Criterion-based computing instance activation

Abstract

Method and apparatus for activating a computing instance are disclosed. In the method and apparatus, a computing instance is activated if received traffic addressed to the computing instance is determined to satisfy one or more conditions for computing instance activation. Following activation, the data may be sent to the computing instance for processing.

1 - 20 . (canceled) 
     
     
         21 . A computer-implemented method comprising:
 obtaining an activation criterion specifying a condition for activating a computing instance hosted by a server and including a virtual network interface;   obtaining network traffic at a first network interface, the network traffic including information satisfying the condition for the activation criterion;   as a result of determining that the computing instance is not active, evaluating the network traffic to generate a determination that the activation criterion is met based at least in part on the condition;   activating the computing instance based at least in part on the determination; and   providing a portion of the network traffic to the virtual network interface of the computing instance.   
     
     
         22 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 21 , wherein the condition for activating the computing instance includes at least one of: a protocol type, a packet count, a packet content, a source port address, a destination port address, a network address, a host address, a time of receipt, and a rate of receipt associated with one or more packets of the network traffic. 
     
     
         23 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 21 , wherein activating the computing instance further comprises causing the computing instance to exit a hibernation state. 
     
     
         24 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 23 , wherein the computer-implemented method further comprises:
 determining that the computing instance failed to exit the hibernation state; and   modifying configuration information associated with the computing instance to enable activation of the computing instance based at least in part on the network traffic.   
     
     
         25 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 21 , wherein the method further comprises:
 transmitting an indication that the activation criterion is met to an endpoint associated with a customer that programmatically manages the computing instance; and   wherein activating the computing instance based at least in part on the determination further comprises activating the computing instance in response to receiving an approval from the endpoint based at least in part on the indication.   
     
     
         26 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 21 , wherein the first network interface is provided by a monitoring entity responsible for providing the portion of the network traffic to the computing instance in response to the activation criterion being satisfied. 
     
     
         27 . A system, comprising:
 one or more processors; and   memory storing instructions that, as a result of being executed by the one or more processors, cause the system to:
 obtain, through a user interface, a criterion for activating an instance; 
 cause the instance to enter a hibernation state in response to a command obtained through the user interface; 
 obtain at a first network interface traffic directed to the instance; 
 generate a determination that a first portion of the traffic satisfies the criterion; 
 activate the instance by at least causing the instance to transition from the hibernation state to an active state based at least in part on the determination; and 
 provide a second portion of the traffic to a second network interface associated with the instance. 
   
     
     
         28 . The system of  claim 27 , wherein the memory further includes instructions that, as a result of being executed by the one or more processors, cause the system to:
 determine that the computing instance failed to exit the hibernation state; and   modify configuration information associated with the computing instance to enable activation of the computing instance based at least in part on the network traffic.   
     
     
         29 . The system of  claim 27 , wherein the memory further includes instructions that, as a result of being executed by the one or more processors, cause the system to obtain, through the user interface, configuration information associated with the instance, where the configuration information indicates attributes of the instance. 
     
     
         30 . The system of  claim 27 , wherein the memory further includes instructions that, as a result of being executed by the one or more processors, cause the system to generate historical activation times associated with the instance based at least in part on a previous activation of the instance. 
     
     
         31 . The system of  claim 27 , wherein the instructions that cause the system to obtain the criterion further include instructions that, as a result of being executed by the one or more processors, cause the system to obtain the criterion in response to a customer interacting with the interface; and
 wherein the memory further includes instructions that, as a result of being executed by the one or more processors, cause the system to update the interface to provide an indication to the customer that the criterion is satisfied.   
     
     
         32 . The system of  claim 31 , wherein the instructions that cause the system to activate the instance further include instructions that, as a result of being executed by the one or more processors, cause the system to active the instance in response to an acknowledgement received from the customer. 
     
     
         33 . The system of  claim 27 , wherein the memory further includes instructions that, as a result of being executed by the one or more processors, cause the system to:
 monitor utilization of the instance; and   in response to the utilization being at a value relative to a threshold, cause the instance to transition to the hibernation state.   
     
     
         34 . A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing thereon executable instructions that, as a result of being executed by one or more processors of a computer system, cause the computer system to:
 obtain a data packet at a first interface directed at a second interface associated with a computing instance;   determine that the data packet includes information satisfying a condition to transition the computing instance from a hibernated state to an active state; and   transmit a command over a network to a physical host, the command, as a result of being processed by the physical host, causes the physical host to transition the computing instance to the active state.   
     
     
         35 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 34 , wherein the instructions further comprise instructions that, as a result of being executed by the one or more processors, cause the computer system to obtain information indicating the condition from a first service. 
     
     
         36 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 35 , wherein the physical host is provided by a second service. 
     
     
         37 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 34 , wherein the condition specifies that the information includes at least one of: a network address, a host address, a time, a port, and an identifier. 
     
     
         38 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 34 , wherein the instructions that cause the computer system to determine that the data packet includes the information satisfying the condition further comprise instructions that, as a result of being executed by the one or more processors, cause the computer system to determine that a lifespan timer included in the data packet is not expired. 
     
     
         39 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 34 , wherein the instructions further comprise instructions that, as a result of being executed by the one or more processors, cause the computer system to:
 determine that a lifespan timer included in the data packet has expired; and   discard the data packet.   
     
     
         40 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 39 , wherein the instructions further comprise instructions that, as a result of being executed by the one or more processors, cause the computer system to cause a first service to provide an indication to a customer that the data packet satisfies the condition.