Class 1 Lab 1 ‐ AWS Instance Setup - Justin-Boyd/Cloud-Security-Class GitHub Wiki

Task 1: Create an AWS Account

Step 1

Step 2

  • Click Sign in to the Console (top-right corner). This will open another page where you will Create a New AWS Account.

Step 3

  • Fill in the required fields for the account root user email address and AWS account name.

Step 4

  • You will be sent a verification code for the AWS account that expires after 10 minutes.

Step 5

  • You will need to enter the root user password.

Step 6

  • In Contact Information, select the account type Personal, fill in the required information, and click the checkbox to agree to the AWS Customer Agreement.
  • Click Create Account and Continue once you have entered the required information.

Step 7

  • Fill in the required payment information and click Verify and Add to continue.

Step 8

  • Add your phone number and complete the security form to receive a verification code via text message.
  • Click Send SMS to continue.

Step 9

  • Enter the verification code.

Step 10

  • Select the Basic Plan.

Step 11

  • On the welcome page that appears, you can sign in to your account via the Go to the AWS Management Console.

Task 2: Create a New EC2 Instance

Step 1

  • Sign in to the AWS console using the email address and password you used to create the account in Task 1.
  • If prompted for Root user or IAM user, choose Root user.

Step 2

  • Once logged in, use the new console and select Switch to the new Console Home.

Step 3

  • In the console at the top, click on Services to access a dropdown menu and type EC2 in the search bar.
  • Click on the EC2 to get to the EC2 Dashboard.

Step 4

  • In the EC2 dashboard, click the Launch Instance dropdown menu and select Launch Instance.

Step 5

  • n the search type Windows 2016, then select the Microsoft Windows Server 2016 Base Amazon Machine Image (AMI).
  • Confirm that it is labeled Free tier eligible and click Select.
  • Note: You may need to confirm the change.

Step 6

  • Go to Key pair and select Create new key pair. You will input the name for your pem or ppk file.
  • After you will click on Create key pair.

Step 7

  • Make sure to save and store the Key pair file. You will use it later for RDP connection to the server.

Step 8

  • Afterward check the Network settings and change the RDP traffic to your IP address.

Step 9

  • Now initiate Launch instance which is found on the right side under Summary.
  • The instance will begin and you should receive a success with your instance id message.
  • Near the bottom of the screen, click on View all instances.

Task 3: Connect to the Instance via RDP

Step 1

  • Right-click the instance and select Connect.

Step 2

  • In the Connect to Your Instance window, click Download Remote Desktop File and save the file to your computer.
  • Remember where you saved it.
  • After you download the file, click Get Password.

Step 3

  • In the Connect to your instance > Get Password window, for Key Pair Path, click Browse and navigate to the key pair file that you downloaded.
  • This file was made in Lab task 3, step 1 (file extension .pem).
  • Then click Decrypt Password.

Step 4

  • 4 After decrypting the password, the administrator account in the Windows 2016 AWS host that you created will now be visible.
  • Copy the password to a text file on your computer.
  • Note: Your public DNS name will be different than the one listed below, since it is unique for each AWS instance.

Step 5

  • To launch a remote desktop connection to your AWS instance (while the instance is running), double-click the RDP file you downloaded in step 4.
  • You will be prompted to enter the credentials for the administrator account using the password from step 7.
  • Notes:
    • When you first log into your AWS Windows instance, the setup process will take a few minutes to complete. You may experience a black screen for up to 5 minutes.
    • Even though you created a Free Tier server, you may still be charged for the instance after 750 hours of runtime. For more details about AWS tier limits, visit the following webpage: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/awsaccountbilling/latest/aboutv2/freetier-limits.html

Step 6

  • Congratulations! You are now logged into your Windows 2016 EC2 instance in AWS!

Step 7

  • Important: Turn off the instance by going back to the instance menu in Task 4, step 1; right-clicking the instance; and selecting Instance State -> Stop.