With the release of the TWM-AMIs v2.9.1 and v3.1.1, you will be able to launch new instances directly into the new generation T3, M5, C5, and R5 instance types. But what about your existing instances?? Never fear; we have you covered!
This guide will explain how to use a new SmartUpgrade script and a single AWS CLI command to enable Enhanced Networking and NVMe support, which is required to switch your existing v2.9 or v3.x instances to a new T3, M5, C5, or R5 instance type.
IMPORTANT:
These changes cannot be easily undone, but will NOT harm a production server or prevent it from running on earlier generation instance types
It is strongly advised that you make an AMI backup of your instance before proceeding...just in case!
You MUST have AWS CLI access from ANOTHER system such as your local workstation or another AWS instance in order to execute a necessary command to enable ENA support on this instance after these drivers are installed
If you have an HA Cluster, you can use the running instance to update the standby instance and do not need another separate workstation for AWS CLI access
AWS CLI Information: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/cli/latest/userguide/installing.html
Once you have made a backup and ensured you have AWS CLI access from a different machine than the instance you are upgrading, connect to your instance via SSH. First, you will want to run SmartUpgrade normally (with --auto switch) to ensure you are fully up to date with the latest linux kernel.
IMPORTANT: After SmartUpgrade is finished updating, you MUST reboot your instance to ensure you are actively running the absolute latest kernel. This is important to ensure the ENA and NVMe driver builds that will occur in the next step are building off the correct source version.
Reconnect to the instance via SSH and run the following command:
SmartUpgrade new-gen-prep