Start up an EC2 instance
========================

Here, we're going to startup an Amazon Web Services (AWS) Elastic
Cloud Computing (EC2) "instance", or computer.

----

Go to 'https://aws.amazon.com' in a Web browser.

Select 'My Account/Console' menu option 'AWS Management Console."

Log in with your username & password.

Make sure it says North Virginia in the upper right, then select EC2
(upper left).

.. image:: images/amazon-1.png
   :width: 50%

Select "Launch Instance" (midway down the page).

.. image:: images/amazon-2.png
   :width: 50%

Next, scroll down the list of operating system types until you find
Ubuntu 14.04 LTS (PV) -- it should be at the very bottom.  Click 'select'.
(See :doc:`starting-up-a-custom-ami` if you want to start up a custom
operating system instead of Ubuntu 14.04.)

.. image:: images/amazon-3.png
   :width: 50%

Scroll down the list of instance types until you find "m1.xlarge".  Select
the box to the left, and then click "Review and Launch."

.. image:: images/amazon-4.png
   :width: 50%

Ignore the warning, check that it says "Ubuntu 14.04 LTS (PV)", and cick
"Launch".

.. image:: images/amazon-5.png
   :width: 50%

The *first* time through, you will have to "create a new key pair", which
you must then name (something like 'amazon') and download.

After this first time, you will be able to select an existing key pair.

.. image:: images/amazon-6.png
   :width: 50%

Select "Launch Instance."

.. image:: images/amazon-7.png
   :width: 50%

Select "view instance" and you should see a "pending" line in the
menu.

.. image:: images/amazon-8.png
   :width: 50%

Wait until it turns green, then make a note of the "Public DNS" (we
suggest copying and pasting it into a text notepad somewhere).  This
is your machine name, which you will need for logging in.

.. image:: images/amazon-9.png
   :width: 50%

Then, go to :doc:`log-in-with-ssh-win` or :doc:`log-in-with-ssh-mac`

You might also want to read about :doc:`terminating-your-instance`.