A state management server applies configuration information to a set of virtual computer system instances in accordance with one or more limitations specified by an administrator. In an embodiment, the limitations include a velocity parameter that limits the number of virtual computer system instances to which the configuration may be applied concurrently. In an embodiment, the limitations include an error threshold that stops the application of the configuration if the number of configuration failures meets or exceeds the error threshold. In an embodiment, the set of virtual computer systems is identified by providing a list of the individual virtual computer system instances, or by specifying one or more tags that are associated with the virtual computer systems in the set. In an embodiment, the administrator is able to specify that an association be applied according to a predetermined schedule.