---
title: "Create a scale group"
description: "Create an E2E scale group in MyAccount from a saved image and a plan, with its node counts, scaling policy, VPC, encryption, and security group."
content_type: "how-to"
product: "auto-scaling"
platform: "MyAccount"
url: "/myaccount/auto-scaling/how-to/create-a-scale-group/"
topic: ["create"]
relationships: {"requires":["/myaccount/node/how-to/save-a-node-as-an-image/"]}
---

# Create a scale group

Create a scale group whose nodes are built from one of your saved images on one plan, and added and
removed by the policy you choose. You set up the whole scale group on one page, in three steps:
**Select Saved Image**, **Select Plan**, and **Scale Group Settings**. The saved image, the plan,
the name, and encryption are set when you create the scale group. To change one, create a new scale
group.

## Before you begin

- MyAccount is set to Delhi or Chennai, the regions Auto Scaling is offered in. The scale group is created in
  the region you are working in. In Delhi, an account created on or after May 15, 2026
  needs an exemption from E2E before it can create a scale group; see
  [Why is creating a scale group refused in Delhi?](/myaccount/auto-scaling/faq/#why-is-creating-a-scale-group-refused-in-delhi)
- You have a saved image in that region, in the **Ready** state, that was saved from a C3, M3, SDC3, E1, or E1WC node, or from the older C, C2, or M series. For Windows, you have one saved from an E1WC node. See [Save a node as an image](/myaccount/node/how-to/save-a-node-as-an-image/).
- The image starts your application at boot, and holds the SSH key and root password you want to
  sign in with, because the nodes keep them. See
  [Sign in to scale group nodes](/myaccount/auto-scaling/how-to/sign-in-to-a-node/).
- You have a security group with inbound rules for the ports your application serves, or you are
  ready to create one from the page. See
  [Create a security group](/myaccount/security-group/how-to/create-a-security-group/).
- (Optional) You have a VPC in the **Active** state, or you are ready to create one from the page.
  With a VPC, you choose whether the nodes keep the saved image's public network. See
  [Create a VPC](/myaccount/vpc/how-to/create-a-vpc/).
- On a prepaid account, you have infra credits for 24 hours of the scale group's starting nodes.
- Your role in the current project has the create permission for Auto Scaling, which makes
  **Create New Scale Group** available.

## Open the create page

In MyAccount, under **Compute**, click **Auto Scaling**. On **Manage Auto Scaling**, click
**Create New Scale Group**. If you have no scale group yet, click **Get Started** instead.

You can also start from the image: on the **Saved Images** page, in the image's **Actions** menu,
click **Create Scale Group**. The create page opens with that image selected.

## Select the saved image

**Select Saved Image** lists your saved images in the **Ready** state, with their **Creation Date**.
Select the image your nodes will start from. GPU images are left out of the list. If none of your
images can be used, the page says:

```text
Currently no Saved Image is available Click Here to create a new Saved Image.
```

## Select the plan

Every node in the scale group gets this plan's vCPU and RAM, and for plans other than E1, its disk too.
**Select Plan** lists the active plans that match the image's OS, OS version, and OS category. Which
plans those are depends on the node the image came from:

- An image from a C3, M3, or SDC3 node can use any C3, M3, or SDC3 plan with at least the image's
  disk size. An image saved from an app node can use only plans for that same app.
- An image from an E1 or E1WC node can use plans of its own type, whatever their disk size; see
  [For an E1 or E1WC image](#for-an-e1-or-e1wc-image).
- An image of any other type can use plans of its own type with at least the image's disk size.

So you can save the image from a small node and run the scale group on a larger plan.

To narrow the list, filter it with **All vCPU**, **ALL RAM**, and **All Storage**. On the plan you
want, click **Select**. **Select** appears on the plans you can use right now. If a plan shows
**Request** instead, click **Request** to ask E2E for capacity on it, and **We have accepted your
request, will contact you shortly.** confirms it.

From this step on, prices are shown per month and marked **Hourly Billed**, which means the
nodes are billed by the minute at the hourly price. For current prices, see
[E2E's pricing page](https://www.e2enetworks.com/pricing).

### For an E1 or E1WC image

For an E1 or E1WC image, each node's root storage is always the same size as the saved image. The **Summary** panel shows this as **Disk Size**. As with E1
nodes, each node gets the IOPS that go with that root storage, and the root storage is charged on
top of the plan price. See [Node families](/myaccount/node/concepts/node-families/).

## Name the scale group

**Scale Group Name** is filled in from the image name, a hyphen, and a three-digit number. Keep it,
or enter your own name, two to 40 characters long, using letters, digits, underscores, or hyphens.
You choose the name once, when you create the scale group.

## Set the node counts

Under **Scale group parameters**, set **Minimum Node** and **Maximum Node**, which start at 2 and 5.
The new scale group starts with as many nodes as **Minimum Node**, and its policies keep the count between
the two. Set **Minimum Node** to the fewest nodes that carry your quietest load, and
**Maximum Node** to the most you want to pay for at your busiest. Each running node is billed by the
hour.

