Unlock the Power of the Cloud: A Step-by-Step Guide to Creating and Connecting to Amazon EC2

Ayush Ranjan
6 min readAug 28, 2023

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Photo by Lorenzo Herrera on Unsplash

Discover the vast opportunities of cloud computing in this comprehensive guide. Learn how to easily connect to the cloud with our step-by-step instructions and unlock the limitless potential of Amazon EC2.

What exactly is Amazon EC2?

Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2) is a basically a cloud computing service which is provided by AWS, It includes virtual servers in which you can run various applications and workloads.EC2 instances are designed to offer flexibility, scalability, and cost-efficiency, enabling businesses and individuals to access computing resources without the need to invest in physical hardware.

In Amazon EC2, you can have different levels of compute power, memory, and storage, and are customizable according to your specific requirements. These instances are accessible over the internet and can be configured to run various operating systems and software applications.

The key features of Amazon EC2 include:
1. Instance Types: EC2 offers a wide range of instance types optimized for different use cases, such as computing power, memory, storage, and GPU acceleration. This allows you to choose the best fit for your application’s needs.

2. Elasticity and Scalability: You can easily scale the number of instances up or down based on demand. This elasticity enables you to handle increased traffic or workloads without disruption.

3. Pay-as-You-Go Pricing: EC2 follows a pay-as-you-go pricing model, where you only pay for the resources you use. This eliminates the need for upfront hardware investments and allows you to adjust your resources as needed.

4. Security and Networking: EC2 instances can be placed within Virtual Private Clouds (VPCs), providing isolation and control over networking settings. You can configure security groups and network access control lists to control inbound and outbound traffic.

5. Amazon Machine Images (AMIs): AMIs are pre-configured templates that include an operating system, software, and configurations. You can choose from a variety of AMIs or create your own for consistent and efficient instance launches.

6. Storage Options: EC2 instances can be attached to different types of storage, including Amazon Elastic Block Store (EBS) for block storage and Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3) for object storage. This allows you to match storage to your application’s performance needs.

7. Load Balancing: Amazon EC2 offers load balancing solutions like Application Load Balancers and Network Load Balancers, which distribute incoming traffic across multiple instances for improved availability and fault tolerance.

8. Auto Scaling: You can set up Auto Scaling to automatically adjust the number of instances based on defined conditions. This helps maintain application performance during traffic spikes and reduces costs during low-demand periods.

Sequential guide

Here is a step-by-step guide for creating Amazon EC2

STEP 1: Signing into your AWS account.

STEP 2: Search for the EC2 in the search bar.

STEP 3: In the EC2 instance click on Launch Instance option.

STEP 4: In the Launch an Instance dashboard.

Provide the name for your instance.

Select the operating system(Amazon Machine Images (AMIs)).

To connect to the EC2, select the "Create new key pair" option.

Type the name for the key and select the below options and click on Create Key pair.

Please provide more context about what kind of network settings need to be configured.

Please configure the necessary settings for Storage and proceed to click on the Launch Instance button.

Your instance has been successfully created and is now available for use.

I have set up two instances: Ayush Server running on Linux OS and Ayush Windows Server on Windows OS.

You have the option to create the instance through the CLI by following these instructions.

Connecting to EC2

Now we will connect with the EC2 which we have created.

STEP 1: Select the Linux EC2 and then click on Connect .

In the Connect to instance, Click on Connect.

Make sure that the Inbound Rules are properly created for connection to EC2 without any error.

After that Command line of Amazon EC2 with Linux OS will be opened.

To verify if your device is connected, you can use the command "ping google.com".

STEP 2: Select the Windows EC2 and then click on Connect .

Please click on the "RDP client" option in the "Connect to instance" interface, followed by clicking on "Get Password" to proceed.

Please upload the content of the key pair file that was previously created.

To download the remote desktop file, simply click on the download button. The password will also be visible, so be sure to copy it as well.

Open the Remote Desktop File.

Click on Connect in remote Desktop Connection interface.

Enter the password which you just copied.

New Window will open with Windows OS.

Congratulations on successful Creation and Connection to Amazon EC2.

Summary

In this Article we have learned how to connect to Amazon EC2 and unlock the potential of cloud computing. Amazon EC2 is a cloud computing service that provides virtual servers for running applications and workloads. With customizable levels of compute power, memory, and storage, EC2 offers flexibility, scalability, and cost-efficiency. Key features include a wide range of instance types, elasticity and scalability, pay-as-you-go pricing, security and networking options, Amazon Machine Images (AMIs), storage options, load balancing solutions, and auto scaling. Follow the step-by-step guide to create an EC2 instance by signing into your AWS account, searching for EC2 in the search bar, launching an instance dashboard, configuring network and storage settings, and creating a key pair. You can also connect to the EC2 instance using the command line interface.

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Ayush Ranjan

Exploring cloud technology and making easy guides about it