spot-instance-strategy

name	spot-instance-strategy
enabled	true
description	Use when performing spot instance strategy — designs a spot instance strategy for fault-tolerant and flexible workloads to achieve significant cost savings. Covers workload suitability assessment, instance diversification, interruption handling, capacity management, and hybrid strategies combining spot with on-demand and reserved instances.
required_connections	[{"prefix":"cloud-provider","label":"Cloud Provider"}]
config_fields	[{"key":"cloud_provider","label":"Cloud Provider","required":true,"placeholder":"e.g., AWS, GCP, Azure"},{"key":"workload_type","label":"Primary Workload Type","required":true,"placeholder":"e.g., batch processing, CI/CD, web serving, ML training"},{"key":"interruption_tolerance","label":"Interruption Tolerance","required":false,"placeholder":"e.g., high (batch), medium (stateless web), low"}]
features	["COST_MANAGEMENT","COMPUTE","FINOPS"]

Spot Instance Strategy

Phase 1: Workload Assessment

1. Evaluate workloads for spot suitability
   • Fault tolerance (can handle interruptions)
   • Checkpointing capability
   • Flexible start/completion times
   • Stateless or state externalized
   • Can run on multiple instance types
2. Quantify potential savings per workload

Spot Suitability Matrix

Workload	Fault Tolerant	Checkpointable	Flexible Timing	Multi-Instance	Spot Fit
	[ ]	[ ]	[ ]	[ ]	High/Med/Low

Phase 2: Instance Diversification

1. Identify multiple instance types per workload (minimum 6-10)
2. Spread across multiple availability zones
3. Analyze historical spot pricing and interruption rates
4. Define instance type priority based on price and availability
5. Configure capacity-optimized allocation strategy

Instance Pool Configuration

Instance Type	vCPU	Memory	Spot Price (avg)	Interruption Rate	Priority
				<5% / 5-15% / >15%

Phase 3: Interruption Handling

1. Implement graceful shutdown handlers (2-minute warning)
2. Set up checkpointing for long-running jobs
3. Configure automatic replacement of interrupted instances
4. Design queue-based architectures for batch workloads
5. Implement health checks and automatic failover

Interruption Response Plan

Scenario	Detection	Response	Recovery Time	Data Loss Risk
Single instance interruption
Multiple simultaneous interruptions
Availability zone capacity event

Phase 4: Hybrid Strategy Design

1. Define baseline capacity on reserved/on-demand instances
2. Configure auto-scaling with spot for burst capacity
3. Set maximum spot percentage per workload
4. Implement fallback to on-demand when spot unavailable
5. Balance cost savings with availability requirements

Phase 5: Implementation

1. Configure spot fleet or managed instance group
2. Set up monitoring for spot utilization and savings
3. Implement cost tracking per workload
4. Test interruption handling with fault injection
5. Deploy to production with gradual spot percentage increase

Phase 6: Optimization

1. Monitor actual vs. projected savings weekly
2. Adjust instance type mix based on interruption patterns
3. Refine capacity allocation between spot, reserved, on-demand
4. Review and update maximum bid prices
5. Expand spot usage to newly identified workloads

Counter-Rationalizations

Shortcut	Counter	Why
"We can skip some steps for this case"	Adapt the workflow steps, don't skip them	Skipped steps are where incidents and oversights originate
"The user seems to already know what to do"	Complete all workflow phases with the user	The workflow catches blind spots that experience alone misses
"This is a minor case, full process is overkill"	Scale the process down, don't turn it off	Minor cases become major when unstructured; the process scales, not disappears
"I'll fill in the details later"	Complete each section before moving on	Deferred details are forgotten; real-time capture is more accurate
"The template output isn't necessary"	Always produce the structured output format	Structured output enables comparison, audit trails, and handoff to other teams

Output Format

• Workload Assessment: Spot suitability classification per workload
• Instance Pool Design: Diversified instance types per workload
• Architecture Diagram: Hybrid spot/on-demand/reserved design
• Interruption Runbook: Automated and manual response procedures
• Savings Dashboard: Weekly tracking of spot savings vs. on-demand

Action Items

• Assess all workloads for spot suitability
• Select and test diversified instance pools
• Implement interruption handling and checkpointing
• Deploy spot strategy to non-critical workloads first
• Monitor and expand to additional workloads
• Report monthly savings to stakeholders