Launch and connect to an Amazon EC2 Mac instance

Implementation

• Step 1: Allocate a mac1 Dedicated Host in your account

  In this step, you allocate a mac1 Dedicated Host in your account. With Amazon EC2 Mac instances, you have the full performance of the underlying Mac mini. Amazon EC2 Mac instances run on physical host machines that are dedicated to one account, known as Dedicated Hosts.

  1.1 — Sign in to the AWS Management Console, and open the EC2 Dashboard. Choose Dedicated Hosts, then choose Allocate Dedicated Host.

  

  1.2 — On the Allocate Dedicated Host page, make the following selections:

  • For Name tag, type EC2 Mac Dedicated Host.
  • For Instance family, choose mac1.
  • For Support multiple instance types, clear the Enable check box.
  • For Instance type, choose mac1.metal.
  • For Availability Zone, choose any zone in your Region.

  Keep the remaining default selections and choose Allocate.
  

  

  Once allocated, the Dedicated Host appears with a status of Available.
  

  

• Step 2: Launch a mac1.metal instance

  In this step, you configure and launch your Amazon EC2 Mac instance. Amazon EC2 Mac instances are offered as bare-metal instances running on top of single-tenant, Dedicated Hosts to comply with macOS licensing.  

  2.1 — On the EC2 Dashboard, choose Launch Instance.
  

  

  2.2 — On the Choose AMI page, select the macOS Catalina (10.15.7) AMI.

  

  2.3 — On the Choose Instance Type page, keep the default selection of mac1.metal instance and choose Next: Configure Instance Details.
  

  

  2.4 — On the Configure Instance Details page, for Host, choose the Dedicated Host you allocated in Step 1. For the remaining configuration details, make any selections you prefer. Then, choose Next: Add Storage.
  

  

  2.5 — On the Add Storage page, choose the Size (GiB) cell and increase the volume to 250 GB. Then, choose Next: Add Tags.
  

  

  2.6 — On the Add Tags page, optionally add any Key:Value tags to your instance. Then, choose Next: Configure Security Group.
  

  

  2.7 — On the Configure Security Group page, make the following selections:
  

  • For Assign a security group, choose Create a new security group.
  • For Security group name, type a descriptive name, such as ssh into mac1.metal.
  • For Description, optionally add a description.
  • For Type, choose SSH.
  • For Source, choose My IP.

  Then, choose Review and Launch.
  

  

  2.8 — On the Review page, review your selections and verify that the Host ID matches the Dedicated Host you created in Step 1. Then, choose Launch.
  

  

  2.9 — On the Select an existing key pair or create a new key pair dialog, verify your existing key pair (if you do not have a key pair, select the option to create a new key pair). Then, select the acknowlegement check box and choose Launch Instances.
  

  

  2.10 — On the Launch Status page, choose the instance ID to return to the Instances section of the EC2 Dashboard.
  

  

  2.11 — On the Instances page, wait for the Status Check column of your instance to show 2/2 checks passed before continuing to Step 3.
  

  

• Step 3: Connect to your Mac instance over SSH

  In this step, you use an EC2 key pair to connect to your Amazon EC2 Mac instance over SSH.  

  3.1  — On the EC2 Dashboard, select your EC2 Mac Instance and choose Connect.
  

  

  3.2  — On the Connect to an instance dialog, choose SSH client. Follow the instructions in the dialog for SSH client to connect to your mac1.metal instance.
  

  

  Once connected, you will have command line access to your mac1.metal instance.
  

  

• Step 4: Clean up

  In this step, you terminate the resources you used in this lab.

  Important: Terminating resources that are not actively being used reduces costs and is a best practice. Not terminating your resources will result in charges to your account.

  4.1 — Delete the Amazon EC2 Mac instance:

  • On the EC2 Dashboard, choose Instances, then choose Instances (Running).
  • Select the mac1.metal instance you created for this tutorial.
  • Choose Instance state, then choose Terminate instance.

  4.2 — Delete the Dedicated Host:
  Note: You cannot release the host until 24 hours have passed since you first allocated the host.
  

  • On the EC2 Dashboard, choose Dedicated Hosts.
  • Select the Dedicated Host you created for this tutorial.
  • Choose Actions, then choose Release host.