What could be a solution if the Cloud Engineer receives a 'Status=start_failed' error when launching an EC2 instance?

When a Cloud Engineer encounters a 'Status=start_failed' error when attempting to launch an EC2 instance, one effective solution is to request a limit increase. This typically indicates that the account has reached the maximum limit of resources (in this case, EC2 instances) allowed for that particular instance type or in that region. Each AWS account has default limits on the number of instances you can run simultaneously, and if your usage exceeds these limits, the new instance request will fail.

By requesting a limit increase, the Cloud Engineer can enable the account to run additional instances that are needed for the workload. This is a common scenario, especially in environments that scale frequently or require more resources than what was initially provisioned.

Other options may address different issues, but a limit increase directly targets the likely cause behind a 'start_failed' status due to resource constraints. For example, upgrading the EC2 instance type may not help if the account is already at its instance limit. Deleting running instances might free up resources but can disrupt service. Changing the region can also resolve resource issues but might not be practical if the workload is designed to operate in a specific region.