As I continue learning Microsoft Azure, I’ve started exploring Amazon Web Services (AWS) to understand how core cloud concepts translate across platforms.

Today, I worked on creating an EC2 (Elastic Compute Cloud) instance — AWS’s virtual server service. While the interface and terminology differ from Azure Virtual Machines, the fundamentals remain the same:

• Choose an image
• Select instance size
• Configure networking & security
• Launch and connect

Documenting these similarities and differences is helping me strengthen my cloud fundamentals and build a true multi-cloud mindset.

Here’s a step-by-step guide from my hands-on experience:

Sign in & Navigate

• Log in to your AWS Management Console.

• Go to the EC2 service under “Compute.”

• Click Launch Instance to start creating your virtual server.

Add Tag

Choose an Amazon Machine Image (AMI)

• Pick a pre-configured operating system (Linux, Windows, etc.).
• Think of it like choosing the OS for an Azure VM — same concept, different interface.

Add key pair

Select RDP and http

Launch & Connect

• Review all settings and click Launch.

*Generate and copy the password

• Download the key pair (.pem file) to securely connect via SSH (Linux) or RDP (Windows).

• Download the RDP file and connect with the copied password

• Congratulations! Your EC2 instance is live.

• Start surfing the internet

EC2 creation feels different from Azure VMs at first, but the cloud fundamentals are consistent. Documenting these steps helps me compare platforms and strengthen my multi-cloud skills.