Modify EC2 Instance Type

Modifying EC2 Instance Type

EC2 instance type modification diagram

Overview

ℹ️ Information: Selecting the appropriate Amazon EC2 instance type is a critical decision that determines the compute capabilities of your virtual server. The instance type you choose affects several key performance factors:

  • Compute: CPU architecture (Intel, AMD, AWS Graviton ARM-based processors, GPU accelerators)
  • Memory: RAM allocation for applications and workloads
  • Network: Bandwidth and throughput capabilities
  • Storage: EBS optimization and local instance storage options

Step-by-Step Instance Type Modification

Step 1: Access the EC2 Instance

  1. Sign in to the AWS Management Console
    • Navigate to the EC2 service
    • In the navigation pane, select Instances
    • Locate and select your Windows-instance

Accessing EC2 instance

  1. Stop the instance:
    • Click on Instance state
    • Select Stop instance

Stopping the instance

⚠️ Warning: An EC2 instance must be in the stopped state before you can modify its instance type. This will temporarily interrupt any applications running on the instance.

Step 2: Confirm Instance Stoppage

  1. In the confirmation dialog:
    • Review the warning message
    • Click Stop to proceed

Confirming instance stop

Step 3: Change the Instance Type

  1. Verify the instance is stopped:
    • Select the Windows-instance
    • Confirm that the Instance state shows Stopped

Verifying stopped state Instance in stopped state

  1. Access the instance type settings:
    • Click on Actions
    • Expand Instance settings
    • Select Change instance type

Accessing instance type settings

Step 4: Select the New Instance Type

  1. In the Change instance type dialog:
    • From the Instance type dropdown, select t3.medium
    • Review the new specifications (vCPUs, memory, network performance)
    • Click Apply to save the changes

Selecting new instance type

💡 Pro Tip: T3 instances offer better price-performance than T2 instances and provide a balance of compute, memory, and network resources suitable for a wide range of applications.

Step 5: Restart the Instance

  1. After the instance type has been changed:
    • Select the Windows-instance
    • Verify the new Instance type is displayed correctly
    • Click on Instance state
    • Select Start instance

Verifying instance type change Starting the instance

Step 6: Verify Instance Status

  1. Monitor the instance status:
    • Wait approximately 5 minutes for the instance to fully initialize
    • Confirm that Status check shows 2/2 checks passed
    • Verify that Instance state displays Running

Verifying instance is running

🔒 Security Note: When changing instance types, security groups, IAM roles, and other security configurations remain unchanged. However, it’s a good practice to review these settings after any instance modification.