- AnsibleFest
- Products
- Community
- Webinars & Training
- Blog

Documentation

# ec2 – create, terminate, start or stop an instance in ec2

- Synopsis
- Requirements
- Parameters
- Notes
- Examples
- Status

## Synopsis

- Creates or terminates ec2 instances.

## Requirements

The below requirements are needed on the host that executes this module.

- python >= 2.6
- boto

## Parameters

Parameter | Choices/Defaults | Comments
--- | --- | ---
assign_public_ip boolean | Choices: no yes | When provisioning within vpc, assign a public IP address. Boto library must be 2.13.0+.
aws_access_key string |  | AWS access key. If not set then the value of the AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID, AWS_ACCESS_KEY or EC2_ACCESS_KEY environment variable is used. aliases: ec2_access_key, access_key
aws_secret_key string |  | AWS secret key. If not set then the value of the AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY, AWS_SECRET_KEY, or EC2_SECRET_KEY environment variable is used. aliases: ec2_secret_key, secret_key
count integer | Default: 1 | Number of instances to launch.
count_tag - |  | Used with 'exact_count' to determine how many nodes based on a specific tag criteria should be running. This can be expressed in multiple ways and is shown in the EXAMPLES section. For instance, one can request 25 servers that are tagged with "class=webserver". The specified tag must already exist or be passed in as the 'instance_tags' option.
debug_botocore_endpoint_logs boolean added in 2.8 | Choices: no ← yes | Use a botocore.endpoint logger to parse the unique (rather than total) "resource:action" API calls made during a task, outputing the set to the resource_actions key in the task results. Use the aws_resource_action callback to output to total list made during a playbook. The ANSIBLE_DEBUG_BOTOCORE_LOGS environment variable may also be used.
ebs_optimized boolean | Choices: no ← yes | whether instance is using optimized EBS volumes, see https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/UserGuide/EBSOptimized.html.
ec2_url string |  | Url to use to connect to EC2 or your Eucalyptus cloud (by default the module will use EC2 endpoints). Ignored for modules where region is required. Must be specified for all other modules if region is not used. If not set then the value of the EC2_URL environment variable, if any, is used.
exact_count integer |  | An integer value which indicates how many instances that match the 'count_tag' parameter should be running. Instances are either created or terminated based on this value.
group list |  | Security group (or list of groups) to use with the instance. aliases: groups
group_id list |  | Security group id (or list of ids) to use with the instance.
id string |  | Identifier for this instance or set of instances, so that the module will be idempotent with respect to EC2 instances. This identifier is valid for at least 24 hours after the termination of the instance, and should not be reused for another call later on. For details, see the description of client token at https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/UserGuide/Run_Instance_Idempotency.html.
image string / required |  | ami ID to use for the instance.
instance_ids list |  | list of instance ids, currently used for states: absent, running, stopped aliases: instance_id
instance_initiated_shutdown_behavior string | Choices: stop ← terminate | Set whether AWS will Stop or Terminate an instance on shutdown. This parameter is ignored when using instance-store. images (which require termination on shutdown).
instance_profile_name string |  | Name of the IAM instance profile (i.e. what the EC2 console refers to as an "IAM Role") to use. Boto library must be 2.5.0+.
instance_tags dictionary |  | A hash/dictionary of tags to add to the new instance or for starting/stopping instance by tag; '{"key":"value"}' and '{"key":"value","key":"value"}'.
instance_type string / required |  | Instance type to use for the instance, see https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/UserGuide/instance-types.html.
