How to Launch an AWS EC2 Instance Step-by-Step Guide for Node.js Developers

How to Launch an AWS EC2 Instance

This step-by-step guide walks through launching an EC2 instance for deploying a Node.js application.

Step 1: Sign In to AWS Console

1. Go to https://console.aws.amazon.com
2. Sign in with your AWS account
3. Select a region (e.g., us-east-1 N. Virginia) choose one close to your users

Step 2: Launch an Instance

1. Go to Services → EC2 → Instances
2. Click Launch Instance
3. Give it a name (e.g., "devtinder-backend")

Step 3: Choose an AMI

Select Ubuntu Server 22.04 LTS (or 24.04 LTS). It's the most common choice for Node.js because:

• Large community and documentation
• apt package manager is easy to use
• Long-term support (LTS) ensures stability

Step 4: Choose an Instance Type

For development: t2.micro (free tier) For production: t3.small or t3.medium

Click Next: Configure Instance Details.

Step 5: Configure Instance

• Number of instances: 1
• Network: Default VPC
• Subnet: Default (or choose one in your preferred AZ)
• Auto-assign Public IP: Enable (so you can SSH in)

Step 6: Add Storage

Default is 8 GB. For a Node.js app, 20-30 GB is sufficient. Use gp3 (general purpose SSD) for better performance at lower cost.

Step 7: Add Tags

Add a tag:

• Key: Name
• Value: devtinder-backend

This helps you identify the instance in the console.

Step 8: Configure Security Group

Create a new security group named "devtinder-sg":

Important: For SSH, use "My IP" (AWS auto-detects your current IP). Never use 0.0.0.0/0 for SSH.

Step 9: Create a Key Pair

1. Click Create a new key pair
2. Name it "devtinder-key"
3. Choose RSA and .pem (for Mac/Linux/Windows PowerShell)
4. Click Create key pair

The .pem file downloads automatically. Save it securely you cannot download it again.

Step 10: Launch

Click Launch Instance. Wait 1-2 minutes for the instance to start.

Step 11: Connect via SSH

Find the public IP in the EC2 console. Then:

# Set permissions on the key file (Mac/Linux)
chmod 400 devtinder-key.pem

# Connect
ssh -i devtinder-key.pem ubuntu@your-public-ip

For Windows, use PuTTY or Windows PowerShell (use the .pem file directly).

Step 12: Verify the Connection

You should see:

Welcome to Ubuntu 22.04 LTS
...
ubuntu@ip-172-31-xx-xx:~$

Step 13: Allocate an Elastic IP (Optional but Recommended)

By default, the public IP changes when you stop/start the instance. To get a static IP:

1. Go to EC2 → Elastic IPs
2. Click Allocate Elastic IP address
3. Select the allocated IP
4. Actions → Associate Elastic IP address
5. Select your instance and associate

Now your instance has a permanent public IP.

The Takeaway

Launching an EC2 instance involves: choosing Ubuntu AMI, selecting instance type (t2.micro for dev), configuring security group (SSH from your IP, HTTP/HTTPS from anywhere), creating a key pair (.pem file), and connecting via SSH. For production, allocate an Elastic IP so the address doesn't change on restart.