If you are a developer, you surely would require a computing resource that could help you build and run applications with ease. Amazon EC2, short for Elastic Computing Cloud, is an Amazon web service that allows a company to manage the provision of virtual servers on the cloud. What is Amazon EC2?Amazon EC2 is a reliable web service that provides the creation and management of virtual servers to its users. EC2 is a computing resource that can be modulated according to different requirements. One can scale up or down based on traffic or work demand. You can also choose from several instance types to make cost and performance trade-offs optimal for your use case. What Are The Uses of Amazon EC2? This resource can be used for a variety of purposes due to its cost-effectiveness and flexibility. Here are some areas where Amazon EC2 can be used: Processing Large Data: EC2 is a tool, powerful enough to deal with the processing of large-scale data. Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning: EC2 also offers high-performance instance types that are important for training machine learning models. This aids developers in complex calculations and working with large datasets. Disaster Recovery and Backup: It can also be used to recover lost data and as a backup for lost information. Users can create backup systems and use them when needed. Gaming Services: EC2 can be quite advantageous for hosting multiplayer gaming services as well. Key Features of EC2To begin with, we will take some time to highlight a few of the cool services that EC2 has to offer on AWS.Instance Types: EC2 provides its users with various instance types, with various combinations of memory, CPU, and network. This type of flexibility makes EC2 extremely favorable to use. Auto Scaling: It makes it much easier to upscale or downscale instances. You can add or remove instances according to your requirements. Security: The connections offered by EC2 are secure and private. This prevents data breaches and keeps the network guarded. Cost-Effective: EC2 offers different pricing models as well. These models can be based on the instances you choose, the scaling, or the workload. Setting Up Amazon Web Service AccountCreating an account with Amazon Web Service is the first step of the access to Amazon EC2. This account provides overall access and management of AWS services, including EC2. Sign up to the AWS website by going to the website and clicking “Create an AWS account”. Enter your billing information for credit card verification. Select the plan you want. Accessing the EC2 DashboardAfter setting up your account, it is now time to access your EC2 dashboard. Log Into your EC2 account with your credentials.In the AWS console, search for EC2. It will then take you to the EC2 dashboard. The dashboard will show an overview of resources that you can access. Launching an EC2 InstanceEC2 instance is a virtual server in AWS. This is how you can launch an EC2 instance on Amazon web service: Click “Launch Instance” in the EC2 dashboard and begin. Choose an instance type based on your workload. If you are a beginner, the free-tier- instance might be a good choice. AWS also offers other instance types with higher compute power, memory, and storage for more advanced use cases.Configure options such as the number of instances or networking. For simple setups, the default settings will work.Customize the storage size or add additional storage volumes if needed. The default storage size for most AMIs is usually sufficient for testing purposes.Configure security firewalls to allow traffic through the required ports. After verifying your settings, click “Launch”. AWS will prompt you to select and then create a key pair.Managing Key Pairs Key pairs are crucial for effectively connecting to your EC2 instance. Create a new pair: Start with creating a new pair. Choose “create new pair” , give it the name you want, and download the file. Use an existing pair: If you already have an existing key pair, select it from the dropdown menu. Using EC2 With AWS CLIThe AWS Command Line Interface (CLI) allows you to manage EC2 instances from your terminal. With the CLI, you can automate tasks, streamline workflows, and integrate AWS operations into your development environment.Install the AWS CLI: Follow the installation guide to set up AWS CLI.Configure AWS CLI: Run AWS configure and input your AWS Access Key, Secret Key, and preferred region.Use CLI Commands to Manage EC2: With CLI, you can manage EC2 resources smoothly. Regulating Your EC2 InstancesYou can even manage your EC2 instances, either through the EC2 dashboard or the AWS CLI. You can stop, restart, or end an instance if needed. Here’s how:Stop an instance: This would shut down an instance without deleting it and merely stop the billing. Restart an instance: This may be needed in case of troubleshooting minor issues by rebooting the instance. Terminating an instance: Terminating would permanently delete the instance and all the storage along with it. Therefore, make sure to back up all your data before using this feature. ConclusionAmazon EC2 is a dynamic tool, with high computing power used for a wide range of objectives like processing large volumes of data or managing key pairs.By following the steps mentioned above, you can set up and access the EC2 instance with only a few clicks. This enables you to avail AWS’s various features to support your computing needs like web hosting, large-scale data processing, or building applications.After getting familiar with the basics of working with EC2 instances, you can start working with more advanced features to create a more secure and high-performing cloud.Read Morehttps://devopsden.io/article/best-alternatives-for-apache-kafkaFollow us onhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/devopsden/