Amazon EC2 allows you to launch different types of cloud instances and pay for them with a pay-per-use approach. With Amazon EC2 you can create new servers in a few minutes and use different images (AMI) to personalize them. AWS provides several Microsoft Windows Server AMIs that enable you to run almost any compatible Windows-based solution. You can use Windows-based applications, websites, and web-services written in .NET, for data processing, media transcoding, and any other task requiring Windows software.

By completing this Hands-on Lab, you will be able to launch and access your first Amazon EC2 instance running Microsoft Windows Server.

Lab Objectives

Upon completion of this Lab you will be able to:

• Use the AWS Management Console to create an EC2 instance using the Windows operating system
• Use the AWS Management Console to work with EC2 Key Pairs
• Access the EC2 instance using Remote Desktop

Lab Prerequisites

You should be familiar with:

• Some familiarity with Windows and Remote Desktop Connection is helpful but not required
• Some familiarity with the AWS Management Console is helpful but not required

Updates

November 27th, 2023 - Migrated retrieving metadata step to powershell

October 11th, 2023 - Updated the instructions and screenshots to reflect the latest UI

May 31st, 2022 - Updated instructions and screenshots to reflect the new launch instance wizard

August 27th, 2020 - Updated the screenshots to match the new EC2 instances user interface

June 14th, 2019 - Updated the format of the Lab to improve quality

December 4th, 2018 - Added a validation Lab Step to check the work you perform in the Lab