Launch an Instance from a Custom AMI

Launching an EC2 Instance from a Custom AMI

Custom AMI launch workflow diagram

ℹ️ Information: Custom AMIs allow you to quickly deploy pre-configured instances with your specific software, configurations, and data. This significantly reduces deployment time and ensures consistency across your environment.

Step-by-Step Launch Process

Step 1: Locate Your Custom AMI

  1. In the EC2 console:

    • Select AMIs from the navigation pane
    • Locate and select your Custom Windows AMI created from the Windows Server 2022 instance
    • Click Launch instance from AMI

    Selecting custom AMI

Step 2: Configure Instance Details

  1. Provide a descriptive name for your instance:

    • Enter Windows Server AMI in the Name field

    Naming the instance

  2. Verify the AMI selection:

    • Confirm AMI from catalog is selected

    Verifying AMI selection

  3. Configure instance specifications:

    • Select an appropriate Instance type
    • Click Create new key pair to generate authentication credentials

    Selecting instance type

Step 3: Create a New Key Pair

  1. In the Create key pair dialog:

    • Key pair name: Enter kp-windows2
    • Private key file format: Select .pem
    • Click Create key pair

    Creating a new key pair

🔒 Security Note: Store your key pair file (.pem) in a secure location. This file is required to decrypt the administrator password for your Windows instance and cannot be recovered if lost.

Step 4: Configure Network Settings

  1. Under Network settings, click Edit and configure:

    • VPC: Select Windows-vpc
    • Subnet: Choose public subnet
    • Auto-assign public IP: Set to Enable
    • Firewall (security group): Select Select existing security group
    • Common security groups: Choose Windows-SG

    Configuring network settings

💡 Pro Tip: Using existing security groups ensures consistent network access controls across similar instances. Review the security group rules to confirm they match your requirements before proceeding.

Step 5: Review and Launch

  1. Review all configuration settings:

    • Verify instance details, networking, and security settings
    • Click Launch instance to create the instance

    Reviewing and launching instance

Step 6: Monitor Instance Initialization

  1. After successful creation:

    • Click View all instances to monitor the instance status

    Viewing instance details

  2. Wait for instance initialization:

    • Allow approximately 5 minutes for the instance to fully initialize
    • Verify the Status check shows 2/2 checks passed

    Monitoring instance status

Step 7: Connect to Your Instance

  1. Once the instance is running:

    • Select the instance
    • Click Connect to access connection options

    Connecting to the instance

ℹ️ Information: The custom AMI you created includes the Sysprep configuration from lab 3.2, which ensures a clean Windows environment. This eliminates warning messages typically seen when retrieving the administrator password for a new instance.

Password retrieval without warnings

⚠️ Warning: When connecting to Windows instances, always use the RDP protocol over secure networks or VPN connections. Consider implementing additional security measures such as just-in-time access or session recording for production environments.