kernel string |  | Kernel eki to use for the instance.
key_name string |  | key pair to use on the instance. The SSH key must exist on AWS in order to use this argument. If you want to generate keys from Ansible, take a look at `ec2_key` module. aliases: keypair
monitoring boolean | Choices: no ← yes | Enable detailed monitoring (CloudWatch) for instance.
network_interfaces list |  | A list of existing network interfaces to attach to the instance at launch. When specifying existing network interfaces, none of the assign_public_ip, private_ip, vpc_subnet_id, group, or group_id parameters may be used. (Those parameters are for creating a new network interface at launch.) aliases: network_interface
placement_group string |  | Placement group for the instance when using EC2 Clustered Compute.
private_ip string |  | The private ip address to assign the instance (from the vpc subnet).
profile string |  | Uses a boto profile. Only works with boto >= 2.24.0.
ramdisk string |  | Ramdisk eri to use for the instance.
region string |  | The AWS region to use. Must be specified if ec2_url is not used. If not specified then the value of the `AWS_REGION` or `EC2_REGION` environment variable, if any, is used. See https://docs.aws.amazon.com/general/latest/gr/rande.html#ec2_region. aliases: aws_region, ec2_region
security_token string |  | AWS STS security token. If not set then the value of the AWS_SECURITY_TOKEN or EC2_SECURITY_TOKEN environment variable is used. aliases: access_token
source_dest_check boolean | Choices: no yes | Enable or Disable the Source/Destination checks (for NAT instances and Virtual Routers). When initially creating an instance the EC2 API defaults this to True.
spot_launch_group string |  | Launch group for spot request, see https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/UserGuide/how-spot-instances-work.html#spot-launch-group.
spot_price string |  | Maximum spot price to bid. If not set, a regular on-demand instance is requested. A spot request is made with this maximum bid. When it is filled, the instance is started.
spot_type string | Choices: one-time ← persistent | Type of spot request; one of "one-time" or "persistent". Defaults to "one-time" if not supplied.
spot_wait_timeout integer | Default: 600 | How long to wait for the spot instance request to be fulfilled. Affects 'Request valid until' for setting spot request lifespan.
state string | Choices: absent present ← restarted running stopped | Create, terminate, start, stop or restart instances. The state 'restarted' was added in Ansible 2.2. When 'absent', instance_ids is required. When 'running', 'stopped' and 'restarted', instance_ids or instance_tags is required.
tenancy string | Choices: default ← dedicated | An instance with a tenancy of "dedicated" runs on single-tenant hardware and can only be launched into a VPC. Note that to use dedicated tenancy you MUST specify a vpc_subnet_id as well. Dedicated tenancy is not available for EC2 "micro" instances.
termination_protection boolean | Choices: no ← yes | Enable or Disable the Termination Protection.
user_data string |  | Opaque blob of data which is made available to the EC2 instance.
validate_certs boolean | Choices: no yes ← | When set to "no", SSL certificates will not be validated for boto versions >= 2.6.0.
volumes list |  | a list of hash/dictionaries of volumes to add to the new instance; '[{"key":"value", "key":"value"}]'; keys allowed are - device_name (str; required), delete_on_termination (bool; False), ephemeral (str), encrypted (bool; False), snapshot (str), volume_type (str), volume_size (int, GiB), iops (int) - iops must be set when volume_type='io1', ephemeral and snapshot are mutually exclusive.
vpc_subnet_id string |  | the subnet ID in which to launch the instance (VPC).
wait boolean | Choices: no ← yes | Wait for the instance to reach its desired state before returning. Does not wait for SSH, see 'wait_for_connection' example for details.
wait_timeout integer | Default: 300 | How long before wait gives up, in seconds.
zone string |  | AWS availability zone in which to launch the instance. aliases: aws_zone, ec2_zone

