May 1, 2024
Updated June 4, 2025
20 minute read
An Introduction to Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (AWS EC2)
Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud, universally known as AWS EC2, is a foundational service within the expansive Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud-computing platform. At its core, EC2 allows users to rent virtual computers, referred to as "instances," on which they can run their own applications. This service is designed to make web-scale cloud computing easier for developers and businesses by providing resizable compute capacity in the cloud. Instead of investing in and maintaining physical hardware, users can leverage EC2 to launch and manage virtual servers, tailoring the operating system, storage, memory, and processing power to their specific needs. This effectively eliminates the need for upfront hardware investment and allows users to develop and deploy applications faster.
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Find a path to becoming a AWS EC2. Learn more at:
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Reading list
We've selected 18 books
that we think will supplement your
learning. Use these to
develop background knowledge, enrich your coursework, and gain a
deeper understanding of the topics covered in
AWS EC2.
Provides a comprehensive overview of AWS services, including EC2, and is specifically designed to prepare individuals for the AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Associate exam. It is highly relevant for gaining a broad understanding of how EC2 fits into the larger AWS ecosystem and is often used as a textbook or primary study resource for certification. It includes practice questions and an online learning environment, making it valuable for both learning and self-assessment.
Focused on the operational aspects of AWS, this study guide covers deploying, managing, and operating fault-tolerant systems on AWS. EC2 core component, and the book delves into practical EC2 management, monitoring, and troubleshooting. It's an excellent resource for those looking to deepen their understanding of running and maintaining EC2 instances in a production environment and is commonly used for the AWS Certified SysOps Administrator - Associate certification.
This official study guide for the SOA-C02 exam provides comprehensive coverage of the operational aspects of AWS, including extensive material on managing and operating EC2 instances, monitoring, and automation. It's a key resource for SysOps professionals and those preparing for the certification, offering practical exercises and real-world scenarios.
Offers a deep dive into Amazon EC2, covering its core components, networking, security, storage options, and performance optimization. It moves from fundamentals to advanced concepts like containers, serverless, and hybrid cloud architectures. It's highly valuable for those seeking to master EC2 and build resilient applications, making it a strong reference for professionals and advanced students.
Focuses on the practical aspects of system administration on AWS, with a significant portion dedicated to managing and maintaining EC2 instances. It covers topics like monitoring, patching, and troubleshooting, making it a valuable resource for SysOps professionals and those in similar roles.
Provides a deep dive into networking concepts for AWS EC2 instances. It is an excellent resource for network engineers who want to learn more about the advanced networking features of AWS EC2.
Provides a step-by-step guide to resolving common problems with AWS EC2 instances. It is an excellent resource for system administrators who want to quickly troubleshoot and resolve issues with their AWS EC2 environments.
Provides a beginner-friendly introduction to AWS EC2. It is an excellent resource for anyone who wants to learn more about AWS EC2 and how to use it to build and manage cloud applications.
While covering other AWS services, this book provides a hands-on approach to EC2, focusing on practical implementation and real-world scenarios. It's valuable for students and professionals who learn best by doing and want to see how EC2 integrates with other fundamental AWS services.
This study guide focuses on the development aspects of AWS, covering how developers can utilize services like EC2 for deploying and running applications. It provides a different perspective on EC2 usage compared to the Solutions Architect or SysOps roles and is valuable for developers looking to work with EC2.
Similar to a cookbook, this book provides practical solutions and recipes for common tasks on AWS, many of which involve EC2. It's a useful reference for quickly finding solutions to specific problems and implementing various EC2 configurations. Suitable for those with some basic AWS knowledge.
Aimed at newcomers to AWS, this book provides a basic introduction to Amazon EC2, covering account setup, instance creation, and deployment of simple applications. It's a good starting point for high school students or those with no prior cloud experience to gain a foundational understanding of what EC2 is and how to get started.
While not strictly an AWS book, this widely acclaimed book covers fundamental concepts in designing robust, scalable, and maintainable data systems. These principles are directly applicable to designing applications that run on EC2 and utilize AWS data services. It provides essential background knowledge for anyone building complex systems on the cloud.
Explores the cultural and technical aspects of implementing DevOps practices. Understanding these principles is beneficial for optimizing workflows and collaboration when managing infrastructure on AWS EC2. It provides valuable context for how technical skills related to EC2 fit into a modern IT organization.
While foundational, this book introduces core AWS concepts and services, including a basic overview of EC2. It's an excellent starting point for absolute beginners to understand the very basics of cloud computing and AWS before diving deeper into EC2. Useful for high school students or those completely new to the cloud.
This business novel that illustrates DevOps principles. While not technical, it provides valuable context on the importance of collaboration, automation, and continuous improvement in IT operations, which are directly applicable to managing EC2 environments effectively. It's recommended reading for anyone in an IT role, regardless of technical depth.
Provides practical guidelines for designing and building applications with Amazon EC2 and supporting AWS tools. It focuses on critical issues like load balancing, monitoring, and automation. While an older publication, the fundamental concepts covered regarding application design on EC2 are still relevant, making it valuable as additional reading for historical context and core principles.
For more information about how these books relate to this course, visit:
OpenCourser.com/topic/1mh1da/aws
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