Your application traffic fluctuates throughout the day, so you want to set up Auto Scaling based on CPU utilization

Certainly! I'd be happy to help you set up Auto Scaling based on CPU utilization for your application with fluctuating traffic. Here are the steps to accomplish this:

1. Create an Auto Scaling group for your application:

   • Define the minimum and maximum number of instances based on your expected traffic patterns.
   • Set up a launch template or launch configuration that specifies the EC2 instance type and other configuration details.

2. Configure a target tracking scaling policy:

   • This policy automatically adjusts the number of EC2 instances in your Auto Scaling group to maintain a target CPU utilization.
   • Set the target CPU utilization to an appropriate value, such as 50%. This means Auto Scaling will try to maintain an average CPU utilization of 50% across all instances.

3. Use Amazon CloudWatch to monitor your application's CPU utilization:

   • Auto Scaling will use these metrics to determine when to scale in or out.

4. Set up CloudWatch alarms:

   • These alarms will trigger scaling actions when CPU utilization deviates from the target.

5. Configure scaling cooldown periods:

   • This prevents Auto Scaling from launching or terminating additional instances before the effects of previous scaling activities are visible.

6. Test your Auto Scaling setup:

   • Simulate increased load on your application to ensure that new instances are launched when CPU utilization increases.
   • Reduce the load to verify that instances are terminated when CPU utilization decreases.

7. Monitor and refine:

   • Regularly review your Auto Scaling activities and adjust the target CPU utilization or other parameters as needed to optimize performance and cost.

By implementing this Auto Scaling configuration, your application will automatically adjust its capacity to handle traffic fluctuations throughout the day, ensuring optimal performance and cost-efficiency.
Sources
Target tracking scaling policies for Application Auto Scaling - Application Auto Scaling
Configuring Auto Scaling using the AWS toolkit for Visual Studio - AWS Elastic Beanstalk