In this, we’ll go step by step through the process of launching two EC2 instances in different availability zones, setting up Apache web servers, uploading a website template, and configuring an Application Load Balancer (ALB) with target groups for high availability and load distribution.
🖥️ Step 1: Create the First EC2 Instance
Go to the AWS EC2 dashboard and follow these steps:
- Click Launch Instance
- Name:
Web Server - AMI: Amazon Linux
- Instance Type: t2.micro (Free Tier eligible)
- Key Pair: Select an existing key or create a new one
- Network Settings:
- Edit settings
- Choose Default VPC
- Enable Auto-assign Public IP
- Set Availability Zone: ap-south-1a
- Security Group: Choose existing security group (Launch Wizard 1)
- Click Launch Instance
🖥️ Step 2: Create the Second EC2 Instance (in a different zone)
Repeat the process above with a slight change:
-
Availability Zone: Select
ap-south-1b
This ensures your setup is multi-AZ for better fault tolerance.
🔐 Step 3: Security Group Settings
For simplicity in testing:
- Go to Security Groups
- Select
Launch Wizard 1 - Edit inbound rules:
- Type: All traffic
- Protocol: All
- Port Range: All
-
Source: Custom –
0.0.0.0/0
⚠️ Warning: Allowing all traffic from anywhere is only recommended for testing/demo purposes.
📁 Step 4: Upload Website Template to EC2 Instances
1. Connect to EC2:
In EC2 dashboard:
- Select the instance
- Click Connect
- Choose EC2 Instance Connect → Connect
2. Run the Following Commands:
sudo su
yum update -y
yum install httpd -y
service httpd start
3. Move to Web Directory:
cd /var/www/html
4. Download Free Template:
Go to Free CSS Templates
Copy the ZIP link of your favorite template.
wget <paste-template-zip-link>
ls
unzip <template-name>.zip
ls
cd <unzipped-folder>
mv * ..
Repeat the same steps for the second instance, but use a different template for differentiation in load balancing.
⚖️ Step 5: Create Target Groups
Target Group 1:
- Navigate to Target Groups → Create Target Group
- Type:
Instances - Protocol:
HTTP - Port:
80 - VPC: Default
- Health Check Path:
/index.html - Name:
TG1 - Register the first EC2 instance and set port to
80
Target Group 2:
Repeat the steps, name it TG2, and register the second EC2 instance.
🌍 Step 6: Create Application Load Balancer
Go to Load Balancers → Create Load Balancer → Application Load Balancer.
- Name:
App-LB - Scheme:
Internet-facing - IP address type:
IPv4 - VPC: Default
- Availability Zones: Select both Zone A and Zone B
- Security Group:
Launch Wizard 1
🎯 Step 7: Add Listeners and Target Groups
-
Listener 1:
- Port:
80 - Forward to:
TG1(First Instance)
- Port:
-
Listener 2:
- Add another port like
81or89 - Forward to:
TG2(Second Instance)
- Add another port like
🌐 Step 8: Test the Load Balancer
After creating the load balancer, go to:
- Load Balancer > Description
- Copy the DNS name
Open the DNS in your browser:
-
http://<DNS>will load the first instance -
http://<DNS>:81(or 89) will load the second one
✅ Conclusion
You’ve successfully:
- Created multi-AZ EC2 instances
- Deployed different web templates
- Set up target groups
- Created an Application Load Balancer
- Configured multiple listeners for routing
Now, you’ve got a scalable, resilient architecture ready for production (with more secure settings, of course).
Top comments (2)
Neat setup, makes running stuff across zones look way less scary - always curious if most folks keep their test rules wide open or actually bother locking stuff down early?
Hi, thank you for such an insightful question!
In the beginning, you just want things to work, so keeping rules wide open feels easier. But once I started practicing setting up EC2 instances with an ALB, I gradually understood the importance of configuring proper security groups and restricting access. Trial and error taught me a lot. While it's okay during testing, in real-world environments, locking things down early is a must—it saves you from bigger issues later.