---
title: Tips and Tricks for Manually Scaling a Global DynamoDB Table from an AWS Lambda
description: "Objective\nWrite an AWS Lambda that manually scales a global DynamoDB table\n\n\n\nWhy?\nDynamoDB tables can be set to automatically scale based on load. However, this\nprocess can take quite a while. We needed to scale up at a precise time to be\nready for large batch loads.\n\nAccording to"
image: https://blog.ippon.tech/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/image--6--3.png
---
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# Tips and Tricks for Manually Scaling a Global DynamoDB Table from an AWS Lambda
by [Dennis Sharpe](https://blog.ippon.tech/author/dennis-sharpe)
December 1, 2020
[AWS](https://blog.ippon.tech/tag/aws/) [AWS Lambda](https://blog.ippon.tech/tag/aws-lambda/) [AWS DynamoDB](https://blog.ippon.tech/tag/aws-dynamodb/) [Java](https://blog.ippon.tech/tag/java/) [Data](https://blog.ippon.tech/tag/data/) [Cloud](https://blog.ippon.tech/tag/cloud/) [NoSQL](https://blog.ippon.tech/tag/nosql/)
December 1, 2020
## Objective
Write an AWS Lambda that manually scales a global DynamoDB table
## Why?
DynamoDB tables can be set to automatically scale based on load. However, this process can take quite a while. We needed to scale up at a precise time to be ready for large batch loads.
According to the [auto scaling guide](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/amazondynamodb/latest/developerguide/AutoScaling.html?ref=blog.ippon.tech), DynamoDB auto scaling modifies provisioned throughput settings only when the actual workload stays elevated (or depressed) for a sustained period of several minutes. If you have a batch load that will greatly increase load on the system with no ramp-up time, this will cause early slowdowns. If you have sudden, short-duration spikes of activity, consult the [burst capacity guide](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/amazondynamodb/latest/developerguide/bp-partition-key-design.html?ref=blog.ippon.tech#bp-partition-key-throughput-bursting). If you can wait several minutes for ramp-up, auto-scaling should work fine for your use case.
## MVP
Scale a single (non-global) table
- Turn off auto-scaling for the table (Provisioned)
- Use the DynamoDB SDK v1
- Explicitly call the SDK to set the [Read Capacity Units](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/amazondynamodb/latest/developerguide/HowItWorks.ReadWriteCapacityMode.html?ref=blog.ippon.tech) (RCU) and Write Capacity Units (WCU) on the table
- Initialize [configuration](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSJavaSDK/latest/javadoc/com/amazonaws/ClientConfiguration.html?ref=blog.ippon.tech)
```
private ClientConfiguration clientConfiguration() {
final ClientConfiguration clientConfiguration = new ClientConfiguration();
// These constants are typically environment variables specific to your environment
// Note: proxy host and port are required in SDK v1
clientConfiguration.setProxyHost(AWS_PROXY_HOST);
clientConfiguration.setProxyPort(Integer.valueOf(AWS_PROXY_PORT));
clientConfiguration.setClientExecutionTimeout(CLIENT_TIMEOUT);
clientConfiguration.setProtocol(Protocol.HTTP);
return clientConfiguration;
}
private AmazonDynamoDB getClient() {
// SDK v1 uses the AmazonDynamoDBClientBuilder (v2 does not)
return AmazonDynamoDBClientBuilder.standard()
.withClientConfiguration(clientConfiguration())
.withRegion(Regions.valueOf(REGION))
.build();
}
```
- Call the [SDK](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSJavaSDK/latest/javadoc/com/amazonaws/services/dynamodbv2/model/ProvisionedThroughput.html?ref=blog.ippon.tech)
```
// The RCU/WCU can be set directly in this case
ProvisionedThroughput table_throughput = new ProvisionedThroughput(
read_capacity, write_capacity);
try {
// Update the DynamoDB table with the ProvisionedThroughput
getClient().updateTable(table_name, table_throughput);
} catch (AmazonServiceException e) {
System.err.println(e.getErrorMessage());
System.exit(1);
}
```
## Full Version
Scale a global table
- In this example, the primary table is in *us-east-1*. A [global table](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/amazondynamodb/latest/developerguide/globaltables.tutorial.html?ref=blog.ippon.tech) was created with a replica in *us-west-2*
