Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2) is one of the most important services in the AWS ecosystem. It allows you to launch virtual servers (instances) in the cloud, giving you scalable computing capacity without the need to invest in physical hardware.
In this post, I’ll walk you through the essentials of Amazon EC2, including how to launch, connect to, and terminate an EC2 instance using the AWS Management Console. This is part of my cloud computing learning journey, and I’ve also documented it in a full YouTube tutorial you can watch here:
🚀 Launching an Amazon EC2 Instance
The first step is to launch a basic EC2 instance:
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Sign in to the AWS Management Console and select
us-east-1 (N. Virginia)region. -
Search for EC2 and open the EC2 dashboard.
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Click Launch instance.
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Configure the instance:
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Name: ec2-demo
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AMI (Amazon Machine Image): Amazon Linux 2023 AMI
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Instance type: t2.micro (Free Tier eligible)
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Key pair: Proceed without a key pair (we’ll use EC2 Instance Connect).
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Keep default network and storage settings.
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Click Launch instance.
Within a few moments, your virtual server will be running.
🔗 Connecting to an EC2 Instance
Once launched, you’ll need to connect:
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From the Instances dashboard, select your instance.
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Click Connect from the top menu.
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Choose EC2 Instance Connect → then Connect.
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A browser-based terminal session will open.
At this point, you can start running Linux commands. For example, creating a file with:
🧹 Cleaning Up Resources
Cleaning up is critical to avoid unnecessary AWS charges. To do this:
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Terminate your running instances.
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Deregister any AMIs created.
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Delete related snapshots.
This ensures you’re not billed for unused resources.
🎯 Why EC2 is Important for Beginners
Learning Amazon EC2 is a must for AWS beginners, as it provides the foundation for understanding cloud infrastructure. From hosting applications to creating scalable environments, EC2 is at the core of many AWS solutions.
By practicing how to launch, connect, and clean up instances, you build confidence in managing AWS resources effectively.
📺 Watch the Full Tutorial
👉 Check out my complete step-by-step Amazon EC2 tutorial on YouTube here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HnEGf-PiLt8
Final Thoughts
Cloud computing is the future of IT, and Amazon EC2 is the gateway to mastering AWS. Whether you’re preparing for certifications or just starting out, hands-on practice is the best way to learn.
Follow my journey as I continue to explore more AWS services like Amazon S3, IAM, and Lambda.