EC2 instance

An EC2 instance is a virtual server running on Amazon. An EC2 instance service is exposed as a web service, whereby a user can provision a computing platform to run their application.

AWS Management Console

Go to AWS EC2 Management Console at https://console.aws.amazon.com/ec2/home.

Launching an instance

Create a new EC2 instance:

1. Click InstancesunderINSTANCE on the left menu.
2. Click Launch Instance.
3. Choose an Amazon Machine Image (AMI). As discussed in the AMI section, we need to choose an AMI that has the required pre-installed software package:

Figure 3.6: Choosing an AMI

Here, we can see that we have the option to select the AMI from different sources:

• • My AMIs: Choose from your own custom created AMI.
  • AWS Marketplace: You can choose from AWS Marketplace where third parties have created AMIs for public use. These AMIs may be freely available or you may be charged.
  • Community AMIs: You can choose from Community AMIs, which are listed by third parties who have made their AMI public.

If you...