there is an
x.x.0
and anx.x.1
release, thex.x.0
release stops getting AMI updates whenx.x.1
launches. -
Similarly,
x.x.1
stops getting AMI updates whenx.x.2
launches. -
Later, when
x.y.0
releases,x.x.
continues to receive AMI updates alongside[latest]
x.y.
.[latest]
To see if you're using the latest patch release as denoted by the number after the
second decimal point (6.8.
) for an Amazon EMR
release, refer to the available releases in the Amazon EMR Release Guide,
check the Amazon EMR release dropdown when you create a
cluster in the console, or use the 1
ListReleaseLabels
API or list-release-labels
CLI action. To get updates when we
launch a new Amazon EMR release, subscribe to the RSS feed on the What's
new? page in the Release Guide.
If you want to, you can choose to launch your cluster with the Amazon Linux version that the Amazon EMR release first shipped with. For information on how to specify the Amazon Linux release for your cluster, see Changing the Amazon Linux release when you create an EMR cluster.
Default Amazon Linux versions
Topics
Default AMIs for Amazon EMR 7.0 and higher
The following table lists Amazon Linux information for the latest patch version of Amazon EMR releases 7.0 and higher.
OsReleaseLabel (AL version) | AL kernel version | Available date | AWS Regions |
---|---|---|---|
2023.5.20240708.0 | 6.1.96-102.177.amzn2023 | July 23, 2024 |
|
2023.3.20240304.0 | 6.1.79-99.164.amzn2023 | March 12, 2024 |
|
2023.3.20240219.0 | 6.1.77-99.164.amzn2023 | March 1, 2024 |
|
2023.3.20240205.0 | 6.1.75-99.163.amzn2023 | February 19, 2024 |
|
2023.3.20240122.0 | 6.1.72-96.166.amzn2023 | February 5, 2024 |
|
2023.3.20240108.0 | 6.1.72-96.166.amzn2023 | January 24, 2024 |
|
2023.3.20231211.4 | 6.1.66-91.160.amzn2023 | December 19, 2023 |
|
Default AMIs for Amazon EMR 6.6 and higher
The following table lists Amazon Linux information for the latest patch version of Amazon EMR releases 6.6.x and higher.
OsReleaseLabel (AL version) | AL kernel version | Available date | AWS Regions |
---|---|---|---|
2.0.20240709.1 | 4.14.348 | July 23, 2024 |
|
2.0.20240223.0 | 4.14.336 | March 8, 2024 |
|
2.0.20240131.0 | 4.14.336 | February 14, 2024 |
|
2.0.20240124.0 | 4.14.336 | February 7, 2024 |
|
2.0.20240109.0 | 4.14.334 | January 24, 2024 |
|
2.0.20231218.0 | 4.14.330 | January 2, 2024 |
|
2.0.20231206.0 | 4.14.330 | December 22, 2023 |
|
2.0.20231116.0 | 4.14.328 | December 11, 2023 |
|
2.0.20231101.0 | 4.14.327 | November 17, 2023 |
|
2.0.20231020.1 | 4.14.326 | November 07, 2023 |
|
2.0.20231012.1 | 4.14.326 | October 26, 2023 |
|
2.0.20230926.0 | 4.14.322 | October 19, 2023 |
|
2.0.202308906.0 | 4.14.322 | October 04, 2023 |
|
2.0.20230822.0 | 4.14.322 | August 30, 2023 |
|
2.0.20230808.0 | 4.14.320 | August 24, 2023 |
|
2.0.20230727.0 | 4.14.320 | August 14, 2023 |
|
2.0.20230719.0 | 4.14.320 | August 2, 2023 |
|
2.0.20230628.0 | 4.14.318 | July 12, 2023 |
|
2.0.20230612.0 | 4.14.314 | June 23, 2023 |
|
2.0.20230504.1 | 4.14.313 | May 16, 2023 |
|
2.0.20230418.0 | 4.14.311 | May 3, 2023 |
|
2.0.20230404.1 | 4.14.311 | April 18, 2023 |
|
2.0.20230404.0 | 4.14.311 | April 10, 2023 |
|
2.0.20230320.0 | 4.14.309 | March 30, 2023 |
|
2.0.20230307.0 | 4.14.305 | March 15, 2023 |
|
2.0.20230207.0 | 4.14.304 | March 3, 2023 |
|
2.0.20230119.1 | 4.14.301 | February 9, 2023 |
|
2.0.20221210.1 | 4.14.301 | January 12, 2023 |
|
2.0.20221103.3 | 4.14.296 | December 5, 2022 |
|
2.0.20221004.0 | 4.14.294 | November 2, 2022 |
|
2.0.20220912.1 | 4.14.291 | October 7, 2022 |
|
2.0.20220805.0 | 4.14.287 | August 30, 2022 |
|
2.0.20220719.0 | 4.14.287 | August 10, 2022 |
|
2.0.20220426.0 | 4.14.281 | June 10, 2022 |
|
2.0.20220406.1 | 4.14.275 | May 2, 2022 |
|
Default AMIs for Amazon EMR 5.x
The following table lists Amazon Linux information for the latest patch version of Amazon EMR 5.x releases 5.36 and higher.
OsReleaseLabel (AL version) | AL kernel version | Available date | AWS Regions |
---|---|---|---|
2.0.20240709.1 | 4.14.348 | July 23, 2024 |
|
2.0.20230504.1 | 4.14.313 | May 16, 2023 |
|
2.0.20230418.0 | 4.14.311 | May 3, 2023 |
|
2.0.20230404.1 | 4.14.311 | April 18, 2023 |
|
2.0.20230404.0 | 4.14.311 | April 10, 2023 |
|
2.0.20230320.0 | 4.14.309 | March 30, 2023 |
|
2.0.20230307.0 | 4.14.305 | March 15, 2023 |
|
2.0.20230207.0 | 4.14.304 | March 3, 2023 |
|
2.0.20221210.1 | 4.14.301 | January 12, 2023 |
|
2.0.20221103.3 | 4.14.296 | December 5, 2022 |
|
2.0.20221004.0 | 4.14.294 | November 2, 2022 |
|
2.0.20220912.1 | 4.14.291 | October 7, 2022 |
|
2.0.20220719.0 | 4.14.287 | August 10, 2022 |
|
2.0.20220426.0 | 4.14.281 | June 14, 2022 |
|
Software update considerations
Take note of the following default software update behaviors:
Amazon EMR 7.x — Amazon Linux 2023
Amazon EMR releases 7.0 and higher run on Amazon Linux 2023 (AL2023). The default behavior for AL2023 is to lock AMIs to a specific version of the Amazon Linux software repository. Therefore, security updates are not applied every time you launch a cluster. Instead, the default behavior for Amazon EMR 7.x releases is to automatically apply the latest AL2023 release for the default Amazon EMR AMI only when you create the cluster. To receive the latest security updates, we recommend that you periodically recreate your cluster.
Amazon EMR 5.x and 6.x — Amazon Linux and Amazon Linux 2
For Amazon EMR releases that are lower than 7.0, when an Amazon EC2 instance boots for the first time in a cluster that is based on the default Amazon Linux (AL) or Amazon Linux 2 (AL2) AMI for Amazon EMR, it checks for software updates that apply to the release version in the enabled package repositories for AL and Amazon EMR. As with other AL and AL2 instances, critical and important security updates from these repositories are automatically installed.
Also note that, in your networking configuration, you must allow HTTP and HTTPS egress to Amazon Linux repositories in Amazon S3. Otherwise, security updates will fail. For more information, see Amazon Linux - Package repository in the Amazon EC2 User Guide. By default, other software packages and kernel updates that require a reboot, including NVIDIA and CUDA, are excluded from the automatic download at first boot.
Amazon EMR 5.35.0 and lower, and 6.5.0 and lower — Amazon Linux AMI locked to Amazon EMR release version
For Amazon EMR 5.35.0 and lower, and 6.5.0 and lower, the default AMI is based on the most up-to-date Amazon Linux AMI available at the time of the Amazon EMR release. The AMI is tested for compatibility with the big data applications and Amazon EMR features included with that release version.
