How to access AWS EC2 instance with SSH using Powershell from Windows OS.

PuTTY, a free and open-source terminal emulator, is one of the great tools used to SSH into an AWS EC2 instance and it is commonly used for this purpose.

I just realized recently that the task automation and configuration management program called Powershell from Microsoft is well suited for easy access into an EC2 instance without downloading any third-party application and subsequent necessary configuration for access.

Let’s explore this by showing a few steps to achieve this.

Step 1: Create Key Pairs

Let’s create a keypair from the AWS Management console. Search for EC2 from the services search box on the Management console and click on EC2, locate the ‘Key Pairs’ link from the left menu bar. This is under the “Network & Security” menu as shown below.

Select the link and click on “Create key pair” button.

Give it a name. I will call it “ssh-ec2key”. Ensure the “key pair type” is “RSA” and “.pem” is selected under the “Private key file format”. Click the “Create key pair” button. The result should look like the below…