AWS and Linux

3 minute read Published: 2025-06-16

This blog post explores how Linux and AWS work together, with real-world insights and tips on using them effectively.

Exploring Linux and AWS: A Practical Approach to Modern Infrastructure

Introduction

In today’s digital landscape, the combination of Linux and Amazon Web Services (AWS) forms the backbone of many modern infrastructure stacks. Whether you're a DevOps engineer, software developer, or system administrator, understanding both technologies is essential for building scalable, reliable, and cost-efficient systems.

This blog post explores how Linux and AWS work together, with real-world insights and tips on using them effectively.

Why Linux?

Linux has become the dominant operating system in cloud environments due to its stability, flexibility, and open-source nature. Here are some reasons why professionals prefer Linux:

Open Source: Completely free and customizable.
Security: Strong user permission system and frequent updates.
Performance: Lightweight and efficient for server workloads.
Ecosystem: Supported by nearly every programming language and framework.

Most AWS services, including EC2, Lambda (through Amazon Linux), and ECS, are optimized for Linux environments.

Setting Up Linux on AWS EC2

One of the most common use cases is launching a Linux-based EC2 (Elastic Compute Cloud) instance. Here's a simplified workflow:

Login to AWS Console
Navigate to EC2 Dashboard
Click Launch Instance
Select an Amazon Linux 2 AMI or Ubuntu Server LTS
Choose an instance type (e.g., t3.micro for free-tier)
Configure instance details, add storage, and set up security groups (port 22 for SSH)
Launch and connect via SSH:

ssh -i your-key.pem ec2-user@your-ec2-public-ip

Tip: Always restrict SSH access to specific IP ranges in your security group for better security.

Essential Linux Commands for AWS Users

Once logged into a Linux EC2 instance, these commands are crucial:

# Update and upgrade packages
sudo yum update -y    # For Amazon Linux
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y  # For Ubuntu

# Check system information
uname -a
top
df -h

# Manage services
sudo systemctl status nginx
sudo systemctl start docker

Understanding these commands allows you to troubleshoot, optimize, and maintain your AWS instances effectively.

Automating with Shell Scripts

Automation is key to infrastructure management. Bash scripts can simplify repetitive tasks:

#!/bin/bash
# Simple deployment script
sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y nginx
sudo systemctl enable nginx
sudo systemctl start nginx

You can run this on multiple EC2 instances using SSH or through AWS Systems Manager (SSM).

Security Best Practices

Combining Linux and AWS introduces new security considerations:

Use SSH Keys, not passwords
Keep software updated (yum or apt)
Enable automatic security patches
Use IAM roles instead of hardcoded credentials
Audit logs using CloudTrail and auth.log

Example: View authentication logs on Linux:

cat /var/log/auth.log | grep ssh

Integrating with AWS Services

Linux EC2 instances often interact with other AWS services:

S3: Store backups, static assets
RDS: Connect to managed databases
CloudWatch: Monitor logs and metrics
Elastic Load Balancer (ELB): Distribute traffic across Linux instances
IAM: Securely grant permissions to access services

Using the AWS CLI:

aws s3 cp backup.tar.gz s3://mybucket/backups/

To use the CLI inside Linux, install it and configure it with:

aws configure

Conclusion

Linux and AWS are a powerful duo for any cloud-based infrastructure. Linux provides the flexibility and control, while AWS offers scalability and global reach. By mastering both, you can deploy resilient systems, automate workflows, and optimize your infrastructure costs.

Stay tuned for more posts exploring containerization, CI/CD pipelines, and infrastructure as code using tools like Docker, GitHub Actions, and Terraform — all within the Linux + AWS ecosystem.

Author: Fauzy Madani
Tags: Linux, AWS, Cloud, Infrastructure, DevOps