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Connecting to Windows Instances
To connect to an instance, you will need a running instance and the private key file that corresponds to the key pair that was selected when the instance was launched. For information about launching instances, see Launching EC2 Instances. For information about key pairs, see Getting a Key Pair.
This section describes how to connect to instances running Windows from local computers running Windows, Linux/UNIX, or Mac OS.
Prerequisites
Enable RDP traffic—Open the instance's RDP port
Before you try to connect, ensure that your Amazon EC2 instance accepts incoming RDP traffic (usually on port 3389). For more information, see Authorizing Network Access to Your Instances.
RDP client—Install an RDP client
Windows computers include an RDP client by default. You can check for an RDP client by typing mstsc at a Command Prompt window. If your computer doesn't recognize this command, see the Microsoft Windows home page and search for the download for Remote Desktop Connection. For Mac OS X, you can use Microsoft's Remote Desktop Client. For Linux/UNIX, you can use rdesktop.
Instance ID—Get the ID of your Amazon EC2 instance
Retrieve the Instance ID of the Amazon EC2 instance you want to access. The Instance IDs for all of your instances are available in the Amazon EC2 console or with the ec2-describe-instances command.
Private key—Get the path to your private key
You'll need the fully qualified path of the private key file associated with your instance. For more information on key pairs, see Getting a Key Pair.
Connecting to Amazon EC2 Windows Instances
To connect to a Windows instance, you must retrieve the initial administrator password,
and then specify this password with Remote Desktop. You'll need the private key file that
you created when you launched the instance (for example,
GSG_Keypair.pem).
To connect to your Windows instance
Before you try to connect, ensure that your Amazon EC2 instance accepts incoming RDP traffic (usually on port 3389). For more information, see Authorizing Network Access to Your Instances.
Windows computers include an RDP client by default. You can check for an RDP client by typing mstsc at the Command Prompt window. If your computer doesn't recognize this command, go to the Microsoft Windows home page and search for the download for Remote Desktop Connection. For Mac OS X, you can use Microsoft's Remote Desktop Client. For Linux/UNIX, you can use rdesktop.
In the Amazon EC2 console, right-click the instance that you created and click Connect.
In the Console Connect dialog box, click Retrieve Password (it will take a few minutes after the instance is launched before the password is available).
Click Browse and navigate to the private key file you created when you launched the instance. Select the file and click OK to copy the entire contents of the file into the Private Key contents box.
Click Decrypt Password. The console displays the default administrator password for the instance in the Console Connect dialog box, replacing the link to Retrieve Password shown previously with the actual password.
Record the default administrator password, or copy it to the clipboard. You need this password to connect to the instance.
Click Download shortcut file. Your browser prompts you to either open or save the .rdp file. Either option is fine. When you have finished, you can click Close to dismiss the Console Connect dialog box.
If you opened the .rdp file, you'll see the Remote Desktop Connection dialog box. If you saved the .rdp file, navigate to your downloads directory, and double-click the .rdp file to display the dialog box. You may get a warning that the publisher of the remote connection is unknown. Click Connect to connect to your instance. You may get a warning that the security certificate could not be authenticated. Click Yes to continue.
Log in to the instance as prompted, using
Administratoras the user name and the default administrator password that you recorded or copied in step 7.
We recommend that you do the following:
Change the Administrator password from the default value. You change the password while logged on to the instance itself, just as you would on any other Windows Server.
Create another user account with administrator privileges on the instance. Another account with administrator privileges is a safeguard if you forget the Administrator password or have a problem with the Administrator account.
Note
Windows instances are limited to two simultaneous remote connections at one time. If you attempt a third connection, an error will occur. For more information, see Configure the Number of Simultaneous Remote Connections Allowed for a Connection.
Transfer Files to Windows Server Instances from Windows
You can work with your instance the same way you would work with any Windows server. For example, you can transfer files between an Amazon EC2 Windows instance and your local Windows computer using the local file sharing feature of Windows Remote Desktop. If you enable this option in your Windows Remote Desktop Connection software, you can access your local files from your Amazon EC2 Windows instances. You can access local files on hard disk drives, DVD drives, portable media drives, and mapped network drives. For information about this feature, go to the Microsoft Support website or go to The most useful feature of Remote Desktop I never knew about on the MSDN Blogs website.
