Deploying an EC2 Instance: A Beginner’s Guide

Introduction

Amazon EC2 is a cloud computing service that provides virtual machines (instances) that you can use to run your applications in the cloud. They’re versatile and powerful, and you can use them for many different things, like hosting websites, running apps, and storing data.

Benefits of using EC2

1. They are scalable; you can easily add or remove them as needed. This is great for businesses that have changing needs, like seasonal traffic spikes.

2. They are reliable; they’re up and running most of the time. This is important for businesses that need their applications to be available to customers 24/7.

3. They are cost-effective; you only pay for the resources you use. This is a great option for businesses that want to save money on IT costs.

Step 1: Navigate to the AWS Management Console

To access EC2 from the AWS Management Console, sign in and search for “EC2” in the search bar.

Step 2: Launch an instance

Choose Launch instance, and then select Launch instance.

Step 3: Name your EC2 instance and choose an Amazon Machine Image (AMI)

When naming your EC2 instance, AWS creates a key-value pair with the key “Name” and the value you enter. An AMI is a template for launching a cloud virtual server, including the operating system, applications, and permissions.

Step 4: Choosing an instance type and Configuring a key pair

EC2 instance types offer varying combinations of computing resources, so you can choose the right mix for your applications. Each instance type includes multiple sizes, so you can scale your resources as needed. EC2 uses public-key cryptography to secure login information. To connect to your instance, you must create a key pair and provide the private key.

Step 5: Configuring the network settings

VPCs let you isolate your instances in a private network, and security groups act as firewalls to control traffic to and from your instances.

Step 6: Adding storage

Amazon EBS is a network-attached disk service that stores data for EC2 instances. Each instance launches with a default 8 GiB root volume.

Step 7: Create Instance

Congratulations! You have successfully deployed an EC2 instance 🎉🎉🎉