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amazon.aws.ec2_instance module – Create & manage EC2 instances

Note

This module is part of the amazon.aws collection (version 2.3.0).

You might already have this collection installed if you are using the ansible package. It is not included in ansible-core. To check whether it is installed, run ansible-galaxy collection list.

To install it, use: ansible-galaxy collection install amazon.aws.

To use it in a playbook, specify: amazon.aws.ec2_instance.

New in version 1.0.0: of amazon.aws

Synopsis

• Create and manage AWS EC2 instances.

• Note: This module does not support creating EC2 Spot instances. The amazon.aws.ec2 module can create and manage spot instances.

Requirements

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

• python >= 3.6

• boto3 >= 1.15.0

• botocore >= 1.18.0

Parameters

Parameter	Comments
availability_zone string	Specify an availability zone to use the default subnet it. Useful if not specifying the vpc_subnet_id parameter. If no subnet, ENI, or availability zone is provided, the default subnet in the default VPC will be used in the first AZ (alphabetically sorted).
aws_access_key aliases: ec2_access_key, 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. If profile is set this parameter is ignored. Passing the aws_access_key and profile options at the same time has been deprecated and the options will be made mutually exclusive after 2022-06-01.
aws_ca_bundle path	The location of a CA Bundle to use when validating SSL certificates. Not used by boto 2 based modules. Note: The CA Bundle is read ‘module’ side and may need to be explicitly copied from the controller if not run locally.
aws_config dictionary	A dictionary to modify the botocore configuration. Parameters can be found at https://botocore.amazonaws.com/v1/documentation/api/latest/reference/config.html#botocore.config.Config. Only the ‘user_agent’ key is used for boto modules. See http://boto.cloudhackers.com/en/latest/boto_config_tut.html#boto for more boto configuration.
aws_secret_key aliases: ec2_secret_key, 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. If profile is set this parameter is ignored. Passing the aws_secret_key and profile options at the same time has been deprecated and the options will be made mutually exclusive after 2022-06-01.
count integer added in 2.2.0 of amazon.aws	Number of instances to launch. Setting this value will result in always launching new instances. Mutually exclusive with exact_count.
cpu_credit_specification string	For T series instances, choose whether to allow increased charges to buy CPU credits if the default pool is depleted. Choose unlimited to enable buying additional CPU credits. Choices: unlimited standard
cpu_options dictionary	Reduce the number of vCPU exposed to the instance. Those parameters can only be set at instance launch. The two suboptions threads_per_core and core_count are mandatory. See https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/UserGuide/instance-optimize-cpu.html for combinations available.
core_count integer / required	Set the number of core to enable.
threads_per_core integer / required	Select the number of threads per core to enable. Disable or Enable Intel HT. Choices: 1 2
debug_botocore_endpoint_logs boolean	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. Choices: no ← (default) yes
detailed_monitoring boolean	Whether to allow detailed cloudwatch metrics to be collected, enabling more detailed alerting. Choices: no yes
ebs_optimized boolean	Whether instance is should use optimized EBS volumes, see https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/UserGuide/EBSOptimized.html. Choices: no yes
ec2_url aliases: aws_endpoint_url, endpoint_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 added in 2.2.0 of amazon.aws	An integer value which indicates how many instances that match the filters parameter should be running. Instances are either created or terminated based on this value. If termination takes place, least recently created instances will be terminated based on Launch Time. Mutually exclusive with count, instance_ids.
filters dictionary	A dict of filters to apply when deciding whether existing instances match and should be altered. Each dict item consists of a filter key and a filter value. See https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/APIReference/API_DescribeInstances.html. for possible filters. Filter names and values are case sensitive. By default, instances are filtered for counting by their “Name” tag, base AMI, state (running, by default), and subnet ID. Any queryable filter can be used. Good candidates are specific tags, SSH keys, or security groups.
image dictionary	An image to use for the instance. The amazon.aws.ec2_ami_info module may be used to retrieve images. One of image or image_id are required when instance is not already present.
id string	The AMI ID.
kernel string	a string AKI to override the AMI kernel.
ramdisk string	Overrides the AMI’s default ramdisk ID.
image_id string	ami ID to use for the instance. One of image or image_id are required when instance is not already present. This is an alias for image.id.
instance_ids list / elements=string	If you specify one or more instance IDs, only instances that have the specified IDs are returned. Mutually exclusive with exact_count.
instance_initiated_shutdown_behavior string	Whether to stop or terminate an instance upon shutdown. Choices: stop terminate
instance_role string	The ARN or name of an EC2-enabled instance role to be used. If a name is not provided in arn format then the ListInstanceProfiles permission must also be granted. https://docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/APIReference/API_ListInstanceProfiles.html If no full ARN is provided, the role with a matching name will be used from the active AWS account.
instance_type string	Instance type to use for the instance, see https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/UserGuide/instance-types.html Only required when instance is not already present. Default: “t2.micro”
key_name string	Name of the SSH access key to assign to the instance - must exist in the region the instance is created.
launch_template dictionary	The EC2 launch template to base instance configuration on.
id string	the ID of the launch template (optional if name is specified).
name string	the pretty name of the launch template (optional if id is specified).
version string	the specific version of the launch template to use. If unspecified, the template default is chosen.
