Step-by-Step Guide to Launch an EC2 Instance on AWS

By Cloud Soft Solutions | www.cloudsoftsol.com

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Introduction

Amazon EC2 (Elastic Compute Cloud) forms the backbone of cloud computing on AWS, enabling you to launch virtual machines in minutes. Whether you’re a developer, DevOps engineer, or student, creating an EC2 instance is a must-have skill in today’s cloud-first world.

In this guide, Cloud Soft Solutions walks you through how to launch your first EC2 instance on AWS — step by step.

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What is Amazon EC2?

Amazon EC2 is a secure, scalable compute service that lets you run servers in the cloud without owning physical hardware.
Key features:

• Scalability: Scale up or down based on demand
• Pay-as-you-go: Pay only for what you use
• Flexible OS: Choose Linux, Windows, or others
• AWS integration: Seamlessly works with other AWS services

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Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you have:

• An AWS account (Free Tier eligible)
• A browser with internet access
• Basic understanding of cloud concepts

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Step-by-Step EC2 Instance Creation

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Step 1: Log in to AWS Console
Visit https://console.aws.amazon.com and sign in using your root or IAM credentials.

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Step 2: Open the EC2 Dashboard

• Search for EC2 in the AWS Management Console.
• Click EC2 to enter the EC2 Dashboard.

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Step 3: Launch an Instance

• Click Launch Instances.
• Provide a Name for your instance.

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Step 4: Choose an Amazon Machine Image (AMI)

• Select Amazon Linux 2, Ubuntu, or Windows AMI.
• Choose an AMI labeled Free tier eligible if you're using the Free Tier.

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Step 5: Choose an Instance Type

• Select t2.micro or t3.micro (Free Tier options).
• Click Next.

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Step 6: Configure Key Pair (Login)

• Create a new key pair (e.g., cloudsoft-key) or select an existing one.
• Download the .pem file and store it safely — it’s required for SSH/RDP access.

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Step 7: Network Settings

• Use the default VPC and subnet.
• Configure Security Group:
  • Allow SSH (port 22) for Linux
  • Allow RDP (port 3389) for Windows

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Step 8: Storage

• Default: 8GB General Purpose SSD (gp2)
• Adjust size if needed.

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Step 9: Launch the Instance
Click Launch Instance and wait for initialization.

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Step 10: Connect to Your Instance

• Go to Instances → Select Instance → Connect
• For Linux:

Launch Your First EC2 Instance — Step by Step

1. Sign in to the AWS Console and open the EC2 service; pick your region (e.g., Mumbai ap-south-1).
2. Click Launch instance and give it a name.
3. Choose an AMI — Amazon Linux 2023 or Ubuntu LTS are free-tier eligible.
4. Select an instance type — t2.micro / t3.micro for free tier.
5. Create or select a key pair (.pem) — you'll need it to SSH in. Download and keep it safe.
6. Configure the security group: allow SSH (22) from your IP, and HTTP (80)/HTTPS (443) if hosting a site.
7. Set storage (8–30 GB gp3 is within free tier).
8. Review and Launch instance.

Connect to your instance

• EC2 Instance Connect (browser-based, no key needed) — easiest.
• SSH: ssh -i your-key.pem ec2-user@<public-ip> (use ubuntu@ for Ubuntu AMIs). Run chmod 400 your-key.pem first.

Good practices

• Stop the instance when idle to save free-tier hours; terminate to remove it entirely.
• Use an Elastic IP only if you need a stable public IP (free while attached to a running instance).
• Never open SSH to 0.0.0.0/0 in production; restrict by IP and use IAM + SSM Session Manager.

Don't have an account yet? Start with our AWS Free Tier sign-up guide, then go deeper with AWS training and AWS interview questions.