Accessing your Amazon EC2 Windows instances is a straightforward process using Remote Desktop Connection (RDC). This guide will walk you through the steps to connect to your Windows instance securely and efficiently.
Step 1: Launch Your Windows EC2 Instance
- Navigate to EC2 Dashboard: Go to the AWS Management Console and open the EC2 Dashboard.
- Launch Instance: Click on “Launch Instance” and select a Windows Server Amazon Machine Image (AMI) that suits your needs.
- Configure Instance Details: Configure your instance details, storage, tags, and security groups as needed.
- Create or Select a Key Pair: Make sure you create a new key pair or select an existing one. This is crucial for decrypting the administrator password later.
Step 2: Obtain the Administrator Password
- Wait for Instance Initialization: Wait until the instance state changes to “running” and the status checks show “2/2 checks passed.”
- Retrieve Password: Select your instance, then click on “Actions” > “Get Windows Password.”
- Decrypt Password: Upload your key pair file (.pem) and click “Decrypt Password.” Note down the decrypted password.
Connect to Your Instance Using RDC
- Open Remote Desktop Connection: Open RDC from your Start menu (search for “Remote Desktop Connection”).
- Enter Public DNS: In the “Computer” field, enter the public DNS or IP address of your EC2 instance.
- Enter Credentials: When prompted, enter “Administrator” as the username and the decrypted password from Step 2.
Accept Security Prompt: Accept any security prompts to proceed with the connection.
The server Interface looks like this :
