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Automating AWS EC2 with Launch Templates: A Step-by-Step Guide

Automating AWS EC2 with Launch Templates: A Step-by-Step Guide

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SWATHI PUNREDDY
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Table of contents

Introduction

Welcome to the world of AWS EC2 automation! If you're diving into the AWS cloud, you're likely aiming to leverage its secure, reliable, and high-performance infrastructure to meet your business needs. Automation is a key part of this process, allowing you to streamline operations and reduce manual effort. In this blog, we'll walk you through the steps to automate EC2 instance launches using AWS Launch Templates, complete with a practical example of a simple web server setup.

What is Amazon EC2?

Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) is a web service that provides resizable compute capacity in the cloud. It is designed to make web-scale cloud computing easier for developers. With EC2, you can launch virtual servers, configure networking and security, and manage storage. The flexibility and scalability of EC2 make it a popular choice for a wide range of applications.

Benefits of Automation in EC2

Automation in EC2 can save you time and reduce errors by allowing you to define configurations once and reuse them. This is particularly useful for repetitive tasks such as launching instances, configuring environments, and deploying applications. With AWS Launch Templates, you can save instance configurations and use them to quickly spin up new instances with predefined settings.

Step 1: Creating a Launch Template

A Launch Template in AWS EC2 is a resource that contains the configuration information required to launch an instance. Here's how you can create and use a launch template:

Initial Setup

  1. Create an EC2 Instance:

    • Navigate to the EC2 Dashboard in the AWS Management Console.

    • Click "Launch instance" to start the instance creation.

    • Choose an Amazon Machine Image (AMI): Select an AMI, such as ubuntu.

    • Choose an Instance Type: Select an instance type based on your requirements (e.g., t2.micro for free tier).

    • Configure Instance Details: Accept the default settings or customize as needed.

    • Create Key Pair: provide name and select type as RSA and select .pem and click on create key pair

    • Add Storage: Accept the default storage settings or customize as needed.

    • Add Tags: Optionally, add tags to help identify your instance.

    • Configure Security Group: Create a new security group or select an existing one. Ensure that you allow SSH (port 22) and HTTP (port 80) access.

    • Review and Launch: Review your instance settings and click "Launch". Select an existing key pair or create a new one to SSH into your instance.

    • Once the instance is running, note the instance ID and public IP address.

  2. Launch Template Creation: Once the instance is running, navigate to "Launch Templates" in the sidebar and click "Create launch template".

  3. Template Details: Enter a name and description for your launch template.

  4. Launch Parameters: You will be able to the AMI ID, instance type, network settings, and other parameters you typically use when launching an instance.

  5. Create Template: Click "Create launch template" to save your template. For the initial version, you can skip the user data script.

Using the Template to Launch an Instance

  1. Delete the Initial Instance: After creating the launch template, terminate the initial EC2 instance.

  2. Launch from Template: In the EC2 Dashboard, click "Launch instance" and select "Launch instance from template".

  3. Select Template: Choose your newly created launch template.

  4. Configure Instance: Review the instance configuration and make any necessary adjustments.

  6. Launch: Click "Launch instance" to start your instance.

Step 2: Editing the Launch Template

Next, we'll modify the launch template to include a user data script that sets up a web server:

  1. Edit Launch Template: In the EC2 Dashboard, go to "Launch Templates" and select your template. Click "Actions" and then "Modify template (Create new version)".

  2. User Data Script: Add the following user data script to automate the setup of your instance:

     #!/bin/bash
 sudo apt-get update -y
 sudo apt-get install nginx -y
 sudo echo "hello friend's, Server IP address is $(hostname -I)" > /var/www/html/index.html
 sudo systemctl restart nginx

  3. Save New Version: Save the changes to create a new version of the launch template.

Step 3: Launching an Instance from the Updated Template

Once your launch template is updated, you can use it to launch instances with the new configuration:

  1. Launch Instance: In the EC2 Dashboard, click "Launch instance" and select "Launch instance from template".

  2. Select Updated Template: Choose the new version of your launch template.

  3. Configure Instance: Review the instance configuration and make any necessary adjustments.

  4. Launch: Click "Launch instance" to start your instance.

Step 4: Verify Your Web Server

After your instance is up and running, you can verify that your web server is functioning:

  1. Find the Public IP: In the EC2 Dashboard, find the public IP address of your new instance.

  2. Access the Web Page: Open a web browser and navigate to the public IP address. You should see your custom message displayed:

     hello friend's, Server IP address is [YOUR_INSTANCE_IP]

Conclusion

By using AWS EC2 Launch Templates, you can significantly simplify the process of launching and configuring instances. This not only saves time but also ensures consistency across your instances. Whether you're deploying a single server or scaling out a large application, automation with EC2 Launch Templates can help you manage your infrastructure more efficiently.

Happy automating! If you have any questions or need further assistance, feel free to reach out in the comments.

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