# Launch an EC2 instance using the launch instance wizard in the console
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You can launch an Amazon EC2 instance using the launch instance wizard in the Amazon EC2 console. The wizard provides default values for the launch parameters, which you can either accept or modify to suit your requirements. The only parameter that is not specified is the key pair. If you choose to accept the default values, you can quickly launch an instance by selecting only a key pair.

**Important**  
You incur charges for the instance while the instance is in the `running` state, even if it remains idle.

For a description of each parameter in the launch instance wizard, see [Reference for Amazon EC2 instance configuration parameters](ec2-instance-launch-parameters.md).

**Topics**
+ [Quickly launch an instance](#liw-quickly-launch-instance)
+ [Launch an instance using defined parameters](#liw-launch-instance-with-defined-parameters)

## Quickly launch an instance
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To set up an instance quickly for testing purposes, follow these steps. You'll select the operating system and your key pair, and accept the default values. Except for the key pair, the launch instance wizard provides default values for all of the parameters. You can accept any or all of the defaults, or configure an instance by specifying your own values for each parameter.

For a description of each parameter in the launch instance wizard, see [Reference for Amazon EC2 instance configuration parameters](ec2-instance-launch-parameters.md).

**To quickly launch an instance using the launch instance wizard**

1. Open the Amazon EC2 console at [https://console.amazonaws.cn/ec2/](https://console.amazonaws.cn/ec2/).

1. In the navigation bar at the top of the screen, the current Amazon Region is displayed (for example, ). If needed, select a different Region in which to launch the instance.

1. From the Amazon EC2 console dashboard, choose **Launch instance**. 

1. (Optional) Under **Name and tags**, for **Name**, enter a descriptive name for your instance.

1. Under **Application and OS Images (Amazon Machine Image)**, choose **Quick Start**, and then choose the operating system (OS) for your instance.

1. Under **Key pair (login)**, for **Key pair name**, choose an existing key pair or create a new one.

1. In the **Summary** panel, choose **Launch instance**.

## Launch an instance using defined parameters
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If you're launching an instance that you'll use in production, you'll need to configure the instance to suit your requirements. For a description of each parameter in the launch instance wizard, see [Reference for Amazon EC2 instance configuration parameters](ec2-instance-launch-parameters.md).

**To launch an instance by defining all the launch parameters using the launch instance wizard**

1. Open the Amazon EC2 console at [https://console.amazonaws.cn/ec2/](https://console.amazonaws.cn/ec2/).

1. In the navigation bar at the top of the screen, the current Amazon Region is displayed (for example, ). If needed, select a different Region in which to launch the instance.

1. From the Amazon EC2 console dashboard, choose **Launch instance**.

1. (Optional) