What is AWS Auto Scaling?

• Overview of AWS Auto Scaling

• Components of AWS AutoScaling

• Types of AWS Auto Scaling

• Benefits of Auto Scaling for Magento

• Conclusion

Overview of AWS Auto Scaling

AWS Autoscaling is an advanced feature that helps manage AWS resources.

It monitors & adjusts resources based on the server load. As a result, you get optimized performance at the lowest possible cost.

AWS Autoscaling can scale up resources if there is high demand. Similarly, the capacity is scaled back down as the demand drops.

You can define the thresholds based on your scaling strategies. Once it reaches the defined threshold, the resources are scaled automatically.

You can add the resources that support your Magento tech stack. The scaling policies are created on a single unified interface.

It lets you prioritize availability, cost optimizing, or a combination of both.

Configure automatic scaling for scalable resources such as:

• Amazon EC2 Auto Scaling Groups

An Auto Scaling Group is a collection of Amazon EC2 instances. It is grouped for automatic scaling.

You can set the number of instances in a group. It is a core function of the Amazon EC2 Auto Scaling.

The Auto Scaling group adds or removes the instances based on demand. It also replaces unhealthy instances tracked on periodic health checks.

• Amazon EC2 Spot Fleet

The AWS Spot fleet is a collection of AWS spot instances. It offers spare compute power & capacity.

These unused instances have up to a 90% discount compared to on-demand prices.

You can combine Spot Instances with On-Demand Instances for scaling. Spot Fleets maintain the target capacity. It launches spot instances to help optimize workloads.

• Amazon ECS

Amazon Elastic Container Service is a container managing service. With Auto Scaling, you can adjust the ECS service. It is used to respond to load variations.

You can scale out & add more ECS tasks during peak times.
And you scale in & run fewer tasks when the demand is low.

• Amazon DynamoDB

It is not easy to predict the database workloads for ecommerce sites.

With AWS AutoScaling, you can adjust the capacity efficiently. It helps to respond to the actual traffic patterns.

You can enable a DynamoDB table or a global secondary index. Increase the read and write capacity during surges.

• Amazon Aurora

Aurora Auto Scaling adjusts the number of Aurora Replicas for a DB cluster. It helps to handle changes on active workloads.

Aurora Auto Scaling feature is available for Aurora MySQL and Aurora PostgreSQL.

Components of AWS AutoScaling

1. EC2 Instance

EC2 Instance is a virtual server that comes with the Elastic Compute Cloud.

AWS AutoScaling helps maintain the number of EC2 instances.

You can create AutoScaling groups with the instances. It lets you set a scaling value for instances. The group does not exceed the specified capacity.

2. AutoScaling Groups and Policies

An Auto Scaling group adds or removes EC2 instances based on the server load. It helps manage the availability of the site.

With AutoScaling policies, you add the scaling metrics. It lets you define how a group is scaled. The policies will tell the scaling group what to do based on the rules.

3. Launch Configuration

A launch configuration is an instance configuration template. The Auto Scaling group uses it to launch EC2 instances. It helps to specify the information on the instances.

The information can be the instance type or a key pair. You can also add security groups and block device mapping.

It lets you specify launch config with multiple Auto Scaling groups. However, you can't modify the rules after it is created.

A launch template works similarly to a launch configuration. However, a launch template will allow many template versions.

4. Load Balancer

A load balancer helps distribute the traffic across the instances. It has automatic routing for the traffic so that no instance is overwhelmed.

You can use Elastic Load Balancing with your Auto Scaling group. There are many types of Elastic Load Balancing, such as:

• Classic Load Balancer
• Gateway Load Balancer
• Network Load Balancer
• Application Load Balancer

5. Healthcheck

You can define a health check for your load balancer.

The load balancer then monitors the health of all targets registered. It analyses whether the instance is in a healthy state or not. The registered target must pass one health check to be used.

Types of AWS Auto Scaling

1. Reactive Scaling

In Reactive auto-scaling, the resources are scaled in response to traffic surges. It conducts real-time monitoring of scalable resources. The instances are used based on the coming traffic.

2. Predictive Scaling

Predictive auto-scaling uses machine learning to forecast the traffic. The algorithm takes in historical data from CloudWatch. It then calculates the required resource capacity.

You can predict in advance the daily & weekly traffic patterns.

3. Scheduled Scaling

Scheduled scaling adjusts resources based on a schedule. It lets you add a schedule to manage capacity on certain days.

You can specify when the scaling task should occur. The auto-scaling will take place on the set time and date.

4. Manual Scaling

You can change the number of instances manually in this auto-scaling. It also lets you change the size of the Auto Scaling group.

You either update the Auto Scaling group or the instances. Manual scaling is used when you do not require automatic scaling.

5. Dynamic Scaling

Dynamic auto-scaling works on signals given by the CloudWatch alarm. The metrics that trigger the alarm are coming from the Auto Scaling group.

You can scale the capacity of the scaling group. It works in response to traffic changes.

Benefits of Auto Scaling for Magento

1. Optimize Cloud Cost

AWS Auto Scaling helps optimize resource utilization. You only pay for the resources required for your Magento store.

When the demand drops, AWS Auto Scaling removes excessive resources automatically. That way, you avoid overspending and optimize costs for AWS services.

2. Maintain High Magento Performance

The Magento server workloads are constantly changing. It is hard to adjust resources manually to keep a steady performance.

AWS Auto Scaling helps maintain high Magento speed.

It monitors the resources of your store to ensure optimal performance.

When the store has traffic spikes, AWS Auto Scaling increases the capacity automatically.

You can quickly adjust capacity to maintain steady, predictable performance. Customers get fast-loading sites regardless of the traffic surge.

3. High Availability of Resources for Magento

With AWS Auto Scaling, you can quickly provision resources during spikes. As a result, your site is constantly available to visitors even during high traffic.

You can spin up resources within a few minutes. You get a reliable service that optimizes resources for continuous uptime.

4. Fully Managed Scaling Policies

In target tracking scaling policies, you choose a scaling metric & set a target value. AWS Auto Scaling automatically creates target tracking scaling policies for your resources.

Based on your scaling strategy, it sets a target value for each metric. You also get automatic Amazon CloudWatch alarms that trigger the scaling.

Conclusion

AWS Auto Scaling is an ideal feature to implement your cloud scaling strategy. It adjusts computing resources automatically based on traffic demand.

For Magento ecommerce stores, traffic variations are often unpredictable. AWS Auto Scaling ensures your Magento site has high performance & uptime.

Auto Scaling helps to minimize cloud costs. You only pay for the resources used. You can create scaling policies and set targets based on your preference.

Overall, AWS Auto Scaling is an excellent solution for Magento server resources.

To get started with AWS Auto Scaling, see AWS Auto Scaling Plans for Magento!