How to Create a Virtual Machine on AWS: A Step-by-Step Guide

Amazon Web Services (AWS) provides cloud-based virtual machines called EC2 (Elastic Compute Cloud) instances, allowing users to deploy scalable computing resources on demand. Whether you're a developer, IT professional, or business owner, this guide will walk you through creating an EC2 instance (virtual machine) on AWS.

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What is an AWS EC2 Instance?

An EC2 instance is a virtual server in AWS’s cloud, offering flexible computing capacity. You can choose from different instance types (CPU, RAM, storage) and operating systems (Linux, Windows, etc.).

Benefits of Using AWS EC2:

✅ Scalability: Easily upgrade or downgrade resources.
✅ Pay-as-you-go: Only pay for what you use.
✅ Global Availability: Deploy instances in multiple regions.
✅ Security: Built-in firewalls (Security Groups) and encryption.

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Prerequisites

Before creating an EC2 instance, ensure you have:
✔ An AWS account (Sign up here).
✔ A key pair (for SSH access on Linux/macOS or RDP for Windows).
✔ Basic knowledge of AWS services (optional but helpful).

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Step-by-Step Guide to Creating an EC2 Instance

Step 1: Log in to AWS Console

1. Go to the AWS Management Console.

2. Sign in with your credentials.

Step 2: Navigate to EC2 Dashboard

1. Click "Services" in the top menu.

2. Under Compute, select EC2.

Step 3: Launch an Instance

1. Click "Launch Instance".

2. Enter a name for your instance (e.g., MyFirstVM).

Step 4: Choose an Amazon Machine Image (AMI)

• Select an OS:

  • Amazon Linux (Free Tier eligible)

  • Ubuntu Server

  • Windows Server (extra cost)

  • Or browse the AWS Marketplace for other options.

Step 5: Select an Instance Type

• For testing, choose t2.micro (Free Tier eligible).

• For production, consider t3.medium, m5.large, etc.

Step 6: Create or Select a Key Pair (For SSH Access)

1. Click "Create new key pair".

2. Name it (e.g., aws-keypair).

3. Select RSA/PEM format (for Linux/macOS) or PPK (for PuTTY on Windows).

4. Click "Create key pair" (automatically downloads a .pem file—keep it secure!).

Step 7: Configure Network Settings

1. Under Network settings, ensure:

   • Auto-assign Public IP is enabled.

   • Security Group (firewall rules) allows:

     • SSH (Port 22) for Linux

     • RDP (Port 3389) for Windows

     • HTTP (Port 80) if hosting a website

Step 8: Configure Storage

• Default 8GB SSD (gp2) is Free Tier eligible.

• Increase storage if needed (e.g., 30GB for larger applications).

Step 9: Launch the Instance

1. Click "Launch Instance".

2. Wait a few minutes for the instance to initialize.

Step 10: Connect to Your EC2 Instance

For Linux/macOS (via SSH):

1. Open Terminal.

2. Navigate to the folder containing your .pem key.

3. Run:

    chmod 400 aws-keypair.pem  # Set permissions
    ssh -i "aws-keypair.pem" ec2-user@<Public-IP>  # Replace <Public-IP>
   

For Windows (via RDP):

1. Download the RDP file from the EC2 dashboard.

2. Open it and log in using the administrator password (retrieve it via AWS Console).

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Managing Your EC2 Instance

• Start/Stop: Avoid costs by stopping unused instances.

• Resize: Change instance type if more CPU/RAM is needed.

• Terminate: Delete the instance when no longer needed (warning: data will be lost!).

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Cost Optimization Tips

💰 Use Spot Instances for cheaper, short-term workloads.
💰 Enable Auto Scaling for handling traffic spikes.
💰 Monitor costs with AWS Cost Explorer.

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Conclusion

Creating an EC2 instance on AWS is straightforward and allows you to deploy virtual servers in minutes. Whether for development, testing, or production workloads, AWS EC2 provides flexibility and scalability.

🚀 Try launching your first EC2 instance today!

Need Help?

• Check AWS EC2 Documentation.

• Use AWS Free Tier to avoid unexpected charges.

• Join AWS forums for community support.

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Did this guide help you? Share your experience in the comments below! ⬇️

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