Are you looking to break into cloud computing? Let me share my recent experience setting up a static website on Amazon Web Services (AWS) using an EC2 instance. This project was a great introduction to cloud infrastructure and helped me gain hands-on experience with AWS.
Getting Started with EC2
First, I logged into the AWS console and searched for EC2. After navigating to the Instances section, I clicked "Create Instance." For this project, I chose a Linux server with a t3.micro instance type—perfect for learning as it's part of the AWS Free Tier.
Setting Up the Instance
Once my instance was running, I clicked on the instance ID to access its information page. The next step was connecting to the instance via SSH. I used Git Bash, ensuring I was in the same directory as my downloaded key pair (.pem) file.
To connect, I ran these commands:
chmod 400 keyparfilename.pem
ssh -i keyparfilename.pem ubuntu@ec2-public-IP-address.AWSareaID.compute.amazonaws.com
Installing Necessary Software
After successfully connecting, I switched to root access with sudo su -. Then, I installed and started Nginx:
apt install nginx -y
systemctl start nginx
systemctl enable nginx
I also installed unzip to help with unpacking the website files:
apt install unzip
Deploying the Website
Next, I downloaded and unzipped the website files:
curl "name-of-zipped-file" -o "preferred-file-name.zip"
unzip preferred-file-name.zip
Finally, I copied all the files to the Nginx web directory:
cp -r * /var/www/html/
Viewing the Result
With everything set up, I copied the public IP address from the AWS console and pasted it into a web browser. Voila! My website was live.
Challenges and Learnings
While the process seems straightforward now, I encountered a few hiccups along the way. Understanding the EC2 dashboard took some time, and I initially struggled with SSH connections. However, careful reading of AWS documentation, Youtube videos, our slack channel and some troubleshooting helped me overcome these obstacles.
This project taught me valuable lessons about cloud infrastructure, Linux command line, and web servers. It's amazing to see how quickly you can deploy a website using cloud services!
If you're looking to start your cloud computing journey, I highly recommend trying out a similar project. It's a great way to get hands-on experience and build your confidence in working with AWS.
Screenshot of the Hosted Website
Website template accessed from : https://www.tooplate.com/view/2135-mini-finance
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