Manage AWS EC2 Instances from the Command Line Using Python and Boto3

Introduction

Managing Amazon Web Services (AWS) EC2 instances from the command line can be quite convenient. In this blog post, we’ll demonstrate how to create a simple Python script using the Boto3 library, which (among other things) allows you to manage your EC2 instances directly from the command line. The skeleton of this script can even be adapted to other kinds of AWS python utilities. Here’s a link to the GitHub repo if you want to take a closer look at the finished product.

AWS Organizations Best Practices

Two years ago, I wrote down some thoughts about a strategy for AWS Accounts - it’s been a while and I figured it was time for an update on the topic.

In the original article, I talked about how many of our customers were starting with a single AWS account strategy - all resources, regardless of use in a single AWS account. While this strategy may seem sound at the time, it does have the potential to back you into what I like to call an ‘architectural corner’.

Gitlab and Cloudformation

GitLab is an integral part of our day-to-day workload on the AWS platform, as we manage well over 110K lines of CloudFormation code across close to one-hundred AWS accounts.

In addition to using it for our internal development purposes, we also use it to deploy and manage solutions for our managed and OrbitOps customers.

In this article, I’ll walk you through how we currently have GitLab deployed and how we integrate it into our customer’s AWS accounts.

Deploying VPC Prefix Lists with CloudFormation

Video Transcription

Okay, let’s let’s get started here.

What we’re gonna do tonight is actually work with relatively new feature. We’re gonna have a look at how we can create VPC prefix lists in Cloud Formation. I actually did a really short demo on this feature weeks ago when this was first announced at the end June. I guess it’s more than a couple weeks ago now, right?

Using the Amazon Workspaces Cost Optimizer

Given the current situation, it’s fair to say that most IT departments have experienced a jump in demand for remote workstations, and many are turning to cloud providers. AWS Workspaces is a convenient way to provide digital workspaces to your employees, but how can you be sure that you’re getting the most out of it?

Enter the AWS Workspace Cost Optimizer. This premade CloudFormation stack provided by AWS sets up a lambda function that checks the usage of each workspace on your account, then updates the billing method for that workstation to the most cost-effective plan. The function runs every 24 hours and generates a report detailing the changes made to your billing structure and the monthly usage of your workstations. With this running, you’ll be able to limit overspending on both underused and overused workspaces.

Using AWS Config to ensure EC2 Cost Optimizer is enabled

Wherever possible, organizations of all sizes are moving to remote work these days, which can lead to a spike in IT costs. To help mitigate this, we’re developing a suite of tests and checks to help our customers optimize their accounts.

One handy cost-cutting AWS service is the Compute Optimizer. When enabled, this feature automatically checks your EC2 instances for incorrectly provisioned machines. Once enough data has been collected, the service will make recommendations that should 1) help lower costs (over-provisioned) or 2) improve customer experience (under-provisioned).

Creating Multiple AWS Backup Vaults to protect resources

Ensuring you have regular backups, i.e., snapshots, is a fundamental step in creating reliable, fault-tolerant solutions on the AWS platform.

Luckily, AWS provides a fully managed, easy to use solution which allows us to manage snapshots for several AWS services centrally.

In this article, I’ll discuss how we deployed multiple AWS Backup vaults for a fully managed WordPress deployment.

Before we discuss the details of the AWS Backup solution itself, let’s have a quick look at the overall solution.