Cloud (AWS) Day 06: Launch EC2 Instance¶

This document explains how to launch an EC2 instance in AWS. An EC2 instance represents a virtual server running inside the AWS cloud infrastructure. The instance can be used to host applications, run scripts, or act as a backend server for services.

Two approaches are demonstrated:

AWS Management Console (UI)
AWS Command Line Interface (CLI)

Cloud (AWS) Day 06: Launch EC2 Instance
Objective
Understanding the Components
Method 1: Launch Instance Using AWS Console
Step 1: Access EC2 Service
Step 2: Start Launch Wizard
Step 3: Configure Instance Details
Step 4: Create Key Pair
Step 5: Configure Networking
Step 6: Launch Instance
Method 2: Launch Instance Using AWS CLI
Step 1: Create Key Pair
Step 2: Get Default Security Group ID
Step 3: Retrieve Latest Amazon Linux AMI
Step 4: Launch the Instance
Step 5: Verify Instance
Key Outcome

Objective¶

Launch an EC2 instance with the following configuration:

Instance Name: nautilus-ec2
AMI: Amazon Linux
Instance Type: t2.micro
Key Pair: nautilus-kp
Security Group: default
Region: us-east-1

Understanding the Components¶

Before creating the instance, it is important to understand the resources involved.

EC2 (Elastic Compute Cloud) provides virtual machines that run on AWS infrastructure. Each instance behaves like a normal server with CPU, memory, networking, and storage.

AMI (Amazon Machine Image) is the operating system template used to create the instance. It includes the base OS and sometimes additional packages.

Instance Type determines hardware resources. t2.micro provides:

1 vCPU
1 GB RAM

Key Pair is used for SSH authentication. AWS stores the public key while the private key remains with the user.

Security Groups act as virtual firewalls controlling network traffic to and from the instance.

Method 1: Launch Instance Using AWS Console¶

Step 1: Access EC2 Service¶

Log in to the AWS Management Console.
Ensure the region is set to us-east-1 (N. Virginia).
Search for EC2 in the Services menu.

Step 2: Start Launch Wizard¶

Click Launch instance from the EC2 dashboard.

Step 3: Configure Instance Details¶

Name¶

Set the instance name:

nautilus-ec2

AMI Selection¶

Choose:

Amazon Linux 2 AMI

Instance Type¶

Select:

t2.micro

Step 4: Create Key Pair¶

Create a new key pair:

Key pair name: nautilus-kp
Key type: RSA
Format: .pem

Download the private key and store it securely.

Step 5: Configure Networking¶

Under Network Settings:

Use default VPC
Use default subnet
Select existing security group
Choose default

Step 6: Launch Instance¶

Click Launch Instance.

After launch:

Navigate to EC2 → Instances.

The instance should appear with status:

Running

Method 2: Launch Instance Using AWS CLI¶

CLI-based provisioning is commonly used for automation and infrastructure scripting.

Step 1: Create Key Pair¶

aws ec2 create-key-pair \
  --key-name nautilus-kp \
  --key-type rsa \
  --query 'KeyMaterial' \
  --output text > nautilus-kp.pem \
  --region us-east-1

chmod 400 nautilus-kp.pem

This command generates a new SSH key pair and stores the private key locally.

Step 2: Get Default Security Group ID¶

DEFAULT_SG_ID=$(aws ec2 describe-security-groups \
  --filters Name=group-name,Values=default \
  --query 'SecurityGroups[0].GroupId' \
  --output text \
  --region us-east-1)

 echo $DEFAULT_SG_ID

# OUTPUT
# sg-094aae8bf2d6c6a6d

The command retrieves the security group identifier required for instance creation.

Step 3: Retrieve Latest Amazon Linux AMI¶

AMI_ID=$(aws ssm get-parameters \
  --names /aws/service/ami-amazon-linux-latest/amzn2-ami-hvm-x86_64-gp2 \
  --query 'Parameters[0].Value' \
  --output text \
  --region us-east-1)

 echo $AMI_ID

# OUTPUT
# ami-0199fa5fada510433

Using AWS Systems Manager ensures that the most recent Amazon Linux AMI is used.

Step 4: Launch the Instance¶

aws ec2 run-instances \
  --image-id $AMI_ID \
  --instance-type t2.micro \
  --key-name nautilus-kp \
  --security-group-ids $DEFAULT_SG_ID \
  --tag-specifications 'ResourceType=instance,Tags=[{Key=Name,Value=nautilus-ec2}]' \
  --region us-east-1

