OCI Autoscaling Config Builder

About This Tool

OCI autoscaling automatically adjusts the number of compute instances in an instance pool based on performance metrics or schedules. Autoscaling configurations consist of policies that define scaling triggers, cooldown periods, capacity limits, and scaling increments. There are three policy types: metric-based (scale on CPU, memory, or custom metrics), schedule-based (scale at specific times), and threshold-based. This builder helps you create autoscaling configurations with correct policy parameters, instance pool references, and performance thresholds that balance responsiveness with cost.

When to Use This Tool

• •Building a metric-based autoscaling policy that adds instances when average CPU exceeds 70% and removes them below 30%
• •Creating schedule-based policies that scale up before known traffic peaks and scale down during off-hours to save costs
• •Configuring cooldown periods and scaling increments to prevent thrashing when metrics oscillate around thresholds
• •Generating autoscaling configurations for instance pools that maintain a minimum capacity for high availability while scaling for demand

Frequently Asked Questions

What metrics can trigger OCI autoscaling?

OCI autoscaling supports CPU utilization and memory utilization as built-in metrics. For custom metrics, you can integrate with OCI Monitoring and create alarms that trigger scaling actions via OCI Functions or the Notifications service. The built-in metrics are sampled at 1-minute intervals and evaluated against your threshold over a configurable window, typically 5 or 10 minutes, to avoid scaling on momentary spikes.

How do cooldown periods prevent scaling thrashing?

Cooldown periods define a waiting time after a scaling action during which no additional scaling occurs. This prevents a cycle where adding instances drops CPU utilization, which triggers a scale-in, which raises CPU, which triggers a scale-out. OCI recommends setting cooldown periods long enough for new instances to start handling traffic and for metrics to stabilize — typically 300 seconds (5 minutes) for scale-out and 300 seconds for scale-in. You can set different cooldown values for each direction.

Can I combine schedule-based and metric-based autoscaling?

Yes, you can attach multiple autoscaling policies to an instance pool. Schedule-based policies set predictable capacity floors (e.g., minimum 10 instances during business hours), while metric-based policies handle unexpected demand spikes above that floor. When both types are active, OCI uses the higher capacity requirement. This combination is ideal for workloads with known daily patterns and occasional unpredictable bursts.

Related Learning Guides

• OCI Compute Shapes & Instances18 min read
• OCI Cost Optimization Strategies18 min read