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abdullah haroon
abdullah haroon

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How to Launch Your First EC2 Instance on AWS (with Security Best Practices)

#aws #webdev #virtualmachine #awsiot

By Abdullah Haroon – Student | Cloud Practitioner| AWS Learner

What You’ll Learn

By the end of this guide, you’ll:

  • Understand what Amazon EC2 is
  • Launch your first virtual server using AWS Free Tier
  • Connect to it securely via SSH
  • Install a basic web server
  • Apply essential security practices for beginners

What is EC2?

Amazon EC2 (Elastic Compute Cloud) is AWS's virtual server service. It allows you to rent virtual machines (VMs) in the cloud where you can run applications, host websites, or learn Linux—all without buying hardware.

Think of it as your own personal server, available globally, just a few clicks away.

Common use cases:

  • Hosting websites & web apps
  • Deploying APIs and backend services
  • Machine learning & data processing
  • Practicing Linux/DevOps tools

What You Need

  • A free AWS account — Create one here
  • A stable internet connection
  • Basic knowledge of using terminal/command prompt

Step-by-Step guide: Launching Your First EC2 Instance

Step 1: Log in to the AWS Console

Go to https://console.aws.amazon.com/ and sign in.

Choose a region (e.g., US East - N. Virginia) at the top-right.

Step 2: Navigate to EC2

  • Click on Services
  • Search for EC2 and select it
  • In the EC2 Dashboard, click Launch instance

Step 3: Configure Your EC2 Instance

Name

  • Name: MyFirstEC2

AMI (Amazon Machine Image)

  • Choose: Amazon Linux 2023 (Free tier eligible)

Instance Type

  • Choose: t2.micro

Key Pair

  • Create a new key pair: ec2-key-abdullah
  • Select .pem
  • Download and store the file securely (you’ll need it to SSH)

Network Settings

  • Create a new security group
  • Allow SSH (Port 22) — Source: “My IP”
  • (Optional) Allow HTTP (Port 80) if installing a web server

Storage

  • Default 8 GB is fine

Click Launch Instance

Congratulations! Your instance is launching.

Step 4: Access Instance & Copy Public IP

  • Go to Instances > Running Instances
  • Wait until instance status is running
  • Copy the Public IPv4 address

Step 5: Connect to EC2 via SSH

On Linux/macOS: 

chmod 400 ec2-key-abdullah.pem
ssh -i ec2-key-abdullah.pem ec2-user@<your-public-ip>
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Step 5 (continued): Connect on Windows (Git Bash or WSL)

Same command as above:

chmod 400 abdullah-key.pem
ssh -i abdullah-key.pem ec2-user@<your-public-ip>
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Step 6: Install Apache Web Server

Once logged in via SSH:

sudo yum update -y
sudo yum install httpd -y
sudo systemctl start httpd
sudo systemctl enable httpd
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Now open your public IP in a browser — you’ll see the Apache test page!

Security Best Practices

Common Mistake Best Practice
SSH open to all IPs (0.0.0.0) Restrict to My IP only
Sharing .pem file with others Keep it private and secure
Keeping unused instances running Stop or terminate when not in use
Using root account always Use IAM roles and least-privilege access

Troubleshooting Tips:

Permission denied (publickey) 

chmod 400 abdullah-key.pem
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SSH timeout or connection refused

  • Ensure Port 22 is allowed in your EC2 Security Group
  • Confirm you're using the correct public IP from the EC2 Console

Webpage not loading

  • Add a rule in your Security Group to allow HTTP (Port 80)

What You Achieved

You have successfully:

  • Launched a virtual server (EC2 instance)
  • Connected via SSH securely
  • Installed a working Apache web server
  • Followed essential cloud security steps

You’ve taken your first big step into the AWS Cloud! ☁️

Let’s Connect!

I’m sharing my AWS learning journey through beginner-friendly blogs.

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