Step‑by‑Step Guide to Launching and Managing an AWS EC2 Instance

Introduction

In this article we walk through every click and decision required to launch an Amazon EC2 instance, configure its network and storage, secure it with a key pair, and connect to it from Linux or Windows. The goal is to give you a complete, hands‑on understanding so you can follow the steps without watching the original video.

1. Starting the Launch Wizard

• Open the EC2 Dashboard and click Launch Instance (available from the dashboard or the left‑hand Instances menu).
• The wizard now combines the traditional seven steps into a single streamlined flow.

2. Naming and Tagging the Instance

• Tag the instance with a key of Name and a value such as Linux‑Server (or any name you prefer).
• You can add up to 50 tags per resource; add only what you need.

3. Selecting an AMI (Operating System Image)

• Click Browse more AMIs.
• Choose a Free‑tier eligible Amazon‑provided AMI, e.g., Red Hat Enterprise Linux for Linux servers or Windows Server 2022 Base for Windows.
• Pick the appropriate architecture (x86_64 for most cases).

4. Choosing the Instance Type

• The default t2.micro (Free tier) is pre‑selected.
• Prefer current‑generation instance families; older generations appear only when you select All generations.

5. Creating and Attaching a Key Pair

• A key pair is mandatory for SSH access to Linux instances.
• Click Create new key pair, give it a name (e.g., kp-6pm), select RSA and .pem format.
• Download the .pem file and store it safely; you will later convert it to .ppk with PuTTYgen for Windows SSH.

6. Network Configuration

• Click Edit under Network settings.
• Use the default VPC and its automatically created subnets (three subnets in the Mumbai region: us‑east‑1a, 1b, 1c).
• Select a subnet (any is fine; 1a is a common choice).
• Enable Auto‑assign Public IP so you can reach the instance from the internet.
• Keep the default security group (no need to create a new one for basic labs).
• Advanced network options (additional ENIs, IPv6, etc.) can be left at defaults.

7. Storage Settings

• The root volume defaults to 10 GB gp2 for Linux (30 GB for Windows) and is not encrypted unless you enable it.
• Encryption uses the AWS KMS default key; you can select a custom key if required.
• Additional EBS volumes can be added later, but are not needed for the basic launch.

8. Advanced Details (Optional)

• Most options (IAM role, user data, termination protection, etc.) can stay at their defaults.
• Termination protection can be enabled to prevent accidental deletion of critical instances.
• Elastic IP (EIP): allocate an EIP, associate it with the instance, and you will keep a static public address even after stop/start cycles.

9. Review and Launch

• Verify all settings, then click Launch Instance.
• The instance will move through the states pending → running and pass two system status checks.

10. Connecting to the Instance

Linux (SSH)

1. Convert the downloaded .pem file to .ppk using PuTTYgen (load .pem, then Save private key).
2. Open PuTTY, enter the public IP (or Elastic IP) as the host name.
3. Under Connection → SSH → Auth browse for the .ppk file.
4. Use the default Linux user name (e.g., ec2-user for Amazon Linux, root or admin for Red Hat).

Windows (RDP)

1. Open the built‑in Remote Desktop Connection client.
2. Enter the instance’s public IP.
3. Retrieve the Windows administrator password from the console: Actions → Get Windows Password, upload the original .pem file, and decrypt.
4. Log in with username Administrator and the decrypted password.

11. Managing the Instance

• Stop / Start: Stopping releases the public IP (unless you use an Elastic IP) and may change the private IP if you have not set a static one.
• Terminate: Deletes the instance and, by default, its root EBS volume. Disable termination protection first if it is enabled.
• Monitoring: Basic CloudWatch monitoring is free (5‑minute intervals). Detailed monitoring (1‑minute) incurs charges and is optional for labs.

12. Practical Tasks for Students

1. Launch a Linux EC2 instance and connect via PuTTY.
2. Launch a Windows EC2 instance and connect via RDP.
3. Stop and start the Linux instance; observe the public IP change.
4. Allocate an Elastic IP, associate it, then repeat stop/start to verify the IP stays constant.
5. Enable termination protection, attempt to terminate, then disable and terminate.
6. (Optional) Create a Launch Template from the running instance for future rapid deployments.

Conclusion

By following the steps above you can confidently launch, secure, connect to, and manage Amazon EC2 instances without needing to watch the original tutorial video.

Mastering the EC2 launch workflow—including tagging, AMI selection, key‑pair handling, network setup, storage options, and connection methods—gives you a solid foundation for any AWS compute project.