Abstract: Control planes of virtual resource providers may be customized in a secure, stable and efficient manner with virtual control planes. Control planes may be modularized. Control plane modules may be supplied with data from standardized sensors, and required to generate standardized resource configuration requests responsive to solicitations with specified response latencies. Custom control plane modules may be selected to replace or complement default control plane modules. Financial and computational costs associated with control plane modules may be tracked. Competing resource configurations may be mediated by a control plane supervisor. Such mediation may be based on control plane module reputation scores. Reputation scores may be based on customer feedback ratings and/or measured performance with respect to module goals. Mediated configuration parameter values may be based on a combination of competing configuration parameter values weighted according to reputation.

Abstract: A test environment is created for optimizing the execution of a programmable execution service (“PES”) application. The test environment is created in one embodiment by replicating a production network and one or more production virtual machine instances executing the PES application. Once the test environment has been created, the test environment is utilized to identify optimized values for one or more application parameters consumed by the PES application. The optimized values may be selected to optimize the output of a fitness function that is based upon one or more direct and/or indirect performance metrics associated with the PES application. Once the optimized values for the application parameters have been identified, the generated values are applied to production virtual machine instances executing the PES application.

Abstract: With the advent of virtualization technologies, networks and routing for those networks can now be simulated using commodity hardware. For example, virtualization technologies can be adapted to allow a single physical computing machine to be shared among multiple virtual networks by providing one or more virtual machines simulated in software by the single physical computing machine, with each virtual machine acting as a distinct logical computing system. In addition, as routing can be accomplished through software, additional network setup flexibility can be provided to the virtual network in comparison with hardware-based routing. In some implementations, virtual network setup can be abstracted through the use of resource placement templates, allowing users to create virtual networks compliant with a customer's networking policies without necessarily having knowledge of what those policies are.

Abstract: Implementation resources are operated in a manner furthering a particular purpose while excluding use of the implementation resources for other purposes. At least some of the implementation resources have capacity that is usable to implement multiple other resources. The capacity of the implementation resources is allocated in a manner that satisfies one or more conditions on the capacity of the implementation resources that is used. Generally, the capacity is allocated in a manner that reduces the likelihood that resources initiated close in time will fail together should underlying implementation resources fail. The implementation resources may be hardware devices that implement virtual computer systems.

Abstract: Techniques are described for managing software whose use is restricted in one or more manners. In some situations, the software components are fee-based components that are made available by providers of the components for use by others in exchange for fees defined by the components providers, and the software components may also have various other non-price conditions related to their use. The described techniques facilitate use of a software component on a computing node by configuring a virtual computer port or other virtual interface on the computing node, to enable the software component to make a request via the provided virtual interface regarding whether a current use of the software component is authorized. A trusted source receives and responds to the use authorization request in a manner configured by the provider of the software component, such as by a node manager module of a program execution service.

Abstract: Techniques, including systems and methods, for virtual resource cost tracking account for unused capacity of implementation resources that are dedicated to particular customers and, as a result, are unusable for maintaining virtual resources for other customers. Customers requesting dedicated use of implementation resources are charged in a manner that compensates the virtual resource provider for the lost ability to use unused capacity of implementation resources to serve other customers. Customer charges may be determined by a pricing function that is calculated such that, for a base of customers, expected revenue from the base of customers approximates a revenue goal. The revenue goal may be determined based on revenue that would have been expected had the unused capacity of the dedicated implementation resources been available for serving other customers.

Abstract: Implementation resources are operated in a manner furthering a particular purpose while excluding use of the implementation resources for other purposes. At least some of the implementation resources have capacity that is usable to implement multiple other resources. The capacity of the implementation resources is allocated in a manner that satisfies one or more conditions on the capacity of the implementation resources that is used. Generally, the capacity is allocated in a manner that reduces the likelihood that resources initiated close in time will fail together should underlying implementation resources fail. The implementation resources may be hardware devices that implement virtual computer systems.

Abstract: With the advent of virtualization technologies, networks and routing for those networks can now be simulated using commodity hardware. For example, virtualization technologies can be adapted to allow a single physical computing machine to be shared among multiple virtual networks by providing one or more virtual machines simulated in software by the single physical computing machine, with each virtual machine acting as a distinct logical computing system. In addition, as routing can be accomplished through software, additional network setup flexibility can be provided to the virtual network in comparison with hardware-based routing. In some implementations, virtual network setup can be abstracted through the use of resource placement templates, allowing users to create virtual networks compliant with a customer's networking policies without necessarily having knowledge of what those policies are.

Abstract: A backnet can be created within a dedicated private network of a customer that enables a distinct party to access and/or control a portion of the resources within the private network. In one example, a backnet includes a separate virtual interface for an appliance or other such resource that is not visible or accessible to the customer owning the customer cloud, but can be accessed by another appliance or component in the customer cloud, or an appliance vendor external to the customer cloud. While the customer can control the permission for the backnet, the vendor can control or implement the resources within the backnet in a way that is isolated from the customer. Usage of the backnet can be separately monitored and billed to the vendor, even though the resources are part of the dedicated customer cloud.

