Parar una máquina es lo más sencillo del mundo y, a la vez, lo que más miedo da: ¿es esta la de producción o la de pruebas? ¿Quién la ha parado? ¿Se puede volver a encender sin más? En la consola de AWS el menú de "Estado de la instancia" está a un clic de distancia de "Terminar", que la borra, y no pide nada más que un segundo clic.
En Simplio son tres botones grandes en la tarjeta de la máquina, con el nombre que tú le pusiste, y detener o reiniciar pide confirmación y, si lo activas, el código del doble factor. Solo puede pulsarlos quien tenga ese permiso en esa máquina, y cada pulsación queda en el registro de actividad con quién, cuándo y desde dónde.
How it works
You press the button on the card
Start, stop or restart. The button only appears if your user has been granted that action and the machine is in a state where it makes sense (there is no "stop" on a machine that is already stopped).
You confirm and, if applicable, type the code from your phone
Stopping and restarting ask for confirmation. If two-factor is enabled for your user, they also ask for the six-digit code. Starting doesn't ask for a code: switching on never breaks anything.
The card follows the change in real time
You see "stopping…", "starting…" and the final status. The action goes into the activity log.
How secure it is
Confirmation and two-factor
Nobody stops a machine by a mistaken click, and a stolen Simplio password isn't enough to switch anything off.
Permission per person and per machine
Being able to see a machine doesn't necessarily mean being able to stop it. It is granted per action and per machine.
Delete: only what was created here
From Simplio you can only delete a machine that was created from Simplio, and only the person who created it, with a separate permission and two-factor. Machines you already had in AWS have no delete button: the most you can do with them is stop them.
The same task, in AWS and in Simplio
| On your own in AWS | In Simplio | |
|---|---|---|
| Stop the test machine | Console → EC2 → region → instance → State → Stop → confirm | "Stop" button on the card, confirmation and phone code |
| Know who stopped it | Enable CloudTrail and search for the event | Activity log: user, date, IP |
| Save money on the test ones | Remember to stop them every night | Stop them from your phone in ten seconds (and schedule it, soon) |
Frequently asked questions
Does stopping a machine save money?
On EC2 and RDS it does: a stopped machine doesn't pay for compute hours (the disk does). On Lightsail the plan is fixed and stopping it doesn't save anything; there the button is for maintenance, not for the bill.
Can a machine be deleted from Simplio?
Only those created from Simplio, and only by the person who created them, with a separate permission and two-factor. Those you already had in AWS can't be deleted from here: stopping is the most you can do, and it is undone by starting.