As I learn more about cloud computing and AWS, I came across EC2 (Elastic Compute Cloud) – a service that enables me run virtual servers in the cloud. These instances gave me full control over how to set them up and access them.
To connect to an EC2 instance securely, I used SSH (Secure Shell). Since I’m on a Windows machine I used a free tool called PuTTY, which helps me manage my instances both safely and conveniently.
What is SSH and Why Am I Using It?
SSH (Secure Shell) is a secure way to connect to a remote device like a server. Instead of typing in a password I used a key pair – a public key stored on the server and a private key saved safely on my computer.
How to connect to EC2 Using PuTTY
To connect to AWS instance I followed below steps using PuTTY on Windows.
What I Used:
- A running EC2 instance on AWS
- A .ppt key pair that I downloaded when launching the instance
- PuTTY installed on my PC.
Connecting with PuTTY
- I opened PuTTY.
- In the Host Name field, I entered the public IP of my EC2 instance (from the AWS console).
- Under Connection → SSH → Auth, I browsed and selected my .ppk file.
- I clicked Open to start the session.
- When prompted for a username, I used
ec2-userfor Amazon Linux
Why PuTTY is Convenient on Windows
PuTTY is lightweight and easy to use. It helps me:
- Save sessions for quick connections
- Use terminal commands like I would on a Linux server
What I’ve Learned
Learning how to connect to AWS EC2 instances using SSH and PuTTY has been a valuable experience. It helped me understand the basics of secure server management and gives me hands-on practice in cloud computing.