Accessing an EC2 Instance on your Windows Machine
There are a few different ways to access a terminal-type environment on a Windows machine. Below are a few of the most common methods. Users can first create their EC2 Instance as described in the online procedures, then use one of the options below to access their instance on their Windows machine.
After downloading and installing WSL, you can access and run a native Linux environment directly on your Windows machine. In the WSL terminal window you can then run all of the Linux/Mac tutorial procedures as-is. https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/UserGuide/WSL.html
Using PuTTY requires a user to convert their .pem key file to the PuTTY format .ppk file using the PuTTYgen application. Then use the PuTTY GUI to connect to the instance with the newly created .ppk file. This will launch a terminal window connected to your EC2 instance. https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/UserGuide/putty.html
With MobaXTerm installed you can open a MobaXterm terminal window and connect directly using same provided instructions for Linux/Mac with your .pem file. You can also use the GUI to log into your instance as well. Examples can be found online demonstrating the GUI.
