Utility for EC2 Hibernation Testing

Python AWS EC2

A Python utility for testing and measuring EC2 instance hibernation performance and behavior.

Introduction

EC2 hibernation is a powerful feature that allows you to save the contents of your instance's memory to EBS and restore it. However, hibernation performance ("resume/stop times") and stability may vary based on EC2 instance configuration.

This utility provides automated testing and measurement capabilities to help optimize the EC2 hibernation setup.

Key Features

  • Automated Instance state monitoring and timing measurements
  • Support for multiple AWS regions

Usage Example

To use the utility, simply run the script and select the desired action:

python ec2_hibernation_test.py
# Select option 5 for hibernation test

Logging and Monitoring

The utility implements logging in UTC timezone to track the hibernation process:

logging.basicConfig(
    filename='logfile.log',
    level=logging.INFO,
    format='%(asctime)s - %(message)s',
    datefmt='%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S',
)

logging.Formatter.converter = time.gmtime

Results and Analysis

The utility provides detailed timing information for time taken to initiate hibernation and to resume hibernation

Upcoming Features

  • Instance Prerequisites Test: Validate instance configuration for hibernation compatibility
  • Playbook for tests: add test playbooks for automated scenarios testing
  • Enhanced Logging: More detailed and structured logging output
  • Multi-instance Support: Test hibernation across multiple instances simultaneously
  • Metadata API Test: Instance-level testing through the EC2 metadata service
  • WebSocket Connectivity Test: Monitor network connectivity during hibernation
  • hib-init Service Monitoring: Track the hibernation service status

Conclusion

This utility uses the EC2 API to monitor and test hibernation, operating at a different layer from the EC2 instance and the metadata API. The EC2 API manages actions externally, which can result in less accurate results compared to the instance's internal perspective.

Future updates will focus on implementing additional testing methods to provide more detailed insights and improve measurement accuracy, along with enhanced logging capabilities for better result analysis.

Resources

Implementation Details

The utility is built using boto3, AWS's Python SDK, and implements several key functions for managing EC2 instances:

Core Functions

  • describe_instance(): Retrieves detailed information about the EC2 instance
  • hibernate_instance(): Initiates the hibernation process
  • wait_for_state(): Monitors the instance state transitions
  • hibernate_test(): Orchestrates the complete hibernation test process