The UpdateShardCount API action updates the shard count of the specified stream

to the specified number of shards.

Updating the shard count is an asynchronous operation. Upon receiving the

request, Kinesis Data Streams returns immediately and sets the status of the
stream to UPDATING. After the update is complete, Kinesis Data Streams sets the
status of the stream back to ACTIVE.

Depending on the size of the stream, the scaling action could take a few minutes to
complete. You can continue to read and write data to your stream while its status
is UPDATING.

To update the shard count, Kinesis Data Streams performs splits or merges on
individual shards. This can cause short-lived shards to be created, in addition to the
final shards. These short-lived shards count towards your total shard limit for your
account in the Region.

When using this operation, we recommend that you specify a target shard count
that is a multiple of 25% (25%, 50%, 75%, 100%). You can specify any target
value within your shard limit. However, if you specify a target that isn’t a multiple
of 25%, the scaling action might take longer to complete.

This operation has the following default limits. By default, you cannot do the
following:

 Scale more than ten times per rolling 24-hour period per stream
 Scale up to more than double your current shard count for a stream
 Scale down below half your current shard count for a stream
 Scale up to more than 500 shards in a stream
 Scale a stream with more than 500 shards down unless the result is less than
500 shards
 Scale up to more than the shard limit for your account