How to Set Up Servers with Amazon Web Services

The Benefits of AWS

Amazon Web Services (AWS) has been around for nearly a decade now. IT began in 2006 by offering IT infrastructure services to businesses – what’s now most commonly referred to as cloud computing. It’s no secret that cloud computing has literally skyrocketed in popularity and usage over the past few years (the last two particularly), and this is largely due to the massive savings on infrastructure expenses than can be incurred through smart utilization.

Cloud computing offers the opportunity for businesses to replace the massive upfront infrastructure expenses that would normally be required to start a business, with low variable costs that scale in line with your growth. Cloud computing has meant that businesses no longer need to procure servers and any other IT infrastructure months in advance, instead being able to gain access to literally thousands of remote servers (or as many as the business needs at any given time) in a matter of minutes.

AWS now provide reliable, scalable and low cost infrastructure platforms to businesses in more than 190 countries around the globe. Amazon houses datacenters in the US, Brazil, Australia, Japan, Singapore and Europe, and companies of all sizes are taking advantage of massive benefits around the globe.

Agility

There’s a massive global cloud infrastructure provided by AWS, and one that allows businesses to very quickly innovate and experiment with new applications and software instantly, with no fixed terms of contract or massive upfront capital layout. With Amazon Web Services, a company need not waIT weeks or months to budget for, receive and install new hardware or software, and applications can be instantly deployed as they become available. What’s more, companies can scale up and down based on business demand, and you’ll only ever pay for what you use – even if it’s just a few hours.

Low Cost

With pay-as-you-go pricing, AWS means that you have no long-standing commitments or upfront expenses, and you only ever pay for what you use. Amazon actually prides itself on keeping costs as low as absolutely possible, having managed to lower its process on 15 separate occasions in the past 4 years – so you really know you’re getting the best value available.

Flexibility

AWS is an agnostic operating system platform. This means that you can choose the programming model or development platform that suits your business, which services you want to use and how you want to use them.

Security

The AWS datacenters are protected with multiple layers of physical and operational security to ensure the absolutely safety and integrity of your data. With industry recognized audits and certifications, AWS is a totally secure and durable technology platform that you should feel safe in using.

How to Set Up Servers with AWS

Amazon’s cloud server product is called Amazon EC2. Once you have set up your free AWS account, simply follow the step by step guide below so you can start using your web server immediately.

• Sign in to the AWS Management Console with your username and password.
• Click on EC2 – Virtual Servers in the Cloud.
• Click “Launch Instance” (instances are effectively servers).
• Click on “Classic Wizard”.
• Select the 32 bIT Amazon Linux AMI type server.
• Set number of instances to 1, and set type to Micro (this is so IT will be free). HIT continue, then continue again on the next page.
• Give your server a name, then hIT continue once more.
• Now you need to create a key pair so that you can access the server remotely from your computer. Under “Create a New Key Pair”, give your key pair a name, then click “Create and download your key pair”.
• Now select your security group (quick-start-1, for instance) and click continue.
• Finally you will be presented with a screen containing everything that you have just selected. If everything looks good then click “Launch”, and your server will be up and running and ready to use in a matter of minutes.

Congratulations!! You have now set up your own free server with AWS. What you do with IT will of course depend on your business plans etc. and if you can make do with the free one then so much the better.

However, the likelihood is that you may well need to pay for a few extra servers if you are to truly maximize your business output. Once you’ve got to grips with the backend of AWS, then acquiring new servers as your business expands becomes a lot more straightforward. However, to take the pain out of the operation entirely, then you should consider outsourcing some IT services to do all this techy hard work for you.

Here at V&C Solutions we can set you up with AWS immediately. We’re experts and know exactly what Amazon can offer you in terms of servers and storage, so get in touch to help us help you get on the right plan with AWS.