Step 1 - Launch an instance
To launch an instance,
- Open the Amazon EC2 console at here.
- From the console dashboard, choose Launch Instance.
- The Choose an Amazon Machine Image (AMI) page displays a list of basic configurations, called Amazon Machine Images (AMIs), that serve as templates for your instance. Select the AMI for Windows Server 2016 Base or later. Notice that these AMIs are marked "Free tier eligible."
- On the Choose an Instance Type page, you can select the hardware configuration of your instance. Select the t2.micro type, which is selected by default. Notice that this instance type is eligible for the free tier.
- Choose Review and Launch to let the wizard complete the other configuration settings for you.
- On the Review Instance Launch page, under Security Groups, you'll see that the wizard created and selected a security group for you. You can use this security group, or alternatively you can select the security group that you created when getting set up using the following steps,
- Choose Edit security groups.
- On the Configure Security Group page, ensure that Select an existing security group is selected.
- Select your security group from the list of existing security groups, and then choose Review and Launch.
- On the Review Instance Launch page, choose Launch.
- When prompted for a key pair, select Choose an existing key pair, then select the key pair that you created when getting set up.
Alternatively, you can create a new key pair. Select Create a new key pair, enter a name for the key pair, and then choose Download Key Pair.
This is the only chance for you to save the private key file, so be sure to download it. Save the private key file in a safe place. You'll need to provide the name of your key pair when you launch an instance and the corresponding private key each time you connect to the instance.
- Don't select the Proceed without a key pair option. If you launch your instance without a key pair, then you can't connect to it.
When you are ready, select the acknowledgment checkbox, and then choose Launch Instances.
- A confirmation page lets you know that your instance is launching. Choose View Instances to close the confirmation page and return to the console.
- On the Instances screen, you can view the status of the launch. It takes a short time for an instance to launch. When you launch an instance, its initial state is pending. After the instance starts, its state changes to running and it receives a public DNS name. (If the Public DNS (IPv4) column is hidden, choose Show/Hide Columns (the gear-shaped icon) in the top right corner of the page and then select Public DNS (IPv4).)
- It can take a few minutes for the instance to be ready so that you can connect to it. Check that your instance has passed its status checks; you can view this information in the Status Checks column.
Step 2 - Connect to your instance
To connect to your Windows instance using an RDP client,
- In the Amazon EC2 console, select the instance, and then choose Connect.
- In the Connect To Your Instance dialog box, choose Get Password (it will take a few minutes after the instance is launched before the password is available).
- Choose Browse and navigate to the private key file you created when you launched the instance. Select the file and choose Open to copy the entire contents of the file into the Contents field.
- Choose Decrypt Password. The console displays the default administrator password for the instance in the Connect To Your Instance dialog box, replacing the link to Get Password shown previously with the actual password.
- Record the default administrator password, or copy it to the clipboard. You need this password to connect to the instance.
- Choose Download Remote Desktop File. Your browser prompts you to either open or save the .rdp file. Either option is fine. When you have finished, you can choose Close to dismiss the Connect To Your Instance dialog box.
- If you opened the .rdp file, you'll see the Remote Desktop Connection dialog box.
- If you saved the .rdp file, navigate to your downloads directory, and open the .rdp file to display the dialog box.
- You may get a warning that the publisher of the remote connection is unknown. You can continue to connect to your instance.
- When prompted, log in to the instance, using the administrator account for the operating system and the password that you recorded or copied previously. If your Remote Desktop Connection already has an administrator account set up, you might have to choose the Use another account option and type the user name and password manually.
- Choose Yes in the Remote Desktop Connection window to connect to your instance.
Summary
In this article, we have learned Amazon EC2 Windows instances.
I hope that you found this tutorial easy to follow and understand.