Bulk Onboarding via CSV

The Onboard via CSV feature allows power users to onboard a large number of VM instances onto the AutoScaler platform quickly and efficiently by uploading a pre-filled CSV file. This removes the need to manually select VMs from the Unmanaged VMs page, significantly reducing effort and time in bulk operations.

This guide walks you through the complete onboarding process and outlines the expected behaviors and validations across each step.

Pre-requisites

Ensure you have the following details ready before beginning the onboarding process:

• Before starting the onboarding process, have your VM’s Instance ID or Name ready. This could be an EC2 ID or name for AWS, instance name or resource ID for Azure, or instance ID/name for GCP.

• You’ll need to provide the Onboarding or Reboot Date in MM/DD/YYYY format and the time in 24-hour HH:MM format, scheduled for a future time based on your local timezone.

• Ensure the Agent is installed on the instance.

Bulk Onboarding via CSV Process

1. Initiate CSV Upload

   • Go to the Scaler tab and click "Onboard via CSV".

   • Select the volume type. Currently, only Data volumes are supported (default selected).

   • Download the CSV template and fill it in with the required details:

     • Instance ID/Name

     • Onboarding/Reboot Date

     • Onboarding/Reboot Time

   ℹ️ Root volume onboarding via CSV is not yet supported.

   Note:

   The CSV must not exceed 250 records.

   

2. Upload the CSV

   • Drag and drop or browse to upload the completed CSV file.

   • The Submit button becomes active once a valid file is uploaded.

   • Click Submit to proceed.

   

3. Review Instance Details

   After submission, instance details are auto-fetched and categorized into four tabs:

   Ready to Onboard

   • Supported instances and disks with no conflicting onboardings.

   • Columns include:

     • Instance details (with OS)

     • Date & Time

     • Utilization

     • Savings

   • Users can expand rows to select/deselect specific partitions.

   

   In Progress / Scheduled

   • Instances already undergoing onboarding or have one scheduled.

   • Not available for action. Reason is clearly displayed.

   Not Supported

   • Agent not installed or partitions not supported.

   • Shows detailed error messages at both instance and partition level.

   Invalid Entry

   • CSV entries with invalid instance ID, date, or time.

   • Specific fields with errors are highlighted in red.

4. Schedule Onboarding

   • Select the desired partitions from the Ready to Onboard tab.

   • Click Schedule Onboarding to proceed.

   

5. Confirm Batches

   Instances are grouped automatically into batches based on OS and reboot needs:

   OS Group	Reboot Required	Batch Example
   Windows 10/2016/2022	❌	Batch A
   Windows 2019	✅	Batch B (reboot required)
   Windows 2012	❌	Batch C (handled separately due to limited capabilities)
   Linux	✅	Batch D (reboot required)

   • Users can edit date & time for each batch.

   • A Confirm button must be clicked after verifying each batch.

   • Default options for original disk deletion and V1 to V2 conversion are presented.

   • Click on Schedule Batches to proceed.

   

6. Disk Limit Verification

   After confirmation, AutoScaler performs an async disk limit verification:

   What Happens:

   • Verifies if instances have available disk slots for onboarding.

   • Partial batches may be created if some instances fail verification.

   Monitoring Verification:

   • Shows number of batches and navigation to Jobs.

   • Progress Bar → Visual breakdown of success and failure.

   • Batch-wise Details → Expandable view of each instance status:

     • Instance Verified

     • Verification in Progress

     • Insufficient disk limit (in red)

   

   🔁 You do not need to stay on this page. Progress will continue in the background.

   ✅ Once verification is complete, instances that passed disk checks are marked as Onboard Scheduled. This status indicates that the onboarding process has been successfully scheduled for those instances.