EC2 Auto Scaling

EC2 Auto Scaling automatically launches preconfigured EC2 instances. The goal of Auto Scaling is to ensure you have just enough computing resources to meet user demand without over-provisioning.

Launch Configurations and Launch Templates

Auto Scaling works by spawning instances from either a launch configuration or a launch template. For the purposes of Auto Scaling, both achieve the same basic purpose of defining the instance’s characteristics, such as AMI, disk configuration, and instance type. You can also install software and make custom configurations by placing commands into a Userdata script that automatically runs when Auto Scaling launches a new instance.

But there are some differences between launch configurations and launch templates. Launch templates are newer and can be used to spawn EC2 instances manually, even without Auto Scaling. You can also modify them after you create them. Launch configurations, on the other hand, can be used only with Auto...