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Manage Instances

This article introduces the basic concepts of instances, related constraints, and operations for creating, viewing, modifying, and deleting instances.

Instance​

Basic Concepts​

An instance is the top-level operational resource of the AutoMQ for Kafka product. A Kafka instance corresponds to an independent cluster of Apache Kafka®.

Lifecycle​

The complete lifecycle of an instance, from creation to release, is illustrated in the following diagram:

  • Creating: The initial instance creation operation is an asynchronous process. When the creation operation is completed, the instance is deployed asynchronously in the background. During this process, users cannot make any changes until the creation is finished.

  • Running: The current instance is in an active running state, capable of providing all messaging functions and API services normally.

  • In Progress: The current instance is undergoing maintenance, version upgrades, or other operations. Since these processes are asynchronous, changes must wait for completion. During this period, any modifications to the instance are prohibited.

  • Service Exception: The current instance cannot provide normal service due to execution of creation, maintenance changes, or underlying infrastructure anomalies.

  • Deleting: The current instance is being manually deleted and released. Instances in the process of deletion will no longer accept services, and resources and data will be cleaned up asynchronously in the background.

  • Deleted: The current instance has been manually deleted and released. Once released, the instance cannot be recovered.

Create Instance​

Operation Steps​

  1. To experience AutoMQ Kafka message sending and receiving, you first need to create a Kafka instance.

  2. Log in to the environment console and click on the instance list in the left navigation bar.

  3. On the instance list page, click "Create Instance." In the popup instance creation page, add the configuration with the following information.

Parameter
Description
Instance Name
  • Description: The instance name is an alias used to distinguish instances. User-defined input.
  • Restrictions: Refer to Restrictions▸ .
Instance Notes
  • Description: Instance notes are custom descriptions used to distinguish the purpose of the instance, usually inputting the business scenario. User-defined input.
  • Restrictions: Refer to Restrictions▸ .
Zone Information
  • Description: AutoMQ for Kafka instances currently support single-zone and three-zone deployments. Choose the appropriate form based on business characteristics.
  • Options:
    • Single Zone: All Kafka cluster nodes are deployed in the user-specified single zone.
    • Three Zones: All Kafka cluster nodes are evenly distributed across three user-specified zones.
Subnet Information
  • Description: AutoMQ for Kafka instances currently support setting up one subnet per zone. If you have multi-zone and subnet requirements, please Obtaining Services▸ .
  • Options: The user-provided subnet should contain sufficient available IPs (at least 100 recommended) to prevent the risk of instance expansion failure due to insufficient IPs in the future.
Compute Specifications
  • Description: Compute specifications represent the message sending and receiving throughput capacity of the current AutoMQ Kafka instance. Refer to the product billing instructions and evaluate based on the number of AKUs. For details, refer to Billing Instructions for BYOC▸ .
  • Restrictions: The AKU upper limit for instance creation is subject to version limitations. For details, refer to Restrictions▸ .
Storage Specifications
  • Description: AutoMQ Kafka uses object storage as the message storage medium, so there is no need to reserve storage capacity in advance. During usage, it is used and billed based on actual message capacity.
Node Type (Advanced Options)
  • Description: AutoMQ in the Alibaba Cloud environment allows users to freely choose between pay-as-you-go or annual/monthly subscription types for ECS. Users can select based on their operational habits.
  • Choices:
    • Pay-as-you-go ECS: Default recommendation. During creation, scaling, and deletion of instances, the AutoMQ environment console manages the lifecycle of ECS in sync.
    • Annual/Monthly Subscription ECS: Recommended for long-term, stable businesses with low discount rates. After choosing this type of ECS, users need to handle the cancellation and recycling of ECS instances manually after scaling down or deletion.

When using annual/monthly subscription ECS, AutoMQ will enable automatic renewal by default to prevent the unavailability of instances due to expiration.
When using annual/monthly subscription ECS, during scaling down or deletion of AutoMQ instances, there may be ECS instances pending for recycling. Users need to manually cancel and recycle these instances in the cloud provider console to avoid continuous charges.

  1. After selecting the appropriate parameters, click confirm to create the instance.

View Instance​

Steps to Operate​

  1. Go to the Instance List page.

  2. In the instance list, find the instance you need to update and click on the target instance name.

  3. On the Instance Details page, view the instance details information.

Instance Scaling​

Operational Steps​

  1. Navigate to the Instance List page.

  2. In the instance list, locate the instance that needs to be updated and click on the target instance name.

  3. On the Instance Details page, click the Reconfigure button, adjust the instance's compute specifications as needed, and click Confirm to complete the modifications.

Instance Version Upgrade​

Instance Version​

For the AutoMQ BYOC environment, refer to the Release Notes▸ for instance version management.

To upgrade the instance version, first ensure that the environment console is at the correct version. If not, upgrade the console first. For details on upgrading the environment console, refer to Upgrade Environment Version▸.

Steps​

  1. Navigate to the Instance List page.

  2. Locate the instance that needs to be updated from the list, and click on the instance name.

  3. On the Instance Details page, review the current instance version and the recommended upgrade version. Click the Upgrade button, confirm the new version, and proceed with the rolling upgrade.

During the AutoMQ instance upgrade, a rolling upgrade strategy is used to apply changes in batches, ensuring no disruption to message sending and receiving.

Deleting an Instance​

Deleting an instance refers to the process of removing an instance that is no longer needed, thus releasing the underlying resources.

Steps​

  1. Navigate to the Instance List page.

  2. Locate the instance that needs to be updated in the instance list, then click the action button dropdown on the right.

  3. Find the delete button, click delete, and confirm the deletion in the secondary confirmation prompt to complete the operation.