nOps Compute Copilot enhances ASG Integration to Spot-optimize ASG, Batch & ECS workloads

Copilot for ASG improves support for AI, ML, Data Science and other massively scaling workloads

Traditional Spot solutions replace instances individually after Auto Scaling Groups (ASGs) are launched, often leading to capacity issues, frequent restarts, and inefficiencies for rapidly scaling workloads.

We’re excited to unveil Compute Copilot’s new Managed Auto Scaling Groups (ASGs) feature, which lets AWS handle instance launches directly — extending the lifespan of Spot instances while greatly increasing instance diversification and cost efficiency.

What’s new: Copilot Managed ASGs

Your AWS ASGs can now directly launch Spot instances, guided by nOps to be cost-effective, diverse and reliable from the beginning. Leveraging advanced native AWS Auto Scaling Group features such as Mixed Instance Policy (MIP) and Instance Refresh, Copilot-Managed ASGs are continually kept in sync with the latest Spot Market recommendations from nOps.

This accelerates the speed of workload optimization, extends the runtime of Spot instances and minimizes restarts — for simpler, safer and more cost-effective operations.

This feature is gamechanging for Data Science, Machine Learning, AI, Batch, and other massively scaling workloads that require real-time performance. It also ensures compatibility for workloads that rely on ASG Start-up LifeCycle hooks, ensuring support for features like CodeDeploy without any changes on your end.

Greater savings for high-performance workloads

Most Spot solutions replace instances one at a time — an approach which is inefficient and reactive. In contrast, Copilot manages instances proactively, quickly, and in bulk using Instance Refresh during scale-out events.

This ensures the latest Spot Market recommendations are rapidly implemented across your workloads, ensuring you will realize significant savings even in cases such as a short-lived batch job that scales out massively for a short period of time.

Longer Spot runtime and higher reliability

The new Copilot Managed ASG approach sets a new standard beyond traditional Spot management solutions, which rely on frequent instance replacements. This can disrupt operations for certain types of workload architectures. In contrast, managed ASGs ensures you’re on a diverse portfolio of optimal Spot instances from the beginning — reducing replacement frequency, enhancing Spot stability and decreasing the operational overhead of managing ASGs.

Compatibility and ease of use across all your ASGs

Launched Spot instances now go through the LifeCycle hook natively. This ensures support for ASGs using tools and services like GitHub, GitLab, Jenkins, etc. without requiring any intervention on your part. As a result, Compute Copilot is now compatible over the full range of your ASGs for additional savings and ease of use.

How it Works

👁 Flow chart for Compute Copilot for ASG Lambda

• ASGs managed by Copilot are now converted to Mixed Instances Policy (MIP) ASGs, allowing nOps Compute Copilot to define Spot Instance Types this ASG can launch (up to around 40-50 diverse, cheap and safe instance types).
• Compute Copilot Lambda keeps Managed ASG MIP in sync with the latest Spot Market ML recommendations by nOps taking into account your Reserved Instances and Savings Plan data. As a result, during scale-out events, Copilot-Managed ASG launches a Spot instance that is cheaper than the On Demand instance this ASG was launching before configuring it to Compute Copilot.
• If there are OnDemand instances available for Spot migration running, or there are Spot instances that are at risk of interruption, Compute Copilot Lambda initiates an Instance Refresh to bring the ASG to the state approved by nOps Spot Market recommendations (i.e. launching a safe Spot instance to replace an unsafe Spot instance via Instance Refresh, an AWS ASG feature).

How to Get Started

To get started, follow the process used to configure Compute Copilot for ASG.

If configuring via the UI, select Fully Managed ASG on the ASG Configuration Screen.

👁 ASG Configuration Screen on Compute Copilot

If you’re configuring via Infrastructure as Code (IaC), you just need to add one additional tag (along with the two default tags described in the documentation): “nops_copilot_fully_managed_asg = true”.

If you’re already on nOps…

Have questions about the new feature? Need help getting started? Our dedicated support team is here for you. Simply reach out to your Customer Success Manager or visit our Help Center. If you’re not sure who your CSM is, send our Support Team an email.

If you’re new to nOps…

nOps was recently ranked #1 with five stars in G2’s cloud cost management category, and we optimize $1.5+ billion in cloud spend for our customers.

Join our customers using nOps to understand your cloud costs and leverage automation with complete confidence by booking a demo with one of our AWS experts.

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