EC2 instance life cycle
An EC2 instance passes through various statuses throughout its life cycle. It all starts with launching an EC2 instance using a specific AMI. The following figure is an illustration of the EC2 instance life cycle:
Figure 5.1: EC2 instance life cycle
Instance launch
When an instance is provisioned, it immediately gets into the pending state. Depending on what instance type you have selected, it is launched on a host computer inside AWS virtualized hardware. The instance is launched using the AMI you choose for provisioning. Once the instance is ready for use, it gets into the running state. At this moment, you can connect to your instance and start using it. AWS starts billing you for each hour that instance is used once it enters the running state.
Instance stop and start
If you have launched an EC2 instance with an EBS-backed volume, you can stop and start your instance as needed. If your instance fails any status check and is unresponsive, stopping and starting the instance...