## Notes

Note

- If parameters are not set within the module, the following environment variables can be used in decreasing order of precedence `AWS_URL` or `EC2_URL`, `AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID` or `AWS_ACCESS_KEY` or `EC2_ACCESS_KEY`, `AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY` or `AWS_SECRET_KEY` or `EC2_SECRET_KEY`, `AWS_SECURITY_TOKEN` or `EC2_SECURITY_TOKEN`, `AWS_REGION` or `EC2_REGION`
- Ansible uses the boto configuration file (typically ~/.boto) if no credentials are provided. See https://boto.readthedocs.io/en/latest/boto_config_tut.html
- `AWS_REGION` or `EC2_REGION` can be typically be used to specify the AWS region, when required, but this can also be configured in the boto config file

## Examples

    # Note: These examples do not set authentication details, see the AWS Guide for details.

    # Basic provisioning example
    - ec2:
        key_name: mykey
        instance_type: t2.micro
        image: ami-123456
        wait: yes
        group: webserver
        count: 3
        vpc_subnet_id: subnet-29e63245
        assign_public_ip: yes

    # Advanced example with tagging and CloudWatch
    - ec2:
        key_name: mykey
        group: databases
        instance_type: t2.micro
        image: ami-123456
        wait: yes
        wait_timeout: 500
        count: 5
        instance_tags:
           db: postgres
        monitoring: yes
        vpc_subnet_id: subnet-29e63245
        assign_public_ip: yes

    # Single instance with additional IOPS volume from snapshot and volume delete on termination
    - ec2:
        key_name: mykey
        group: webserver
        instance_type: c3.medium
        image: ami-123456
        wait: yes
        wait_timeout: 500
        volumes:
          - device_name: /dev/sdb
            snapshot: snap-abcdef12
            volume_type: io1
            iops: 1000
            volume_size: 100
            delete_on_termination: true
        monitoring: yes
        vpc_subnet_id: subnet-29e63245
        assign_public_ip: yes

    # Single instance with ssd gp2 root volume
    - ec2:
        key_name: mykey
        group: webserver
        instance_type: c3.medium
        image: ami-123456
        wait: yes
        wait_timeout: 500
        volumes:
          - device_name: /dev/xvda
            volume_type: gp2
            volume_size: 8
        vpc_subnet_id: subnet-29e63245
        assign_public_ip: yes
        count_tag:
          Name: dbserver
        exact_count: 1

    # Multiple groups example
    - ec2:
        key_name: mykey
        group: ['databases', 'internal-services', 'sshable', 'and-so-forth']
        instance_type: m1.large
        image: ami-6e649707
        wait: yes
        wait_timeout: 500
        count: 5
        instance_tags:
            db: postgres
        monitoring: yes
        vpc_subnet_id: subnet-29e63245
        assign_public_ip: yes

    # Multiple instances with additional volume from snapshot
    - ec2:
        key_name: mykey
        group: webserver
        instance_type: m1.large
        image: ami-6e649707
        wait: yes
        wait_timeout: 500
        count: 5
        volumes:
        - device_name: /dev/sdb
          snapshot: snap-abcdef12
          volume_size: 10
        monitoring: yes
        vpc_subnet_id: subnet-29e63245
        assign_public_ip: yes

    # Dedicated tenancy example
    - local_action:
        module: ec2
        assign_public_ip: yes
        group_id: sg-1dc53f72
        key_name: mykey
        image: ami-6e649707
        instance_type: m1.small
        tenancy: dedicated
        vpc_subnet_id: subnet-29e63245
        wait: yes

    # Spot instance example
    - ec2:
        spot_price: 0.24
        spot_wait_timeout: 600
        keypair: mykey
        group_id: sg-1dc53f72
        instance_type: m1.small
        image: ami-6e649707
        wait: yes
        vpc_subnet_id: subnet-29e63245
        assign_public_ip: yes
        spot_launch_group: report_generators
        instance_initiated_shutdown_behavior: terminate

    # Examples using pre-existing network interfaces
    - ec2:
        key_name: mykey
        instance_type: t2.small
        image: ami-f005ba11
        network_interface: eni-deadbeef

    - ec2:
        key_name: mykey
        instance_type: t2.small
        image: ami-f005ba11
        network_interfaces: ['eni-deadbeef', 'eni-5ca1ab1e']

    # Launch instances, runs some tasks
    # and then terminate them

    - name: Create a sandbox instance
      hosts: localhost
      gather_facts: False
      vars:
        keypair: my_keypair
        instance_type: m1.small
        security_group: my_securitygroup
        image: my_ami_id
        region: us-east-1
      tasks:
        - name: Launch instance
          ec2:
             key_name: "{{ keypair }}"
             group: "{{ security_group }}"
             instance_type: "{{ instance_type }}"
             image: "{{ image }}"
             wait: true
             region: "{{ region }}"
             vpc_subnet_id: subnet-29e63245
             assign_public_ip: yes
          register: ec2

        - name: Add new instance to host group
          add_host:
            hostname: "{{ item.public_ip }}"
            groupname: launched
          loop: "{{ ec2.instances }}"

        - name: Wait for SSH to come up
          delegate_to: "{{ item.public_dns_name }}"
          wait_for_connection:
            delay: 60
            timeout: 320
          loop: "{{ ec2.instances }}"

    - name: Configure instance(s)
      hosts: launched
      become: True
      gather_facts: True
      roles:
        - my_awesome_role
        - my_awesome_test

    - name: Terminate instances
      hosts: localhost
      tasks:
        - name: Terminate instances that were previously launched
          ec2:
            state: 'absent'
            instance_ids: '{{ ec2.instance_ids }}'

    # Start a few existing instances, run some tasks
    # and stop the instances

    - name: Start sandbox instances
      hosts: localhost
      gather_facts: false
      vars:
        instance_ids:
          - 'i-xxxxxx'
          - 'i-xxxxxx'
          - 'i-xxxxxx'
        region: us-east-1
      tasks:
        - name: Start the sandbox instances
          ec2:
            instance_ids: '{{ instance_ids }}'
            region: '{{ region }}'
            state: running
            wait: True
            vpc_subnet_id: subnet-29e63245
            assign_public_ip: yes
      roles:
        - do_neat_stuff
        - do_more_neat_stuff

    - name: Stop sandbox instances
      hosts: localhost
      gather_facts: false
      vars:
        instance_ids:
          - 'i-xxxxxx'
          - 'i-xxxxxx'
          - 'i-xxxxxx'
        region: us-east-1
      tasks:
        - name: Stop the sandbox instances
          ec2:
            instance_ids: '{{ instance_ids }}'
            region: '{{ region }}'
            state: stopped
            wait: True
            vpc_subnet_id: subnet-29e63245
            assign_public_ip: yes

    #
    # Start stopped instances specified by tag
    #
    - local_action:
        module: ec2
        instance_tags:
            Name: ExtraPower
        state: running

    #
    # Restart instances specified by tag
    #
    - local_action:
        module: ec2
        instance_tags:
            Name: ExtraPower
        state: restarted

    #
    # Enforce that 5 instances with a tag "foo" are running
    # (Highly recommended!)
    #

    - ec2:
        key_name: mykey
        instance_type: c1.medium
        image: ami-40603AD1
        wait: yes
        group: webserver
        instance_tags:
            foo: bar
        exact_count: 5
        count_tag: foo
        vpc_subnet_id: subnet-29e63245
        assign_public_ip: yes

    #
    # Enforce that 5 running instances named "database" with a "dbtype" of "postgres"
    #

    - ec2:
        key_name: mykey
        instance_type: c1.medium
        image: ami-40603AD1
        wait: yes
        group: webserver
        instance_tags:
            Name: database
            dbtype: postgres
        exact_count: 5
        count_tag:
            Name: database
            dbtype: postgres
        vpc_subnet_id: subnet-29e63245
        assign_public_ip: yes

    #
    # count_tag complex argument examples
    #

        # instances with tag foo
    - ec2:
        count_tag:
            foo:

        # instances with tag foo=bar
    - ec2:
        count_tag:
            foo: bar

        # instances with tags foo=bar & baz
    - ec2:
        count_tag:
            foo: bar
            baz:

        # instances with tags foo & bar & baz=bang
    - ec2:
        count_tag:
            - foo
            - bar
            - baz: bang

## Status

- This module is guaranteed to have backward compatible interface changes going forward. [stableinterface]
- This module is maintained by the Ansible Core Team. [core]

### Red Hat Support

More information about Red Hat’s support of this module is available from this Red Hat Knowledge Base article.

### Authors

- Tim Gerla (@tgerla)
- Lester Wade (@lwade)
- Seth Vidal (@skvidal)

Hint

If you notice any issues in this documentation, you can edit this document to improve it.