If your business load has specific patterns and is predictable, you can create a scheduled task to automate scaling. Auto Scaling automatically prepares computing resources to handle business load during peak hours and releases idle computing resources during off-peak hours.

Background information

Scheduled tasks can execute specified scaling rules at the specified point in time to automate scaling of computing resources. For more information, see Overview.

Create a scheduled task

You can create only a limited number of scheduled tasks within an Alibaba Cloud account in a region. To view the quota of scheduled tasks that you can create in a region, go to Quota Center.

  1. Log on to the Auto Scaling console.
  2. In the left-side navigation pane, choose Scaling Tasks > Scheduled Tasks.
  3. In the top navigation bar, select a region.
  4. Click Create Scheduled Task.
  5. In the dialog box that appears, configure the parameters of the scheduled task.
    The following table describes the parameters.
    Parameter Description
    Name The name of the scheduled task that you want to create.

    The name must be 2 to 64 characters in length, and can contain letters, digits, periods (.), underscores (_), and hyphens (-). The name must start with a letter or a digit.

    Description The description of the scheduled task that you want to create. This parameter is optional.

    The description must be 2 to 200 characters in length, and can contain information such as the purpose and feature of the scheduled task.

    Executed At The point in time at which the scheduled task is executed.
    Scaling Group The scaling group for which you want to create the scheduled task. Select an existing scaling group.
    Scaling Method The scaling method of the scheduled task. Valid values: Select Existing Scaling Rule and Configure Number of Instances in Scaling Group.
    • If you set the Scaling Method parameter to Select Existing Scaling Rule, you must select an existing simple scaling rule.
    • If you set the Scaling Method parameter to Configure Number of Instances in Scaling Group, you must specify a maximum number, a minimum number, or an expected number of instances.
      Note If you did not specify an expected number of instances when you created the scaling group, you can specify only a maximum number or a minimum number of instances after you set the Scaling Method parameter to Configure Number of Instances in Scaling Group.
    Retry Interval (Seconds) The retry interval of the scheduled task. Auto Scaling retries the scheduled task during the retry interval if the task fails to trigger scaling activities. This parameter is optional. Valid values: 0 to 1800.
    Recurrence The cycle for the scheduled task. You must also specify the time at which the scheduled task expires. The time must be later than the time at which the scheduled task is first executed.
  6. Click OK.

Modify or delete a scheduled task

If your scheduled task no longer meets your business requirements, you can modify the parameter settings of the scheduled task. You do not need to create a new scheduled task. If you no longer require your scheduled task, you can delete the scheduled task.

  1. Log on to the Auto Scaling console.
  2. In the left-side navigation pane, choose Scaling Tasks > Scheduled Tasks.
  3. In the top navigation bar, select a region.
  4. On the Scheduled Task page, find the scheduled task that you want to modify or delete, click Edit or Delete in the Actions column.
    Action Procedure
    Modify a scheduled task
    1. Find the scheduled task that you want to modify and click Edit in the Actions column.
    2. In the Edit Scheduled Task dialog box, modify one or more parameter settings.

      Take note that you cannot modify the setting of the Recurrence parameter. For information about other parameter settings, see Create a scheduled task.

    3. Click OK.
    Delete a scheduled task
    1. Find the scheduled task that you want to delete and click Delete in the Actions column.
    2. In the Delete Scheduled Task message, click OK.

Enable or disable a scheduled task

You can enable a scheduled task that is in the Disabled state. After you enable the task, the task can be executed at the specified point in time. If you temporarily do not need your scheduled task, you can also disable the scheduled task.
Note
  • You can enable only scheduled tasks that are in the Disabled state.
  • You can disable only scheduled tasks that are in the Enabled state.
  1. Log on to the Auto Scaling console.
  2. In the left-side navigation pane, choose Scaling Tasks > Scheduled Tasks.
  3. In the top navigation bar, select a region.
  4. Find the scheduled task that you want to enable or disable, and click Enable or Disable in the Actions column.
    • Find the scheduled task that you want to enable and click Enable in the Actions column. In the Enable Scheduled Task message, click OK.
    • Find the scheduled task that you want to disable, and click Disable in the Actions column. In the Disable Scheduled Task message, click OK.