# OUTPUT

{
    "ReservationId": "r-01615b0d088ed28b0",
    "OwnerId": "971482151402",
    "Groups": [],
    "Instances": [
        {
            "Architecture": "x86_64",
            "BlockDeviceMappings": [],
            "ClientToken": "acb28892-acfe-4583-a740-2740aedfea2b",
            "EbsOptimized": false,
            "EnaSupport": true,
            "Hypervisor": "xen",
            "NetworkInterfaces": [
                {
                    "Attachment": {
                        "AttachTime": "2026-03-04T11:13:08.000Z",
                        "AttachmentId": "eni-attach-0fac5c5a82aa22b0e",
                        "DeleteOnTermination": true,
                        "DeviceIndex": 0,
                        "Status": "attaching",
                        "NetworkCardIndex": 0
                    },
                    "Description": "",
                    "Groups": [
                        {
                            "GroupId": "sg-094aae8bf2d6c6a6d",
                            "GroupName": "default"
                        }
                    ],
                    "Ipv6Addresses": [],
                    "MacAddress": "0a:ff:d4:5c:b5:c3",
                    "NetworkInterfaceId": "eni-02d836dc1f5200779",
                    "OwnerId": "971482151402",
                    "PrivateDnsName": "ip-172-31-17-121.ec2.internal",
                    "PrivateIpAddress": "172.31.17.121",
                    "PrivateIpAddresses": [
                        {
                            "Primary": true,
                            "PrivateDnsName": "ip-172-31-17-121.ec2.internal",
                            "PrivateIpAddress": "172.31.17.121"
                        }
                    ],
                    "SourceDestCheck": true,
                    "Status": "in-use",
                    "SubnetId": "subnet-07577a508f7765cfb",
                    "VpcId": "vpc-05d01c9c9a5be79a4",
                    "InterfaceType": "interface",
                    "Operator": {
                        "Managed": false
                    }
                }
            ],
            "RootDeviceName": "/dev/xvda",
            "RootDeviceType": "ebs",
            "SecurityGroups": [
                {
                    "GroupId": "sg-094aae8bf2d6c6a6d",
                    "GroupName": "default"
                }
            ],
            "SourceDestCheck": true,
            "StateReason": {
                "Code": "pending",
                "Message": "pending"
            },
            "Tags": [
                {
                    "Key": "Name",
                    "Value": "nautilus-ec2"
                }
            ],
            "VirtualizationType": "hvm",
            "CpuOptions": {
                "CoreCount": 1,
                "ThreadsPerCore": 1
            },
            "CapacityReservationSpecification": {
                "CapacityReservationPreference": "open"
            },
            "MetadataOptions": {
                "State": "pending",
                "HttpTokens": "optional",
                "HttpPutResponseHopLimit": 1,
                "HttpEndpoint": "enabled",
                "HttpProtocolIpv6": "disabled",
                "InstanceMetadataTags": "disabled"
            },
            "EnclaveOptions": {
                "Enabled": false
            },
            "PrivateDnsNameOptions": {
                "HostnameType": "ip-name",
                "EnableResourceNameDnsARecord": false,
                "EnableResourceNameDnsAAAARecord": false
            },
            "MaintenanceOptions": {
                "AutoRecovery": "default",
                "RebootMigration": "default"
            },
            "CurrentInstanceBootMode": "legacy-bios",
            "Operator": {
                "Managed": false
            },
            "InstanceId": "i-0c2459ecf77232e94",
            "ImageId": "ami-0199fa5fada510433",
            "State": {
                "Code": 0,
                "Name": "pending"
            },
            "PrivateDnsName": "ip-172-31-17-121.ec2.internal",
            "PublicDnsName": "",
            "StateTransitionReason": "",
            "KeyName": "nautilus-kp",
            "AmiLaunchIndex": 0,
            "ProductCodes": [],
            "InstanceType": "t2.micro",
            "LaunchTime": "2026-03-04T11:13:08.000Z",
            "Placement": {
                "GroupName": "",
                "Tenancy": "default",
                "AvailabilityZone": "us-east-1a"
            },
            "Monitoring": {
                "State": "disabled"
            },
            "SubnetId": "subnet-07577a508f7765cfb",
            "VpcId": "vpc-05d01c9c9a5be79a4",
            "PrivateIpAddress": "172.31.17.121"
        }
    ]
}

This command provisions the EC2 instance with the specified configuration.

Step 5: Verify Instance¶

To confirm that the instance is running:

aws ec2 describe-instances \
  --filters "Name=tag:Name,Values=nautilus-ec2" \
  --query "Reservations[*].Instances[*].[InstanceId,State.Name,PublicIpAddress]" \
  --output table \
  --region us-east-1

# OUTPUT

-----------------------------------------------------
|                 DescribeInstances                 |
+----------------------+----------+-----------------+
|  i-0c2459ecf77232e94 |  running |  100.53.13.199  |
+----------------------+----------+-----------------+

Expected output includes:

Instance ID
Running state
Public IP address

Key Outcome¶

An EC2 instance named nautilus-ec2 is successfully launched in the us-east-1 region using the t2.micro instance type and Amazon Linux AMI. The instance is secured using the nautilus-kp key pair and protected by the default security group.