Each Amazon EMR 5.35.0 and lower, and 6.5.0 and lower Amazon EMR release version is "locked" to its respective assigned Amazon Linux AMI version to maintain compatibility. For this reason, we recommend that you use the latest Amazon EMR release version, unless you need an lower version for compatibility and are unable to migrate. If you must use an lower release version of Amazon EMR for compatibility, we recommend that you use the latest release in a series. For example, if you must use the 5.12 series, use 5.12.2 instead of 5.12.0 or 5.12.1. If a new release becomes available in a series, consider migrating your applications to the new release.
For more information on the auto-update behavior introduced with Amazon EMR 5.36.0 and higher and 6.6.0 and higher, see Automatic Amazon Linux updates for Amazon EMR releases.
Default boot behavior excludes kernel updates
When an Amazon EC2 instance in a cluster that is based on the default Amazon Linux AMI for Amazon EMR boots for the first time, it checks the enabled package repositories for Amazon Linux and Amazon EMR for software updates that apply to the AMI version. As with other Amazon EC2 instances, critical and important security updates from these repositories are automatically installed.
However, if you are using an older version of Amazon Linux AMI, the latest security update might not be automatically installed. This is because the repositories that your EMR cluster references are fixed for each version of Amazon Linux AMI.
Also note that, in your networking configuration, you must allow HTTP and HTTPS egress to Amazon Linux repositories in Amazon S3. Otherwise, security updates will fail. For more information, see Amazon Linux - Package repository in the Amazon EC2 User Guide. By default, other software packages and kernel updates that require a reboot, including NVIDIA and CUDA, are excluded from the automatic download at first boot.
Important
EMR clusters that run AL2023 use the default Amazon Linux behavior, and your Amazon Machine Images (AMIs) are locked to a specific version of the Amazon Linux repository. By default, your clusters won't automatically receive software security updates at launch. Your clusters only contain the updates that were available in the version of AL2023 AMI that you chose when you created your cluster. For more information, see Updating Amazon Linux 2023 in the Amazon Linux 2023 User Guide.
Important
EMR clusters that run Amazon Linux or Amazon Linux 2 Amazon Machine Images (AMIs) use default Amazon Linux behavior, and do not automatically download and install important and critical kernel updates that require a reboot. This is the same behavior as other Amazon EC2 instances that run the default Amazon Linux AMI. If new Amazon Linux software updates that require a reboot (such as kernel, NVIDIA, and CUDA updates) become available after an Amazon EMR release becomes available, EMR cluster instances that run the default AMI do not automatically download and install those updates. To get kernel updates, you can customize your Amazon EMR AMI to use the latest Amazon Linux AMI.
The cluster launches with or without updates
Be aware that if software updates can't be installed because package repositories are unreachable at first cluster boot, the cluster instance still completes its launch. For instance, repositories may be unreachable because S3 is temporarily unavailable, or you might have VPC or firewall rules configured to block access.
Don't run sudo yum update
When you connect to a cluster instance using SSH, the first few lines of screen
output provide a link to the release notes for the Amazon Linux AMI that the instance uses,
a notice of the most recent Amazon Linux AMI version, a notice of the number of packages
available for update from the enabled repositories, and a directive to run
sudo yum update
.
Important
We strongly recommend that you do not run sudo yum update
on
cluster instances, either while connected with SSH or when you use a bootstrap
action. This might cause incompatibilities because all packages are installed
indiscriminately.
Software update best practices
Best practices for managing software updates
-
If you use a lower release version of Amazon EMR, consider and test a migration to the latest release before updating software packages.
-
If you migrate to a higher release version or you upgrade software packages, test the implementation in a non-production environment first. The option to clone clusters with the Amazon EMR console is helpful for this.
-
Evaluate software updates for your applications and for your version of Amazon Linux AMI on an individual basis. Only test and install packages in production environments that you determine to be absolutely necessary for your security posture, application functionality, or performance.
-
Watch the Amazon Linux Security Center
for updates. -
Avoid installing packages by connecting to individual cluster instances using SSH. Instead, use a bootstrap action to install and update packages on all cluster instances as necessary. This requires that you terminate a cluster and relaunch it. For more information, see Create bootstrap actions to install additional software.