metadata_options dictionary added in 2.0.0 of amazon.aws	Modify the metadata options for the instance. See https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/UserGuide/ec2-instance-metadata.html for more information. The two suboptions http_endpoint and http_tokens are supported.
http_endpoint string	Enables or disables the HTTP metadata endpoint on instances. If specified a value of disabled, metadata of the instance will not be accessible. Choices: enabled ← (default) disabled
http_tokens string	Set the state of token usage for instance metadata requests. If the state is optional (v1 and v2), instance metadata can be retrieved with or without a signed token header on request. If the state is required (v2), a signed token header must be sent with any instance metadata retrieval requests. Choices: optional ← (default) required
name string	The Name tag for the instance.
network dictionary	Either a dictionary containing the key ‘interfaces’ corresponding to a list of network interface IDs or containing specifications for a single network interface. Use the amazon.aws.ec2_eni module to create ENIs with special settings.
assign_public_ip boolean	when true assigns a public IP address to the interface Choices: no yes
delete_on_termination boolean	Delete the interface when the instance it is attached to is terminated. Choices: no yes
description string	a description for the network interface
device_index integer	The index of the interface to modify
groups list / elements=string	a list of security group IDs to attach to the interface
interfaces list / elements=string	a list of ENI IDs (strings) or a list of objects containing the key id.
ipv6_addresses list / elements=string	a list of IPv6 addresses to assign to the network interface
private_ip_address string	an IPv4 address to assign to the interface
private_ip_addresses list / elements=string	a list of IPv4 addresses to assign to the network interface
source_dest_check boolean	controls whether source/destination checking is enabled on the interface Choices: no yes
subnet_id string	the subnet to connect the network interface to
placement_group string	The placement group that needs to be assigned to the instance
profile aliases: aws_profile string	Using profile will override aws_access_key, aws_secret_key and security_token and support for passing them at the same time as profile has been deprecated. aws_access_key, aws_secret_key and security_token will be made mutually exclusive with profile after 2022-06-01.
purge_tags boolean	Delete any tags not specified in the task that are on the instance. This means you have to specify all the desired tags on each task affecting an instance. Choices: no ← (default) yes
region aliases: aws_region, ec2_region string	The AWS region to use. If not specified then the value of the AWS_REGION or EC2_REGION environment variable, if any, is used. See http://docs.aws.amazon.com/general/latest/gr/rande.html#ec2_region
security_group string	A security group ID or name. Mutually exclusive with security_groups.
security_groups list / elements=string	A list of security group IDs or names (strings). Mutually exclusive with security_group.
security_token aliases: aws_security_token, access_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. If profile is set this parameter is ignored. Passing the security_token and profile options at the same time has been deprecated and the options will be made mutually exclusive after 2022-06-01.
state string	Goal state for the instances. state=present: ensures instances exist, but does not guarantee any state (e.g. running). Newly-launched instances will be run by EC2. state=running: state=present + ensures the instances are running state=started: state=running + waits for EC2 status checks to report OK if wait=true state=stopped: ensures an existing instance is stopped. state=rebooted: convenience alias for state=stopped immediately followed by state=running state=restarted: convenience alias for state=stopped immediately followed by state=started state=terminated: ensures an existing instance is terminated. state=absent: alias for state=terminated Choices: present ← (default) terminated running started stopped restarted rebooted absent
tags dictionary	A hash/dictionary of tags to add to the new instance or to add/remove from an existing one.
tenancy string	What type of tenancy to allow an instance to use. Default is shared tenancy. Dedicated tenancy will incur additional charges. Choices: dedicated default
termination_protection boolean	Whether to enable termination protection. This module will not terminate an instance with termination protection active, it must be turned off first. Choices: no yes
tower_callback dictionary	Preconfigured user-data to enable an instance to perform a Tower callback (Linux only). Mutually exclusive with user_data. For Windows instances, to enable remote access via Ansible set tower_callback.windows to true, and optionally set an admin password. If using ‘windows’ and ‘set_password’, callback to Tower will not be performed but the instance will be ready to receive winrm connections from Ansible.
host_config_key string	Host configuration secret key generated by the Tower job template.
job_template_id string	Either the integer ID of the Tower Job Template, or the name (name supported only for Tower 3.2+).
tower_address string	IP address or DNS name of Tower server. Must be accessible via this address from the VPC that this instance will be launched in.
user_data string	Opaque blob of data which is made available to the ec2 instance
validate_certs boolean	When set to “no”, SSL certificates will not be validated for communication with the AWS APIs. Choices: no yes ← (default)
volumes list / elements=dictionary	A list of block device mappings, by default this will always use the AMI root device so the volumes option is primarily for adding more storage. A mapping contains the (optional) keys device_name, virtual_name, ebs.volume_type, ebs.volume_size, ebs.kms_key_id, ebs.iops, and ebs.delete_on_termination. Set ebs.throughput value requires botocore>=1.19.27. For more information about each parameter, see https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/APIReference/API_BlockDeviceMapping.html.
vpc_subnet_id aliases: subnet_id string	The subnet ID in which to launch the instance (VPC) If none is provided, amazon.aws.ec2_instance will chose the default zone of the default VPC.
wait boolean	Whether or not to wait for the desired state (use wait_timeout to customize this). Choices: no yes ← (default)
wait_timeout integer	How long to wait (in seconds) for the instance to finish booting/terminating. Default: 600

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_PROFILE or AWS_DEFAULT_PROFILE, 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, AWS_CA_BUNDLE

• When no credentials are explicitly provided the AWS SDK (boto3) that Ansible uses will fall back to its configuration files (typically ~/.aws/credentials). See https://boto3.amazonaws.com/v1/documentation/api/latest/guide/credentials.html for more information.

• Modules based on the original AWS SDK (boto) may read their default configuration from different files. See https://boto.readthedocs.io/en/latest/boto_config_tut.html for more information.

• AWS_REGION or EC2_REGION can be typically be used to specify the AWS region, when required, but this can also be defined in the configuration files.

Examples

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

- name: Terminate every running instance in a region. Use with EXTREME caution.
  amazon.aws.ec2_instance:
    state: absent
    filters:
      instance-state-name: running

- name: restart a particular instance by its ID
  amazon.aws.ec2_instance:
    state: restarted
    instance_ids:
      - i-12345678

- name: start an instance with a public IP address
  amazon.aws.ec2_instance:
    name: "public-compute-instance"
    key_name: "prod-ssh-key"
    vpc_subnet_id: subnet-5ca1ab1e
    instance_type: c5.large
    security_group: default
    network:
      assign_public_ip: true
    image_id: ami-123456
    tags:
      Environment: Testing

- name: start an instance and Add EBS
  amazon.aws.ec2_instance:
    name: "public-withebs-instance"
    vpc_subnet_id: subnet-5ca1ab1e
    instance_type: t2.micro
    key_name: "prod-ssh-key"
    security_group: default
    volumes:
      - device_name: /dev/sda1
        ebs:
          volume_size: 16
          delete_on_termination: true

- name: start an instance with a cpu_options
  amazon.aws.ec2_instance:
    name: "public-cpuoption-instance"
    vpc_subnet_id: subnet-5ca1ab1e
    tags:
      Environment: Testing
    instance_type: c4.large
    volumes:
    - device_name: /dev/sda1
      ebs:
        delete_on_termination: true
    cpu_options:
        core_count: 1
        threads_per_core: 1

- name: start an instance and have it begin a Tower callback on boot
  amazon.aws.ec2_instance:
    name: "tower-callback-test"
    key_name: "prod-ssh-key"
    vpc_subnet_id: subnet-5ca1ab1e
    security_group: default
    tower_callback:
      # IP or hostname of tower server
      tower_address: 1.2.3.4
      job_template_id: 876
      host_config_key: '[secret config key goes here]'
    network:
      assign_public_ip: true
    image_id: ami-123456
    cpu_credit_specification: unlimited
    tags:
      SomeThing: "A value"

- name: start an instance with ENI (An existing ENI ID is required)
  amazon.aws.ec2_instance:
    name: "public-eni-instance"
    key_name: "prod-ssh-key"
    vpc_subnet_id: subnet-5ca1ab1e
    network:
      interfaces:
        - id: "eni-12345"
    tags:
      Env: "eni_on"
    volumes:
    - device_name: /dev/sda1
      ebs:
        delete_on_termination: true
    instance_type: t2.micro
    image_id: ami-123456

- name: add second ENI interface
  amazon.aws.ec2_instance:
    name: "public-eni-instance"
    network:
      interfaces:
        - id: "eni-12345"
        - id: "eni-67890"
    image_id: ami-123456
    tags:
      Env: "eni_on"
    instance_type: t2.micro

- name: start an instance with metadata options
  amazon.aws.ec2_instance:
    name: "public-metadataoptions-instance"
    vpc_subnet_id: subnet-5calable
    instance_type: t3.small
    image_id: ami-123456
    tags:
      Environment: Testing
    metadata_options:
      http_endpoint: enabled
      http_tokens: optional

# ensure number of instances running with a tag matches exact_count
- name: start multiple instances
  amazon.aws.ec2_instance:
    instance_type: t3.small
    image_id: ami-123456
    exact_count: 5
    region: us-east-2
    vpc_subnet_id: subnet-0123456
    network:
      assign_public_ip: yes
      security_group: default
    tags:
      foo: bar

# launches multiple instances - specific number of instances
- name: start specific number of multiple instances
  amazon.aws.ec2_instance:
    instance_type: t3.small
    image_id: ami-123456
    count: 3
    region: us-east-2
    network:
      assign_public_ip: yes
      security_group: default
      vpc_subnet_id: subnet-0123456
    state: present
    tags:
      foo: bar

Return Values

Common return values are documented here, the following are the fields unique to this module:

