GEOG 865
Cloud and Server GIS

How to stop and start your instance

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Fortunately, you don't have to repeat all the previous steps to complete the Launch Instance wizard every time you want to use Amazon EC2. Once you have an instance created, it's fairly easy to log in, start, and stop it. Before we talk about logging in, let's cover the basics of how to stop and start the instance. You'll need to begin using these techniques immediately, every time you use your instance, in order to keep costs down.

When people begin using Amazon EC2, they often ask about the difference between logging out, stopping, or terminating an instance.

  • You can close your Windows Remote Desktop Connection session or click the Windows Log Out button when you are finished using your instance. However, this does not stop the instance and you continue to accrue charges for it.
  • You can stop the instance, which is akin to pressing the power button to turn off your physical machine on your desktop: the machine is still there, and you can start it later, but it's not using any resources like electricity, spinning its CPU, etc., and it's not getting charged by Amazon. (Amazon does continue to charge you for the disk space your instance is using, but this is a relatively small charge.) When you are working through this course, you should stop the instance when you are finished working on the lessons for the day. When you are ready to go back to the lessons, you can start the instance and continue working with your programs and data.
  • You can terminate an instance, which makes the instance go away forever. The only thing left behind is any disk drive that was attached to the instance. Terminating your instance will hopefully not be necessary until the very end of the course; however, you can keep it as an option if your instance gets corrupted. If you terminate your instance, then you will have to create a new one using the steps in the previous section of the lesson for the Launch Instance wizard.

If you fail to stop your instances after you have finished working, you will quickly use up the Amazon Free-Tier credits and start seeing charges to your credit card.

Below are some reference instructions that you can use to stop and start your instance (Do not stop your instance for at least 10 minutes after you first launch it. It needs time to configure Windows for the first time.)

You can return to this page throughout the course if you need help remembering how to stop and start your instance.

Stopping your Windows instance

Use the instructions below to stop a Windows instance like the one you created in Lesson 1. Do not use these instructions for ArcGIS Server instances.

  1. Log in to the AWS Management Console and open the EC2 page.
  2. Click Instances.
  3. Right-click your instance and click Instance state > Stop.

This stops the clock on the charges for running your instance. When an instance is stopped, no one can use your server and you cannot log in.

Starting a Windows instance

Use the instructions below to start a Windows instance like the one you created in Lesson 1. When you start your instance, it takes a few minutes to boot up, but you shouldn't have to wait the full 10 minutes that you waited when you first launched the instance. Always follow the instructions below when you start your instance:

  1. Log in to the AWS Management Console and click the Amazon EC2 tab.
  2. Click Instances.
  3. Right-click your instance and click Instance state > Start.
  4. Wait at least 10 minutes so that the machine can start up and configure itself correctly.
  5. If you notice that your machine Instance no longer has your Elastic IP associated with it, click Elastic IPs and check the box next to your Elastic IP.
  6. Click Actions > Associate Address, choose your instance from the drop-down list, and click Associate.

After a few minutes your instance will be ready to use with its Elastic IP. After enough times of repeating this action you should have these instructions memorized.

Viewing your bill

To view your accrued charges at any time, go to the AWS Management Console Billing page. You can see detailed reports of your usage of each part of the service by clicking the Bill Details button at the upper right of the main Billing page.

I recommend that you view your credits after every lesson so that you understand whether you are in danger of excessive charges. If you consistently stop your instances after you are finished working, your costs will remain small.