Remotely Run Commands on an EC2 Instance with AWS Systems Manager

Open the IAM console

Open the IAM console at https://console.aws.amazon.com/iam/.

Create the role

In the left navigation pane, choose Roles, and then choose Create role.

Select trusted entity

On the Select trusted entity page, under AWS Service, choose EC2, and then choose Next.

Add permissions

On the Add permissions page, in the search bar type AmazonEC2RoleforSSM. From the policy list select AmazonEC2RoleforSSM and then choose Next.

Enter a role name and description

On the Name, review, and create page, in the Role name box, type in EnablesEC2ToAccessSystemsManagerRole. In the Description box, type in Enables an EC2 instance to access Systems Manager. Choose Create role.

Launch an EC2 instance

Open the Amazon EC2 console. From the EC2 console, select your preferred Region. Systems Manager is supported in all AWS Regions. Now choose Launch instance.

Enter an instance name and choose an AMI

In the Name field, enter MyEC2Tutorial. Select the Amazon Linux AMI. Retain the default selection that appears in the dropdown. You can also install the Systems Manager Agent on your own Windows or Linux system.

Choose an instance type

Choose the t2.micro instance type.

Choose to proceed without a key pair

You will not need a keypair to use Systems Manager to remotely run commands. Scroll down to Key pair and under the Key pair name dropdown, choose Proceed without a key pair.

Keep default network and storage

Retain default settings under Network settings and Configure storage.

Attach the IAM role to the EC2 instance

Under Advanced details, in the IAM instance profile dropdown choose the EnablesEC2ToAccessSystemsManagerRole role you created earlier. Leave everything else as default. Choose Launch instance.

Open Systems Manager

In the top navigation bar, search for Systems Manager and open the Systems Manager console.

Choose Fleet Manager

Under the Node Management section on the left navigation bar, choose Fleet Manager.

Choose an instance

Select the node ID created in step 2, MyEC2Tutorial, to open the node detail page.

Choose Run Command

On the node detail page, in the Node actions dropdown, select Execute run command.

Choose AWS-UpdateSSMAgent

On the Run a command page, click in the search bar and select, Document name prefix, then click on Equals, then type in AWS-UpdateSSMAgent.

Now select the radio button on the left of AWS-UpdateSSMAgent. This document will upgrade the Systems Management agent on the instance.

Select targets

Scroll down to the Targets panel and select the check box next to your managed EC2 instance.

Finally, scroll down and select Run.

Select targets

Next you will see a page documenting your running command, and then overall success in green. Congrats, you have just run your first remote command using Systems Manager.

Choose Fleet Manager

Under the Node Management section on the left navigation bar, choose Fleet Manager.

Choose an instance

Select the node ID created in step 2, MyEC2Tutorial, to open the node detail page.

Choose Run Command

On the node detail page, in the Node actions dropdown, select Execute run command.

Choose AWS-RunShellScript

On the Run a command page, click in the search bar and select, Document name prefix, then click on Equals, then type in AWS-RunShellScript.

Now select the radio button on the left of AWS-RunShellScript.

Enter update command

Scroll down to the Command Parameters panel and insert the following command in the Commands text box:

sudo yum update –y

Select targets

Scroll down to the Targets panel and select the check box next to your managed EC2 instance.

Finally, scroll down and select Run.

View command status

While your script is running remotely on the managed EC2 instance, the Overall status will be In Progress. Soon the Overall status will turn to Success. When it does, scroll down to the Targets and outputs panel and select the Instance ID of your instance. Your Instance ID will be different than the one pictured.

View command output

From the Output on: i-XX page, select the header of the Output panel to view the output of the update command from the instance.

Open the EC2 console and choose Instances

Open the Amazon EC2 console and from the left navigation under the Instances heading, select Instances.

Terminate your instance

Select your instance's checkbox and choose Instance state, then select Terminate instance. This will terminate your instance completely.