AWS OpsWorks Stacks allows us to control every aspect of our application’s configuration to match the needs, processes, and tools. Bobcares offers assistance with queries like these as a part of our AWS Support Service.

AWS OpsWorks Stacks

We can manage servers and applications on AWS and on-premises using AWS OpsWorks Stacks. OpsWorks Stacks enables us to configure automatic server scaling according to predetermined schedules or in response to fluctuating traffic levels. We can also execute Chef recipes using Chef Solo. This obviously enables automation of processes like installing packages, configuring software, and lot more.

Stack: The top-level AWS OpsWorks Stacks entity is called the stack. Basically, it stands for a group of instances that needs collective management. These instances also have a shared function. We can use the stack commands of AWS OpsWorks Stacks to carry out a variety of operations on the stack’s instances.

Benefits of AWS OpsWorks Stacks

• It allows the configuration of the app environment just like the application source code.
• Also supports a wide range of architectures, including any software with a scripted installation and everything from basic web applications to extremely complex custom applications.
• Each new instance that comes online is built to specification automatically and thus can change its configuration in response to system events.
• AWS OpsWorks Stacks supports any server including Linux, Windows, existing EC2 instances, or servers on the user’s data center.
• We can grant AWS IAM users access to specific stacks, hence making management of multi-user environments easier.

Stack Commands

We can use the following stack commands to carry out a variety of operations on the instances in a stack. On the Stack page, firstly, select Run Command to execute these stack commands.

1. Update Custom Cookbooks: This command brings the most recent version of the repository’s custom cookbooks to the instances. This command will not run the recipes. We have to use Execute Recipes, Setup, or Configure stack commands to run the updated recipes.
2. Execute Recipes: This command executes a specified set of recipes on the instance.
3. Setup: The command executes the instance’s Setup recipes.
4. Configure: Executes the instance’s Configure recipes.

Now let’s see some of the stack commands our Support team lists that can only execute on Linux-based stacks.

1. Install Dependencies: This command will install the instance’s packages in AWS OpsWorks Stacks.
2. Update Dependencies: It will regularly install package and operating system updates.
3. Upgrade Operating System: Updates the Amazon Linux operating systems on the instances to the most recent version.
4. Comment: This optional command enters the custom remarks we like to add.
5. Recipes to execute: Only if you choose the Execute Recipes command does this setting appear. Provide the recipes so that it can execute using the standard cookbook_name::recipe_name format. We can use commas to separate multiple recipes. AWS OpsWorks Stacks executes them in the order.
6. Allow reboot: This is another optional command. It appears only if we select the Upgrade Operating System command. The default value is Yes, which directs AWS OpsWorks Stacks to reboot the instances after installing the upgrade.
7. Instances: An optional command which specifies the instances on which to execute the command.
8. Custom Chef JSON: We need to choose Advanced to display this optional command, which allows us to specify custom JSON attributes to be incorporated into the stack configuration and deployment attributes.

[Looking for a solution to another question? We can help you 24/7]

Conclusion

To conclude, our Support team went over the AWS OpsWorks Stacks details, including its benefits and stack commands. We also got a quick look at stack commands that can only execute on Linux-based stacks.