Connecting to and Configuring AWS EC2 Instances Using PowerShell and AWS CLI

Connecting to an Amazon EC2 instance and configuring it with your AWS account is a fundamental step in managing cloud resources. In this article, we'll explore the process using PowerShell and AWS CLI, catering to both Linux and Windows users.
Connecting to EC2 Instances Using PowerShell:

If you are a Windows user, PowerShell provides a convenient way to connect to your EC2 instance. Open a PowerShell session and use the following command:
ssh -i C:\Path\To\Your\KeyPair.pem ec2-user@your-instance-public-ip

Replace "C:\Path\To\Your\KeyPair.pem" with the path to your private key file and "your-instance-public-ip" with your EC2 instance's public IP address. Note that the username "ec2-user" is commonly used for Amazon Linux distributions.

Securing Your Key Pair:
To enhance security, restrict access to your key pair by setting appropriate permissions. Execute the following command:

chmod 600 C:\Path\To\Your\KeyPair.pem

This ensures that only the owner has read/write permissions, preventing unauthorized access.

Configuring EC2 Instances with AWS Account:
Once connected to your EC2 instance, configure it with your AWS account using AWS CLI. Follow these steps:

Generate Access Keys:
In the AWS console, navigate to "Security Credentials."
Generate an access key and secret access key.

Configure AWS CLI:
In your EC2 instance terminal, run the following command:

aws configure

Provide your access key, secret access key, default region, and set the output format to JSON.

Confirm AWS CLI installation with:

aws version

Your EC2 instance is now configured to interact with AWS services through AWS CLI.
Using AWS CLI to Access AWS Services:

List S3 buckets in the configured region:

aws s3 ls

Create an S3 bucket in the configured region:

aws s3 mb s3://bucketname

Create an EC2 instance using AWS CLI:

aws ec2 run-instances --image-id ami-xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx --instance-type t2.micro

Replace "ami-xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx" with the desired AMI ID and adjust the instance type accordingly.

Conclusion:
By combining PowerShell and AWS CLI, you can seamlessly connect to and configure your EC2 instances, providing a powerful and efficient workflow for managing your AWS resources.