How to create a server on AWS to run WireGuard VPN

What is AWS? #

• AWS stands for Amazon Web Services, a large website that provides web hosting services for servers.
• A server is a powerful computer that runs 24/7, which you can use to run programs like VPN.

How to access AWS website? #

1. Open your internet browser (like Google Chrome or Firefox).
2. In the search box (or address bar) type: "AWS" or "Amazon Web Services" and press Enter.
3. Choose the first result which is usually https://aws.amazon.com
4. Click on the Sign Up button (create new account).

Create AWS account #

1. Fill in your details: email, password, name, etc.
2. You'll be asked for a credit card (there's a free trial for some services for one year, but you need to enter card details for verification).
3. After registration, log in with your account.

Access EC2 service #

1. After logging in, on the main page, in the top search box, type EC2 and select the result.
2. EC2 service is for creating virtual servers.

Create new server (Instance) #

1. On the EC2 page, click on Launch Instance (start new server).
2. You'll be asked to choose an Operating System, select Ubuntu (it's a Linux-like free OS).
3. Then specify server specs (location, memory size, processor...).
4. Choose default or small options to make the experience easy and cheap.

Create Key Pair file #

1. You'll be asked to create a Key Pair file which is very important.
2. This file is what you'll use to access the server via SSH.
3. Choose a name for the file and click Download to save it to your device (usually in .pem format).
4. Keep the file in a safe place, because without it you can't access the server.

Configure Inbound Rules #

1. On the server creation page, in the Security Group section, you specify access rules for the server.
2. Click on edit
3. Then click add new rule and do the following:

Launch the server #

1. Click the Launch button to start the server.
2. After a few minutes, the server will start and give you a Public IPv4 address (like 54.67.153.151).

Access server using SSH #

1. Open Terminal if you use Linux or Mac, or PowerShell/CMD if you use Windows

2. In the terminal (text interface), type the following command (adjusting the path, key file name and address)

   # Access server using SSH
   ssh -i path_to_file ubuntu@IP_address

3. Example:

   # Example SSH access
   ssh -i ~/Downloads/aws-key.pem [email protected]

4. If a security message appears, type yes and enter.