Key	Description
instances complex	a list of ec2 instances Returned: when wait == true
ami_launch_index integer	The AMI launch index, which can be used to find this instance in the launch group. Returned: always Sample: 0
architecture string	The architecture of the image Returned: always Sample: “x86_64”
block_device_mappings complex	Any block device mapping entries for the instance. Returned: always
device_name string	The device name exposed to the instance (for example, /dev/sdh or xvdh). Returned: always Sample: “/dev/sdh”
ebs complex	Parameters used to automatically set up EBS volumes when the instance is launched. Returned: always
attach_time string	The time stamp when the attachment initiated. Returned: always Sample: “2017-03-23T22:51:24+00:00”
delete_on_termination boolean	Indicates whether the volume is deleted on instance termination. Returned: always Sample: true
status string	The attachment state. Returned: always Sample: “attached”
volume_id string	The ID of the EBS volume Returned: always Sample: “vol-12345678”
client_token string	The idempotency token you provided when you launched the instance, if applicable. Returned: always Sample: “mytoken”
ebs_optimized boolean	Indicates whether the instance is optimized for EBS I/O. Returned: always Sample: false
hypervisor string	The hypervisor type of the instance. Returned: always Sample: “xen”
iam_instance_profile complex	The IAM instance profile associated with the instance, if applicable. Returned: always
arn string	The Amazon Resource Name (ARN) of the instance profile. Returned: always Sample: “arn:aws:iam::000012345678:instance-profile/myprofile”
id string	The ID of the instance profile Returned: always Sample: “JFJ397FDG400FG9FD1N”
image_id string	The ID of the AMI used to launch the instance. Returned: always Sample: “ami-0011223344”
instance_id string	The ID of the instance. Returned: always Sample: “i-012345678”
instance_type string	The instance type size of the running instance. Returned: always Sample: “t2.micro”
key_name string	The name of the key pair, if this instance was launched with an associated key pair. Returned: always Sample: “my-key”
launch_time string	The time the instance was launched. Returned: always Sample: “2017-03-23T22:51:24+00:00”
monitoring complex	The monitoring for the instance. Returned: always
state string	Indicates whether detailed monitoring is enabled. Otherwise, basic monitoring is enabled. Returned: always Sample: “disabled”
network.source_dest_check boolean	Indicates whether source/destination checking is enabled. Returned: always Sample: true
network_interfaces complex	One or more network interfaces for the instance. Returned: always
association complex	The association information for an Elastic IPv4 associated with the network interface. Returned: always
ip_owner_id string	The ID of the owner of the Elastic IP address. Returned: always Sample: “amazon”
public_dns_name string	The public DNS name. Returned: always Sample: “”
public_ip string	The public IP address or Elastic IP address bound to the network interface. Returned: always Sample: “1.2.3.4”
attachment complex	The network interface attachment. Returned: always
attach_time string	The time stamp when the attachment initiated. Returned: always Sample: “2017-03-23T22:51:24+00:00”
attachment_id string	The ID of the network interface attachment. Returned: always Sample: “eni-attach-3aff3f”
delete_on_termination boolean	Indicates whether the network interface is deleted when the instance is terminated. Returned: always Sample: true
device_index integer	The index of the device on the instance for the network interface attachment. Returned: always Sample: 0
status string	The attachment state. Returned: always Sample: “attached”
description string	The description. Returned: always Sample: “My interface”
groups list / elements=dictionary	One or more security groups. Returned: always
group_id string	The ID of the security group. Returned: always Sample: “sg-abcdef12”
group_name string	The name of the security group. Returned: always Sample: “mygroup”
ipv6_addresses list / elements=dictionary	One or more IPv6 addresses associated with the network interface. Returned: always
ipv6_address string	The IPv6 address. Returned: always Sample: “2001:0db8:85a3:0000:0000:8a2e:0370:7334”
mac_address string	The MAC address. Returned: always Sample: “00:11:22:33:44:55”
network_interface_id string	The ID of the network interface. Returned: always Sample: “eni-01234567”
owner_id string	The AWS account ID of the owner of the network interface. Returned: always Sample: “01234567890”
private_ip_address string	The IPv4 address of the network interface within the subnet. Returned: always Sample: “10.0.0.1”
private_ip_addresses list / elements=dictionary	The private IPv4 addresses associated with the network interface. Returned: always
association complex	The association information for an Elastic IP address (IPv4) associated with the network interface. Returned: always
ip_owner_id string	The ID of the owner of the Elastic IP address. Returned: always Sample: “amazon”
public_dns_name string	The public DNS name. Returned: always Sample: “”
public_ip string	The public IP address or Elastic IP address bound to the network interface. Returned: always Sample: “1.2.3.4”
primary boolean	Indicates whether this IPv4 address is the primary private IP address of the network interface. Returned: always Sample: true
private_ip_address string	The private IPv4 address of the network interface. Returned: always Sample: “10.0.0.1”
source_dest_check boolean	Indicates whether source/destination checking is enabled. Returned: always Sample: true
status string	The status of the network interface. Returned: always Sample: “in-use”
subnet_id string	The ID of the subnet for the network interface. Returned: always Sample: “subnet-0123456”
vpc_id string	The ID of the VPC for the network interface. Returned: always Sample: “vpc-0123456”
placement complex	The location where the instance launched, if applicable. Returned: always
availability_zone string	The Availability Zone of the instance. Returned: always Sample: “ap-southeast-2a”
group_name string	The name of the placement group the instance is in (for cluster compute instances). Returned: always Sample: “”
tenancy string	The tenancy of the instance (if the instance is running in a VPC). Returned: always Sample: “default”
private_dns_name string	The private DNS name. Returned: always Sample: “ip-10-0-0-1.ap-southeast-2.compute.internal”
private_ip_address string	The IPv4 address of the network interface within the subnet. Returned: always Sample: “10.0.0.1”
product_codes list / elements=dictionary	One or more product codes. Returned: always
product_code_id string	The product code. Returned: always Sample: “aw0evgkw8ef3n2498gndfgasdfsd5cce”
product_code_type string	The type of product code. Returned: always Sample: “marketplace”
public_dns_name string	The public DNS name assigned to the instance. Returned: always
public_ip_address string	The public IPv4 address assigned to the instance Returned: always Sample: “52.0.0.1”
root_device_name string	The device name of the root device Returned: always Sample: “/dev/sda1”
root_device_type string	The type of root device used by the AMI. Returned: always Sample: “ebs”
security_groups list / elements=dictionary	One or more security groups for the instance. Returned: always
group_id string	The ID of the security group. Returned: always Sample: “sg-0123456”
group_name string	The name of the security group. Returned: always Sample: “my-security-group”
state complex	The current state of the instance. Returned: always
code integer	The low byte represents the state. Returned: always Sample: 16
name string	The name of the state. Returned: always Sample: “running”
state_transition_reason string	The reason for the most recent state transition. Returned: always
subnet_id string	The ID of the subnet in which the instance is running. Returned: always Sample: “subnet-00abcdef”
tags dictionary	Any tags assigned to the instance. Returned: always
virtualization_type string	The type of virtualization of the AMI. Returned: always Sample: “hvm”
vpc_id dictionary	The ID of the VPC the instance is in. Returned: always Sample: “vpc-0011223344”

Authors

• Ryan Scott Brown (@ryansb)

Collection links

Issue Tracker Repository (Sources)