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)