AWS CLI S3 and EC2 Cheat Sheet

The Amazon Web Services (AWS) Command Line Interface (CLI) is a powerful tool that allows software engineers to interact with various AWS services directly from their terminal. Among the most commonly used services are Amazon S3 (Simple Storage Service) and Amazon EC2 (Elastic Compute Cloud). An AWS CLI S3 and EC2 cheat sheet can significantly streamline your workflow by providing quick access to frequently used commands. In this blog post, we'll explore the core concepts, typical usage scenarios, common practices, and best practices related to these two important AWS services via the CLI.

Table of Contents#

  1. Core Concepts
    • AWS CLI
    • Amazon S3
    • Amazon EC2
  2. Typical Usage Scenarios
    • S3 Usage Scenarios
    • EC2 Usage Scenarios
  3. Common Practices
    • S3 Common Practices
    • EC2 Common Practices
  4. Best Practices
    • S3 Best Practices
    • EC2 Best Practices
  5. Cheat Sheet
    • S3 Commands
    • EC2 Commands
  6. Conclusion
  7. FAQ
  8. References

Article#

Core Concepts#

AWS CLI#

The AWS CLI is a unified tool that provides a consistent interface for interacting with over 200 AWS services. It allows you to manage your AWS resources by simply typing commands in your terminal. You can use it on Linux, macOS, Windows, and even in a Docker container. To use the AWS CLI, you first need to configure it with your AWS access key, secret access key, and the default region.

Amazon S3#

Amazon S3 is an object storage service that offers industry-leading scalability, data availability, security, and performance. You can use S3 to store and retrieve any amount of data at any time from anywhere on the web. Data in S3 is stored in buckets, which are similar to folders in a file system, and objects, which are the actual files you store.

Amazon EC2#

Amazon EC2 provides scalable computing capacity in the AWS cloud. You can launch virtual servers called instances, which can be customized with different operating systems, software, and configurations. EC2 instances can be used for a wide range of applications, from running web servers to performing data processing tasks.

Typical Usage Scenarios#

S3 Usage Scenarios#

  • Data Backup and Storage: S3 is a great option for backing up important data due to its high durability and availability. You can store files, databases, and application backups in S3 buckets.
  • Content Distribution: S3 can be used to host static websites and distribute content such as images, videos, and JavaScript files. You can enable public access to your S3 objects and use CloudFront for faster content delivery.
  • Big Data Analytics: S3 can store large amounts of data for analytics purposes. Services like Amazon Athena can query data directly from S3, making it easy to perform data analysis without having to move the data.

EC2 Usage Scenarios#

  • Web Hosting: You can launch EC2 instances to host web applications. You can choose from a variety of operating systems and web servers, such as Apache or Nginx, to run your web application.
  • Application Development and Testing: EC2 provides a flexible environment for developing and testing applications. You can quickly launch and terminate instances as needed, allowing you to save costs during the development process.
  • High-Performance Computing: EC2 offers a range of instance types with different CPU, memory, and storage configurations. You can use high-performance instances for tasks such as scientific simulations and data processing.

Common Practices#

S3 Common Practices#

  • Bucket Naming: Use a descriptive and unique name for your S3 buckets. Bucket names must be globally unique across all AWS accounts in all AWS Regions.
  • Object Versioning: Enable object versioning on your S3 buckets to keep track of changes to your objects. This can be useful for data recovery and auditing purposes.
  • Access Control: Use AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) policies to control who can access your S3 buckets and objects. You can also use bucket policies to set permissions at the bucket level.

EC2 Common Practices#

  • Security Groups: Use security groups to control inbound and outbound traffic to your EC2 instances. Only allow necessary ports and protocols to be open, and use the principle of least privilege.
  • Key Pairs: Generate and use key pairs to securely connect to your EC2 instances. Keep your private key safe and do not share it with others.
  • Instance Types: Choose the appropriate instance type based on your application's requirements. Consider factors such as CPU, memory, storage, and network performance.

Best Practices#

S3 Best Practices#

  • Lifecycle Management: Implement lifecycle management rules to automatically transition your objects to different storage classes based on their age. This can help you save costs by moving less frequently accessed data to cheaper storage classes.
  • Encryption: Encrypt your S3 objects at rest using either server-side encryption or client-side encryption. This helps protect your data from unauthorized access.
  • Monitoring and Logging: Use Amazon CloudWatch to monitor your S3 buckets and objects. Enable server access logging to track all requests made to your buckets.

EC2 Best Practices#

  • Auto Scaling: Use Amazon EC2 Auto Scaling to automatically adjust the number of EC2 instances based on demand. This helps ensure that your application has the right amount of resources at all times.
  • Elastic Load Balancing: Use Elastic Load Balancing to distribute incoming traffic across multiple EC2 instances. This improves the availability and scalability of your application.
  • Patch Management: Keep your EC2 instances up to date with the latest security patches and updates. Use AWS Systems Manager to automate the patching process.

Cheat Sheet#

S3 Commands#

  • Create a bucket:
aws s3 mb s3://my-bucket
  • List buckets:
aws s3 ls
  • Upload a file to a bucket:
aws s3 cp myfile.txt s3://my-bucket
  • Download a file from a bucket:
aws s3 cp s3://my-bucket/myfile.txt .
  • Delete a bucket:
aws s3 rb s3://my-bucket --force

EC2 Commands#

  • Launch an EC2 instance:
aws ec2 run-instances --image-id ami-0c55b159cbfafe1f0 --instance-type t2.micro --key-name my-key-pair
  • List EC2 instances:
aws ec2 describe-instances
  • Stop an EC2 instance:
aws ec2 stop-instances --instance-ids i-1234567890abcdef0
  • Terminate an EC2 instance:
aws ec2 terminate-instances --instance-ids i-1234567890abcdef0

Conclusion#

The AWS CLI provides a convenient way to manage Amazon S3 and EC2 resources. By understanding the core concepts, typical usage scenarios, common practices, and best practices, you can use these services more effectively and efficiently. The cheat sheet provided in this blog post can serve as a quick reference for the most commonly used commands. With these tools and knowledge at your disposal, you'll be well on your way to becoming an AWS expert.

FAQ#

  1. Do I need to have an AWS account to use the AWS CLI? Yes, you need an AWS account to use the AWS CLI. You also need to have valid AWS access keys and configure them in the CLI.
  2. Can I use the AWS CLI on a Windows machine? Yes, the AWS CLI is available for Windows, Linux, and macOS. You can download and install it from the official AWS website.
  3. How can I secure my S3 buckets and EC2 instances? For S3, use IAM policies, bucket policies, and encryption. For EC2, use security groups, key pairs, and keep your instances up to date with security patches.

References#

2025-10