# Launching an Amazon ECS Windows container instance
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Your Amazon ECS container instances are created using the Amazon EC2 console. Before you begin, be sure that you've completed the steps in [Set up to use Amazon ECS](get-set-up-for-amazon-ecs.md).

For more information about the launch wizard, see [Launch an instance using the new launch instance wizard](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/WindowsGuide/ec2-launch-instance-wizard.html) in the *Amazon EC2 User Guide*. 

You can use the new Amazon EC2 wizard to launch an instance. You can use the following list for the parameters and leave the parameters not listed as the default. The following instructions take you through each parameter group.

## Procedure
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Before you begin, complete the steps in [Set up to use Amazon ECS](get-set-up-for-amazon-ecs.md).

1. Open the Amazon EC2 console at [https://console.aws.amazon.com/ec2/](https://console.aws.amazon.com/ec2/).

1. In the navigation bar at the top of the screen, the current AWS Region is displayed (for example, US East (Ohio)). Select a Region in which to launch the instance. This choice is important because some Amazon EC2 resources can be shared between Regions, while others can't. 

1. From the Amazon EC2 console dashboard, choose **Launch instance**.

## Name and tags
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The instance name is a tag, where the key is **Name**, and the value is the name that you specify. You can tag the instance, the volumes, and elastic graphics. For Spot Instances, you can tag the Spot Instance request only. 

Specifying an instance name and additional tags is optional.
+ For **Name**, enter a descriptive name for the instance. If you don't specify a name, the instance can be identified by its ID, which is automatically generated when you launch the instance.
+ To add additional tags, choose **Add additional tags**. Choose **Add tag**, and then enter a key and value, and select the resource type to tag. Choose **Add tag** again for each additional tag to add.

## Application and OS Images (Amazon Machine Image)
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An Amazon Machine Image (AMI) contains the information required to create an instance. For example, an AMI might contain the software that's required to act as a web server, such as Apache, and your website.

For the latest Amazon ECS-optimized AMIs and their values, see [Windows Amazon ECS-optimized AMI](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonECS/latest/developerguide/ecs-optimized_windows_AMI.html).

Use the **Search** bar to find a suitable Amazon ECS-optimized AMI published by AWS.

1. Based on your requirements, enter one of the following AMIs in the **Search** bar and press **Enter**.
   + Windows\$1Server-2022-English-Full-ECS\$1Optimized
   + Windows\$1Server-2022-English-Core-ECS\$1Optimized
   + Windows\$1Server-2019-English-Full-ECS\$1Optimized
   + Windows\$1Server-2019-English-Core-ECS\$1Optimized
   + Windows\$1Server-2016-English-Full-ECS\$1Optimized

1. On the **Choose an Amazon Machine Image (AMI)** page, select the **Community AMIs** tab.

1. From the list that appears, choose a Microsoft-verified AMI with the most recent publish date and click **Select**.

## Instance type
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The instance type defines the hardware configuration and size of the instance. Larger instance types have more CPU and memory. For more information, see [Instance types](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/UserGuide/instance-types.html).
+ For **Instance type**, select the instance type for the instance. 

   The instance type that you select determines the resources available for your tasks to run on.

## Key pair (login)
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For **Key pair name**, choose an existing key pair, or choose **Create new key pair** to create a new one. 

**Important**  
If you choose the **Proceed without key pair (Not recommended)** option, you won't be able to connect to the instance unless you choose an AMI that is configured to allow users another way to log in.

## Network settings
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Configure the network settings, as necessary.
+ **Networking platform**: Choose **Virtual Private Cloud (VPC)**, and then specify the subnet in the **Network interfaces** section. 
+ **VPC**: Select an existing VPC in which to create the security group.
+ **Subnet**: You can launch an instance in a subnet associated with an Availability Zone, Local Zone, Wavelength Zone, or Outpost.

  To launch the instance in an Availability Zone, select the subnet in which to launch your instance. To create a new subnet, choose **Create new subnet** to go to the Amazon VPC console. When you are done, return to the launch instance wizard and choose the Refresh icon to load your subnet in the list.

  To launch the instance in a Local Zone, select a subnet that you created in the Local Zone. 

  To launch an instance in an Outpost, select a subnet in a VPC that you associated with the Outpost.
+ **Auto-assign Public IP**: If your instance should be accessible from the internet, verify that the **Auto-assign Public IP** field is set to **Enable**. If not, set this field to **Disable**.
**Note**  
Container instances need access to communicate with the Amazon ECS service endpoint. This can be through an interface VPC endpoint or through your container instances having public IP addresses.  
For more information about interface VPC endpoints, see [Amazon ECS interface VPC endpoints (AWS PrivateLink)](vpc-endpoints.md)  
If you do not have an interface VPC endpoint configured and your container instances do not have public IP addresses, then they must use network address translation (NAT) to provide this access. For more information, see [NAT gateways](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/vpc/latest/userguide/vpc-nat-gateway.html) in the *Amazon VPC User Guide* and [Using an HTTP proxy for Amazon ECS Linux container instances](http_proxy_config.md) in this guide.
+ **Firewall (security groups)**: Use a security group to define firewall rules for your container instance. These rules specify which incoming network traffic is delivered to your container instance. All other traffic is ignored. 
  + To select an existing security group, choose **Select existing security group**, and select the security group that you created in [Set up to use Amazon ECS](get-set-up-for-amazon-ecs.md)

## Configure storage
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The AMI you selected includes one or more volumes of storage, including the root volume. You can specify additional volumes to attach to the instance.

You can use the **Simple** view.
+ **Storage type**: Configure the storage for your container instance.

  If you are using the Amazon ECS-optimized Amazon Linux AMI, your instance has two volumes configured. The **Root** volume is for the operating system's use, and the second Amazon EBS volume (attached to `/dev/xvdcz`) is for Docker's use.

  You can optionally increase or decrease the volume sizes for your instance to meet your application needs.

## Advanced details
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For **Advanced details**, expand the section to view the fields and specify any additional parameters for the instance.
+ **Purchasing option**: Choose **Request Spot Instances** to request Spot Instances. You also need to set the other fields related to Spot Instances. For more information, see [Spot Instance Requests](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/UserGuide/spot-requests.html).
**Note**  
If you are using Spot Instances and see a `Not available` message, you may need to choose a different instance type.

  .
+ **IAM instance profile**: Select your container instance IAM role. This is usually named `ecsInstanceRole`.
**Important**  
If you do not launch your container instance with the proper IAM permissions, your Amazon ECS agent cannot connect to your cluster. For more information, see [Amazon ECS container instance IAM role](instance_IAM_role.md).
+ (Optional) **User data**: Configure your Amazon ECS container instance with user data, such as the agent environment variables from [Amazon ECS container agent configuration](ecs-agent-config.md). Amazon EC2 user data scripts are executed only one time, when the instance is first launched. The following are common examples of what user data is used for:
  + By default, your container instance launches into your default cluster. To launch into a non-default cluster, choose the **Advanced Details** list. Then, paste the following script into the **User data** field, replacing *your\$1cluster\$1name* with the name of your cluster.

    The `EnableTaskIAMRole` turns on the Task IAM roles feature for the tasks.

    In addition, the following options are available when you use the `awsvpc` network mode.
    + `EnableTaskENI`: This flag turns on task networking and is required when you use the `awsvpc` network mode.
    + `AwsvpcBlockIMDS`: This optional flag blocks IMDS access for the task containers running in the `awsvpc` network mode.
    + `AwsvpcAdditionalLocalRoutes`: This optional flag allows you to have additional routes in the task namespace.

      Replace `ip-address` with the IP Address for the additional routes, for example 172.31.42.23/32.

    ```
    <powershell>
    Import-Module ECSTools
    Initialize-ECSAgent -Cluster your_cluster_name -EnableTaskIAMRole -EnableTaskENI -AwsvpcBlockIMDS -AwsvpcAdditionalLocalRoutes
    '["ip-address"]'
    </powershell>
    ```