Abstract: Users intending to launch instances or otherwise access virtual resources in a multi-tenant environment can specify a launch configuration. For each type of instance or each type of user, at least one launch configuration is created that includes parameters and values to be used in instantiating an instance of that type, the values being optimized for the current environment and type of instance. Launch configurations can be optimized for different types of users, such as to account for security credentials and access levels. Such an approach enables users to launch instances by contacting the resource provider directly without need for a proxy, which can function as a choke point under heavy load. The use of an appropriate launch configuration can be enforced for any type of user at any level, such as at the sub-net level, by modifying a request that does not specify an appropriate launch configuration.

Abstract: Control planes of virtual resource providers may be customized in a secure, stable and efficient manner with virtual control planes. Control planes may be modularized. Control plane modules may be supplied with data from standardized sensors, and required to generate standardized resource configuration requests responsive to solicitations with specified response latencies. Custom control plane modules may be selected to replace or complement default control plane modules. Financial and computational costs associated with control plane modules may be tracked. Competing resource configurations may be mediated by a control plane supervisor. Such mediation may be based on control plane module reputation scores. Reputation scores may be based on customer feedback ratings and/or measured performance with respect to module goals. Mediated configuration parameter values may be based on a combination of competing configuration parameter values weighted according to reputation.

Abstract: A broker may be used as an intermediary to exchange messages between producers and consumers. The broker may store and dispatch messages from a physical queue stored in a persistent memory. More specifically, the broker may enqueue messages to the physical queue that are received from producers and may dispatch messages from the physical queue to interested consumers. The broker may further utilize one or more logical queues stored in transient memory to track the status of the messages stored in persistent memory. As messages are dispatched to and acknowledged by interested consumers, the broker deletes acknowledged messages from the physical queue. The messages deleted are those preceding a physical ACKlevel pointer that specifies the first non-acknowledged message in the physical queue. The physical ACKlevel pointer is advanced in the physical queue based on the relative position of corresponding logical ACKlevel pointers maintained by the logical queues.

Abstract: Technologies are described herein for capacity availability aware auto scaling. Capacity event auto scaling rules can be defined that specify how computing resources are to be scaled during a capacity event. The capacity event auto scaling rules can be defined to allow utilization of the computing resources to increase during a capacity event. A probability that capacity will be available for providing computing resources during a capacity event can also be computed. Standard auto scaling rules utilized by an auto scaling component can then be modified based upon the computed probability. Other types of actions might also be taken based upon the computed probability, such as reserving instances of computing resources.

Abstract: Generally described, aspects of the present disclosure relate to for managing the configuration and security policies of hosted virtual machine networks. Hosted virtual machine networks are configured in a manner such that a virtual machine manager component can establish service manifests that correspond to information required by the virtual machine network from a user/customer. The virtual machine manager component can also publish in the service manifests contractual information, such as security risk assessments, that are deemed to have been provided and accepted by the user/customer in instantiating virtual machine networks. If the processed service manifest information remains valid, a substrate network process requests or independently instantiate services or components in accordance with the configuration information and security risk information included in the processed service manifest.

Abstract: Techniques for provisioning computing resources utilize colorings of collections of resources. The collections may be networks of resources hosted by a computing resource provider that are operated under the direction of one or more customers of the resource provider. Colors may be applied to the collections of resources, such as by a customer of the resource provider. The same customer or another customer may request that resources be provisioned according to at least one relationship with one or more collections of resources having one or more colors. Resources may then be provisioned according to the request.

Abstract: Update preferences might be utilized to specify that an update to an application should not be applied until the demand for the application falls below a certain threshold. Demand for the application is monitored. The update to the application is applied when the actual demand for the application falls below the specified threshold. The threshold might be set such that updates are deployed during the off-peak periods of demand encountered during a regular demand cycle, such as a diurnal, monthly, or yearly cycle.

Abstract: Systems and method are provided for using proxy addresses to manage communications sent between virtual machine networks hosted by a substrate network. In some embodiments, the substrate network may identify a communication addressed from an instantiated component of a first hosted virtual network to a first proxy component of the first hosted virtual network. The substrate network may cause the communication to be received by a second instantiated component of a second host virtual network. Specifically, the substrate network may alter a destination address of the communication from a proxy address of the first proxy component to a network address of the second instantiated component. The substrate network may also alter a source address of the communication from a network address of the first instantiated component to a proxy address of a second proxy component.

Abstract: Update preferences might be utilized to specify that an update to an application should not be applied until the demand for the application falls below a certain threshold. Demand for the application is monitored. The update to the application is applied when the actual demand for the application falls below the specified threshold. The threshold might be set such that updates are deployed during the off-peak periods of demand encountered during a regular demand cycle, such as a diurnal, monthly, or yearly cycle.

Abstract: Systems and methods are disclosed which facilitate the management of host computing devices through the utilization of a host computing device control component. The host computing device control component includes a state monitoring component that monitors operating states of the control component and a group of associated host computing devices. The state monitoring component includes a power supply separate from the control component power supply, a state processing component, a visual indicator interface, and a separate communication component to facilitate communication with other state monitoring components. Utilizing consensus type algorithms, the state monitoring components can decide information related to the set of host computing devices, such as a state monitoring component authoritative for the grouping of the host computing devices.

Abstract: Systems and method for the management of virtual machine instances are provided. A network data transmission analysis system can host virtual machine networks. The hosted virtual machine networks are configured in an manner such that at least a portion of the components of the hosted virtual machine network have overlapping network addresses. Through the utilization of addressable proxy IP addresses in each of the hosted virtual machine networks, the hosted virtual machine networks can exchange data.