How to Restore an EC2 Instance Using a Snapshot

AWS offers powerful cloud services like EC2 (Elastic Compute Cloud) for scalable computing and S3 (Simple Storage Service) for efficient storage. Among these, creating and restoring backups is crucial for disaster recovery and business continuity. This article focuses on how to restore an EC2 instance using an EBS snapshot.

What Are EC2 and S3?

EC2 is a compute web service allowing users to run virtual servers (instances) for applications. These instances come preconfigured with popular operating systems or can be customized based on specific needs.

S3 is AWS's scalable storage solution, enabling object-based storage via a user-friendly web interface. Together, EC2 and S3 form the backbone of many AWS-powered applications.

What Is an EBS Volume?

EBS (Elastic Block Store) is block-level storage designed for use with EC2 instances. It supports scenarios where frequent data updates, long-term data persistence, or high read/write operations are required. EBS is the go-to choice for database applications due to its reliability and scalability.

What Is an EBS Snapshot?

An EBS snapshot is a point-in-time backup of EBS volumes, stored in Amazon S3. Snapshots are incremental, meaning only the changes since the last snapshot are saved, reducing time and storage costs. These snapshots are critical for restoring EC2 instances in case of errors or data loss.

Steps to Restore EC2 from a Snapshot

Follow this step-by-step guide to create, delete, and restore an EC2 instance using snapshots:

Step 1: Launch an EC2 Instance

1. Log in to the AWS Management Console.
2. Navigate to the EC2 dashboard and click on Launch Instance.
3. Choose an Amazon Machine Image (AMI), such as Ubuntu or Windows Server.
4. Select an instance type like t2.micro (free-tier eligible).
5. Configure instance details, such as network and subnets.
6. Add storage (e.g., 8 GiB of SSD).
7. Add tags for easy identification.
8. Create a security group and define rules.
9. Review configurations, generate a key pair, and launch the instance.

Step 2: Create and Modify a File for Verification

1. Access the instance via SSH or PuTTY.
2. Create a directory (e.g., NareshText) and a file (e.g., NareshFileText.txt).
3. Add content to the file for verification purposes.

Step 3: Create an EBS Snapshot

1. In the EC2 dashboard, select the instance associated with the EBS volume.
2. Click on Actions > Create Snapshot.
3. Provide a description for the snapshot and save it.

Step 4: Terminate the EC2 Instance

1. Terminate the EC2 instance after ensuring the snapshot has been created successfully.

Step 5: Restore EC2 from Snapshot

1. Navigate to the Snapshots section in the AWS Console.
2. Create an AMI (Amazon Machine Image) from the snapshot:
• Select the snapshot.
• Click Create Image and provide a name and description.
3. Launch an EC2 instance using the newly created AMI:
• Follow the standard instance creation steps.
• Ensure the configuration matches the previous instance.

Step 6: Verify the Restored Instance

1. Access the newly created instance.
2. Navigate to the directory and file created earlier (e.g., NareshText/NareshFileText.txt).
3. Verify the contents to confirm a successful restoration.

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