(Ec2 Example) 
<!--define the tasks-->
<taskdef name="ec2-start" classname="datameer.awstasks.ant.ec2.Ec2StartTask" classpathref="task.classpath"/>
<taskdef name="ec2-stop" classname="datameer.awstasks.ant.ec2.Ec2StopTask" classpathref="task.classpath"/>
<taskdef name="ec2-ssh" classname="datameer.awstasks.ant.ec2.Ec2SshTask" classpathref="task.classpath"/>

<!-- define a start target -->
<target name="start-ec2" description="--> start ec2 instance groups">
	<ec2-start groupName="aws-tasks.test"
		ami="ami-5059be39"
		instanceCount="2"
		accessKey="${ec2.accessKey}"
		accessSecret="${ec2.accessSecret}"
		privateKeyName="${ec2.privateKeyName}">
		<!--
		optional attributes:
			- instanceType="t1.micro, m1.small, m1.large, m1.xlarge, m2.xlarge, m2.2xlarge, m2.4xlarge, c1.medium, c1.xlarge, cc1.4xlarge, cg1.4xlarge"
			- userData="a custom string"
			- availabilityZone="us-east-1a"
		-->
	</ec2-start>
</target>

<!-- define a target for ssh/scp ec2 interactions 
	You can interact with all instances at one by not specifying the 'targetInstances' attribute
	or setting it to 'all'. Also you can pick specific instances in following ways.
		- single index	 	f.e. targetInstances="0"
		- comma seperated 	f.e. targetInstances="1,2,3"
		- one range 		f.e. targetInstances="1-5"
		- one range with n	f.e. targetInstances="1-n", where n is the last instance index
-->
<target name="prepare-ec2" description="--> prepare fresh ec2 instance groups">
	<ec2-ssh groupName="aws-tasks.test"
		accessKey="${ec2.accessKey}"
		accessSecret="${ec2.accessSecret}"
		username="ubuntu"
		keyfile="${ec2.privateKeyFile}">
		<upload localFile="build.xml" remotePath="uploadedFile" targetInstances="all"/>
		<upload localFile="src/build" remotePath="~/" targetInstances="0"/>
		<exec command="ls uploadedFile"/>
		<exec command="hostname" targetInstances="0-n" outputProperty="instances.hostnames"/>
		<exec command="echo '${instances.hostnames}' > hostnames.txt" targetInstances="0"/>
		<exec command="cat hostnames.txt" targetInstances="0"/>
		<download remotePath="build" localFile="${downloadDir}/" recursiv="true" targetInstances="0"/>
	</ec2-ssh>
</target>

<!-- define a stop target -->
<target name="stop-ec2" description="--> stop ec2 instance groups">
	<ec2-stop groupName="aws-tasks.test"
		accessKey="${ec2.accessKey}"
		accessSecret="${ec2.accessSecret}">
	</ec2-stop>
</target>

(Ec2 Example) 

// have your aws access data
File _privateKeyFile;
String _accessKeyId;
String _accessKeySecret;
String _privateKeyName;

AmazonEC2 ec2 = new AmazonEC2Client(new BasicAWSCredentials(accessKeyId, accessKeySecret));
InstanceGroup instanceGroup = new InstanceGroupImpl(ec2);

// or alternatively use the Ec2Configuration
Ec2Configuration ec2Configuration = new Ec2Configuration(); //searches for ec2.properties in classpath
AmazonEC2 ec2 = ec2Configuration.createEc2();
InstanceGroup instanceGroup = ec2Configuration.createInstanceGroup(ec2);

// startup an instance group
LaunchConfiguration launchConfiguration = new LaunchConfiguration("ami-5059be39", 5, 5);
launchConfiguration.setKeyName(_privateKeyName);
instanceGroup.startup(launchConfiguration, TimeUnit.MINUTES, 5);

// or connect to a running one
instanceGroup.connectTo("securityGroup");

// scp/ssh - to all instances
SshClient sshClient = instanceGroup.createSshClient("ubuntu", _privateKeyFile);
sshClient.uploadFile(new File("/etc/someFile"), "~/uploadedFile");
sshClient.uploadFile(new File("/etc/someDir"), "~/");
sshClient.downloadFile("~/someFile", new File("/etc/someFileDownloaded"), false);
sshClient.executeCommand("ls -l ~/");

// or to specific instances
sshClient.uploadFile(new File("/etc/someFile"), "~/uploadedFile", new int[] { 0 });
sshClient.uploadFile(new File("/etc/someFile2"), "~/uploadedFile", new int[] { 1, 2, 3, 4 });
sshClient.executeCommand("start-master.sh -v", new int[] { 0 });
sshClient.executeCommand("start-nodes.sh -v", new int[] { 1, 2, 3, 4 });

// shutdown ec2 instances
instanceGroup.shutdown();