- Global tables must use auto-scaling
- Setting the RCU/WCU explicitly on an auto-scaled table does not actually change the RCU/WCU (approach for MVP will not work)
- Upgrade to SDK v2 to simplify setting the auto-scaling parameters (**Note:** SDK v2 is quite different from v1 but has simplified the API for DynamoDB manipulation)
- Set the minimum RCU/WCU on the auto-scaler instead
- Initialize [client](https://sdk.amazonaws.com/java/api/latest/software/amazon/awssdk/services/dynamodb/DynamoDbClient.html?ref=blog.ippon.tech)
```
private DynamoDbClient getClient() {
// These constants are typically environment variables specific to your environment
ApacheHttpClient.Builder httpClientBuilder = ApacheHttpClient.builder()
.connectionTimeout(CONNECTION_TIMEOUT)
.socketTimeout(SOCKET_TIMEOUT);
RetryPolicy.Builder retryBuilder = RetryPolicy.builder()
.numRetries(RETRY_LIMIT);
ClientOverrideConfiguration.Builder clientOverrideBuilder =
ClientOverrideConfiguration.builder()
.apiCallAttemptTimeout(API_CALL_ATTEMPT_TIMEOUT)
.apiCallTimeout(API_CALL_TIMEOUT)
.retryPolicy(retryBuilder.build());
// New DynamoDbClient.builder() for SDK v2
return DynamoDbClient.builder()
.httpClientBuilder(httpClientBuilder)
.overrideConfiguration(clientOverrideBuilder.build())
.build();
}
```
- Call the [SDK](https://sdk.amazonaws.com/java/api/latest/software/amazon/awssdk/services/dynamodb/model/UpdateTableReplicaAutoScalingRequest.html?ref=blog.ippon.tech)
```
// A series of updates are required to change the auto scaling settings
AutoScalingTargetTrackingScalingPolicyConfigurationUpdate policyConfigurationUpdate =
AutoScalingTargetTrackingScalingPolicyConfigurationUpdate.builder()
.targetValue(SCALING_POLICY_TARGET_VALUE)
.build();
AutoScalingPolicyUpdate policyUpdate = AutoScalingPolicyUpdate.builder()
.targetTrackingScalingPolicyConfiguration(policyConfigurationUpdate)
.build();
// The maximum auto scale capacity is not really used here and can be set to an arbitrarily high number
AutoScalingSettingsUpdate.Builder updateBuilder = AutoScalingSettingsUpdate.builder()
.maximumUnits(MAX_AUTOSCALE_CAPACITY)
.scalingPolicyUpdate(policyUpdate);
// The minimum units are changed to force a manual scale up/down
AutoScalingSettingsUpdate rcuUpdate = updateBuilder.minimumUnits(HIGH_READ_CAPACITY_UNITS).build();
AutoScalingSettingsUpdate wcuUpdate = updateBuilder.minimumUnits(HIGH_WRITE_CAPACITY_UNITS).build();
// The read capacity units must be updated for each replica
ReplicaAutoScalingUpdate eastReplicaUpdate = ReplicaAutoScalingUpdate.builder()
.regionName("us-east-1")
.replicaProvisionedReadCapacityAutoScalingUpdate(rcuUpdate)
.build();
ReplicaAutoScalingUpdate westReplicaUpdate = ReplicaAutoScalingUpdate.builder()
.regionName("us-west-2")
.replicaProvisionedReadCapacityAutoScalingUpdate(rcuUpdate)
.build();
// The write capacity units impact all replicas
UpdateTableReplicaAutoScalingRequest autoScalingRequest = UpdateTableReplicaAutoScalingRequest.builder()
.tableName(TABLE_NAME)
.replicaUpdates(eastReplicaUpdate, westReplicaUpdate)
.provisionedWriteCapacityAutoScalingUpdate(wcuUpdate)
.build();
try {
getClient().updateTableReplicaAutoScaling(autoScalingRequest);
} catch (AmazonServiceException e) {
System.err.println(e.getErrorMessage());
System.exit(1);
}
```
## Issues
The code above worked great until the Lambda was deployed in *us-west-2* for redundancy. The SDK calls from *us-west-2* were timing out.
- For testing purposes, no SDK v2 calls worked but v1 calls did
- The solution is to initialize the SDK v1 and then make the SDK v2 calls
- Add a call to `getTable(TABLE_NAME)` from the SDK v1 before the call to `updateTableReplicaAutoScaling`
- **Note:** SDK v1 needs the proxy specified but SDK v2 does not
- Timeouts for the SDK v2 calls may need to be increased from *us-west-2*
## Disclaimer
These issues may have been specific to my particular environment. If you experience similar issues, this should help you resolve them. If you have found a solution to the *us-west-2* problem, please reach out!
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