- **Minimum Node** can be anything from 1 up to **Maximum Node**, and the two can be equal.
- **Maximum Node** can go up to 50. Above that, the field says **This cannot be greater than 50.**
- If you add a scheduled policy, set its **Cardinality** values between the two as well; see
  [Set a scheduled policy](/myaccount/auto-scaling/how-to/set-a-scheduled-policy/).

## Choose a policy

Under **Select Policy**, choose how the scale group decides when to add and remove nodes. A scale group needs at
least one policy.

- **Elastic Policy** changes the number of nodes as CPU use goes up and down. Choose it when your load
  rises and falls without a set pattern. Its starting values add a node when CPU use is more than 60%
  and remove one when it is less than 30%. Keep them to begin with. See
  [Set an elastic policy](/myaccount/auto-scaling/how-to/set-an-elastic-policy/).
- **Scheduled Policy** changes the number of nodes at times you set with cron expressions. Choose it
  when you know your busy hours. See
  [Set a scheduled policy](/myaccount/auto-scaling/how-to/set-a-scheduled-policy/).
- **Elastic and Scheduled Policy** does both, and it is the one selected when the page opens. If you
  keep it, fill in both **Upscale Recurrence** and **Downscale Recurrence** before you click
  **Create Scale**, or the empty field shows **This field is required.** To scale on CPU alone,
  choose **Elastic Policy** instead.

To change the starting values, fill in the fields as
[Set an elastic policy](/myaccount/auto-scaling/how-to/set-an-elastic-policy/) or
[Set a scheduled policy](/myaccount/auto-scaling/how-to/set-a-scheduled-policy/) describes, then
come back here for the VPC, encryption, and security group. You can switch to another policy later,
while the scale group reads **Running**.

## (Optional) Attach a VPC

To give the nodes private addresses in your own network, use a VPC. In the **VPC** panel, pick a VPC
in the **Active** state. To make one without leaving the page, click **Create New VPC**, and create it in the panel
that opens.

Once you pick a VPC, **Enable this option to assign static public IP to scale group.** becomes
available, already turned on. Leave it on to keep the saved image's public network, and the nodes
get a public IP only when the saved image has one. Turn it off to give the nodes only a private address in
the VPC.

Without a VPC, nodes from a C3 image keep the image's own network and get a public IP.

You can change the scale group's VPCs and public IP later, while the scale group is stopped. Stopping removes every node. See
[Manage a scale group's network and security groups](/myaccount/auto-scaling/how-to/manage-network-and-security-groups/).

## (Optional) Encrypt the nodes

To encrypt the data at rest on every node the scale group launches, in the **Security** panel, turn on
**Enable Encryption**; see [Node encryption](/myaccount/node/concepts/node-encryption/). You can turn on encryption only when you create the scale group, and it stays on.

(Optional) Enter a passphrase in **Enter Passphrase(Optional)**. Use eight to 12
characters, with at least one uppercase letter, one lowercase letter, and one of `!@#$%^&*`. Use
only letters, digits, those symbols, and `.`.

E2E keeps the passphrase with the scale group's
settings and uses it for every new node, including after **Start** and on each scale-up. You enter the passphrase only here, and the portal keeps it out of sight from then on. The passphrase is permanent for the scale group, so keep a copy somewhere safe.

## Choose a security group

In the **Security Group** panel, your default security group is already selected. A scale group needs a
security group, so keep it, or choose one whose inbound rules allow the ports your application
serves. To make one without leaving the page, click **Create New Security Group**.

You can attach and detach security groups later on the scale group's **Security Group** tab; see
[Manage a scale group's network and security groups](/myaccount/auto-scaling/how-to/manage-network-and-security-groups/#change-the-security-groups).

## Create the scale group

Check the **Summary** panel, and click **Create Scale**.

You return to the list with **Scale group creation in progress.**, and the scale group reads
**Creating**. Wait until it reads **Running**, which takes about three minutes in Delhi, or under a
minute for a one-node scale group in Chennai. On the way, it can briefly show **Deploying Nets**,
which is normal.

On a prepaid account, you need enough infra credits to run the starting nodes for 24 hours. Without
them, the request stops at **You do not have sufficient credits to launch the desired nodes in this
scale group.**, which shows the amounts.

To create a scale group from a script instead, see the
[as-create operation](/api/myaccount/operations/as-create/) in the API reference.

## Check that the scale group is running

The scale group reads **Running** in the list. Click the scale group to open its tabs. **Active Node Details**
lists each node with its **Public IP** and **Private IP**. If you turned on encryption, a shield
beside the scale group's name in the list marks it as encrypted.

Your scale group is running. Next, put a load balancer in front of it; see
[Put a load balancer in front of a scale group](/myaccount/auto-scaling/how-to/add-a-load-balancer/).
If creation is refused or the scale group stays on **Creating**, see
[Troubleshooting Auto Scaling](/myaccount/auto-scaling/troubleshooting/auto-scaling/).