How to Reset EC2 Instance in AWS

Resetting an AWS EC2 instance can mean different things depending on what you specifically want to achieve. Here are a few common ways to reset or restore an EC2 instance to a certain state:

1. Reboot the Instance:
   • You can reboot your EC2 instance, which is similar to restarting your computer. This keeps the data on your instance intact.
   • To reboot, go to the EC2 dashboard in the AWS Management Console, select the instance, and choose Actions > Instance State > Reboot.
2. Stop and Start the Instance:
   • Stopping and starting an EC2 instance can help resolve issues where the instance is unresponsive or malfunctioning.
   • This process will also move your instance to a new physical server within AWS.
   • In the EC2 dashboard, select the instance, and choose Actions > Instance State > Stop, and then Start after it’s stopped.
3. Restore from a Snapshot:
   • If you have a snapshot of the instance (or its volumes), you can restore it to a previous state.
   • You’ll need to create a new volume from the snapshot and then attach it to the instance, replacing the current volume if necessary.
4. Terminate and Relaunch:
   • If you want to completely reset the instance (like starting from scratch), you can terminate it and launch a new instance.
   • Be aware that terminating an instance will delete any data on its local storage.
   • You can launch a new instance using an AMI that meets your requirements.
5. Rebuild the Instance:
   • If you have the instance’s configuration defined as code (e.g., using AWS CloudFormation or Terraform), you can easily rebuild the instance with the same configuration.