Common AMIs include Amazon Linux, Ubuntu, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, and Windows Server.

EC2 Instance Types

Instance types define the hardware resources allocated to your virtual machine.

General naming pattern:

t2.micro
│ │ └── Size
│ └──── Generation
└────── Family

What Is t2.micro?

t2.micro is one of the most popular EC2 instance types for beginners.

Common use cases:

• Learning AWS
• Small websites
• Testing environments
• Personal projects

Security Groups

A Security Group acts like a virtual firewall for an EC2 instance.

It controls:

• Who can connect to the instance
• Which ports are open
• Which outbound connections are allowed

Security groups are stateful, meaning return traffic is automatically allowed when inbound traffic is permitted.

Inbound Traffic Rules

Inbound rules define what traffic can enter your EC2 instance.

Outbound Traffic Rules

Outbound rules define what traffic can leave the EC2 instance.

How to Create an EC2 Instance

1. Open AWS Console → EC2 → Launch Instance.
2. Enter a name for the instance.
3. Select an AMI such as Amazon Linux 2023 or Ubuntu.
4. Choose an instance type like t2.micro.
5. Create and download a key pair.
6. Configure security groups.
7. Launch the instance.
8. Connect using SSH.

Example:

ssh -i my-key.pem ec2-user@PUBLIC_IP

EC2 Launch Workflow

Best Practices

• Restrict SSH access to your IP address.
• Follow the principle of least privilege.
• Stop unused instances to reduce cost.
• Use IAM roles instead of access keys where possible.
• Enable monitoring and logging.

Conclusion

To launch an EC2 instance successfully, you should understand AMIs, instance types, security groups, and inbound/outbound traffic rules. A small Amazon Linux t2.micro instance is an excellent starting point for learning AWS EC2 fundamentals.