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This example demonstrates the ECS Managed Instances capacity provider, which allows ECS to manage EC2 instance fleets directly without requiring a separate Auto Scaling Group.
What is created
ECS cluster with a Managed Instances capacity provider
EC2 instance fleet managed by ECS (instance requirements-based selection)
IAM roles: infrastructure role and node role with instance profile
Security group for managed instances
ECS service running on the managed fleet
VPC with private/public subnets
Code module "ecs_cluster" { source = "terraform-aws-modules/ecs/aws//modules/cluster" name = local . name capacity_providers = { mi-example = { managed_instances_provider = { instance_launch_template = { instance_requirements = { instance_generations = [ "current" ] cpu_manufacturers = [ "intel" , "amd" ] memory_mib = { max = 8192 min = 1024 } vcpu_count = { max = 4 min = 1 } } network_configuration = { subnets = module.vpc.private_subnets } storage_configuration = { storage_size_gib = 30 } } } } } default_capacity_provider_strategy = { mi-example = { weight = 100 base = 1 } } # Security group for managed instances vpc_id = module . vpc . vpc_id security_group_ingress_rules = { alb-http = { from_port = local.container_port description = "Service port" referenced_security_group_id = module.alb.security_group_id } } security_group_egress_rules = { all = { cidr_ipv4 = "0.0.0.0/0" , ip_protocol = "-1" } } tags = local . tags }
module "ecs_service" { source = "terraform-aws-modules/ecs/aws//modules/service" name = local . name cluster_arn = module . ecs_cluster . arn # Run on Managed Instances requires_compatibilities = [ "MANAGED_INSTANCES" ] launch_type = "EC2" network_mode = "awsvpc" cpu = 512 memory = 512 container_definitions = { (local . container_name ) = { image = "public.ecr.aws/aws-containers/ecsdemo-frontend:776fd50" cpu = 256 memory = 256 portMappings = [{ name = local.container_name containerPort = local.container_port protocol = "tcp" }] readonlyRootFilesystem = false } } load_balancer = { service = { target_group_arn = module.alb.target_groups[ "ex-ecs" ].arn container_name = local.container_name container_port = local.container_port } } subnet_ids = module . vpc . private_subnets vpc_id = module . vpc . vpc_id security_group_ingress_rules = { alb_port = { from_port = local.container_port description = "Service port" referenced_security_group_id = module.alb.security_group_id } } security_group_egress_rules = { all = { cidr_ipv4 = "0.0.0.0/0" , ip_protocol = "-1" } } tags = local . tags }
Key highlights
Instance requirements : Instead of specifying instance types, you specify CPU/memory/generation requirements and ECS selects matching instance types.No ASG required : ECS Managed Instances handles the fleet lifecycle — no separate terraform-aws-autoscaling module needed.Security group on the cluster : The cluster module creates the security group for the managed instances (unlike EC2 ASG where the SG is on the ASG).requires_compatibilities = ["MANAGED_INSTANCES"]
Managed Instances Guide Detailed guide with IAM role requirements and configuration options.
EC2 Autoscaling Example Alternative approach using EC2 Auto Scaling Groups.
