How to make your first VPC and EC2

Hi there,

In this post, I’ll show you how to create your first VPC and EC2 instance using the AWS CLI. I hope it helps you better understand AWS service components.

Architecture

You can build the simple environment shown below using the following AWS CLI commands:

Prerequisites

If you haven’t installed the AWS CLI before, follow these steps:

Install AWS CLI:

    curl "https://awscli.amazonaws.com/awscli-exe-linux-x86_64.zip" -o "awscliv2.zip"
    unzip awscliv2.zip
    sudo ./aws/install

Verify the installation:

aws --version

Before running the configuration, make sure you have your AWS Access Key ID and Secret Access Key ready.

aws configure

Confirm your credentials are properly registered:

cat ~/.aws/credentials
cat ~/.aws/config

After completing these steps, you can start using the AWS CLI:

aws s3 ls --profile myprofile

Procedure

1. Create a VPC
   It’s useful to capture the newly created VPC ID in a variable for later use.

   aws ec2 create-vpc \
       --cidr-block 10.10.0.0/23
   
   vpc_id="PUT_YOUR_OWN_VALUE"
   echo $vpc_id
   

   
   

2. Create a Subnet

   aws ec2 create-subnet \
       --vpc-id $vpc_id \
       --cidr-block 10.10.0.0/24
   
   subnet_id="PUT_YOUR_OWN_VALUE"
   echo $subnet_id
   

   
   

3. Create and Attach an Internet Gateway
   Create the gateway:

   aws ec2 create-internet-gateway
       
   igw_id="PUT_YOUR_OWN_VALUE"
   echo $igw_id
   

   Attach it to your VPC:

   aws ec2 attach-internet-gateway \
   	--internet-gateway-id $igw_id \
   	--vpc-id $vpc_id
   

   
   

4. Create a Route Table and Configure Routing
   Create the route table:

   aws ec2 create-route-table --vpc-id $vpc_id
       
   rtb_id="PUT_YOUR_OWN_VALUE"
   echo $rtb_id
   

   Create a route:

   aws ec2 create-route --route-table-id $rtb_id \
       --destination-cidr-block 0.0.0.0/0 \
       --gateway-id $igw_id
   

   Associate the route table with the subnet:

   aws ec2 associate-route-table \
       --route-table-id $rtb_id \
       --subnet-id $subnet_id
   

   
   

5. Modify the Subnet to Enable Auto-Assign Public IP

   aws ec2 modify-subnet-attribute \
       --subnet-id $subnet_id \
       --map-public-ip-on-launch
   

   
   

6. Create a Security Group
   Create the group:

   aws ec2 create-security-group \
       --group-name "PUT_YOUR_OWN_VALUE" \
       --description "This is test security group" \
       --vpc-id $vpc_id
   
   sg_id="PUT_YOUR_OWN_VALUE"
   echo $sg_id
   

   Authorize inbound SSH (adjust CIDR as needed):

   aws ec2 authorize-security-group-ingress \
       --group-id $sg_id \
       --protocol tcp \
       --port 22 \
       --cidr <PUT_YOUR_ClientPC_IP>/32
   

   
   

7. Create a Key Pair

   aws ec2 create-key-pair \
       --key-name <your_key_name> \
       --query 'KeyMaterial' \
       --output text > <your_key_name>.pem
   
   # change file permission
   chmod 400 HirakeGoma2.pem
   

   
   

8. Launch an EC2 Instance
   This time, I’m using the Amazon Linux AMI, but you can replace the image ID with any AMI you prefer.

   aws ec2 run-instances \
       --image-id ami-09278528675a8d54e \
       --count 1 \
       --instance-type t3.micro \
       --key-name <your_key_name> \
       --security-group-ids $sg_id \
       --subnet-id $subnet_id
   
   instance_id="PUT_YOUR_OWN_VALUE"
   echo $instance_id
   

   
   

9. Verify the EC2 Instance

   aws ec2 describe-instances --instance-id $instance_id
   

   
   

10. Connect to Your Instance

    ssh -i "TestKeyPair.pem" ec2-user@<Instance's Public IP>
    

    
    

Thanks for reading! ;)