Ubuntu Server Edition on Amazon EC2
Ubuntu Server Edition on Amazon gives you the power of Ubuntu combined with the flexibility of Amazon's cloud computing service. Ubuntu's modularity, virtualization capabilities, range of applications and optimised performance make it the perfect solution if you're deploying applications on Amazon's Elastic Computing (EC2) cloud.
Amazon Web Services enables users to deploy applications into a cloud computing environment. By using virtualized servers that are deployed on Amazon's EC2 service it is possible to build highly scalable on-demand systems. Whether you need a single server or a few hundred, Amazon EC2 can provide new server instances whenever required.
Ubuntu Server Edition is a great software platform for your Amazon instances. Its modularity means that it can be pared down to just the elements you need. Every element of Ubuntu is modular so you only need to include the parts you need making images more flexible and secure. Ubuntu is easy to set up with a comprehensive range of applications and development frameworks that are easy to install.
Ubuntu Server Edition on Amazon EC2 is available now. This service allows you to create a fully running instance of Ubuntu Server Edition on EC2 in just a few clicks. All the applications you'll need such as a web server, email server and common development frameworks are available. Users will need to create an account with Amazon's Web Services and Amazon will charge you for your usage of EC2.
Ubuntu on Amazon benefits
Scalable computing
The 'on demand' nature of cloud computing allows you to quickly expand capacity and only pay for what you are using. There is no need to design your data centre or buy hardware to handle peak loads when you only use a fraction of it during regular periods. With cloud computing you simply allocate more instances as and when needed. This means that you can concentrate on your software and outsource the hardware aspects to the cloud provider.
An open platform
We provide Amazon images of Ubuntu server, along with security and bug fixes. Ubuntu consists of Open Source software without licensing fees so you can deploy the same applications on the cloud as you would on your hardware. With thousands of packages and additional third party applications, you are sure to find an application or development framework for almost every requirement.
Security and maintenance
Ubuntu Server Edition on Amazon EC2 follows the standard Ubuntu maintenance life cycle. New versions are released every six months and are maintained with security and maintenance updates for 18 months (regular releases) or five years (LTS releases). Optimised for the cloud, instances can be deployed in a matter of minutes and provide best of class stability and performance.
Using the Ubuntu Server Edition Amazon Machine Image (AMI)
The images are available to anyone who would like to run Ubuntu Server Edition on Amazon EC2. All you need is an account with Amazon Web Services and to follow the instructions on Ubuntu on EC2 Starters Guide. Amazon will charge you for your usage of their AWS services
Getting help
You can get help from Canonical's Technical support or ask for help on:
- the EC2 community mailing list
- IRC channel #ubuntu-ec2 on Freenode
See Also
For more information on how to use Ubuntu on Amazon Web Services, please see:
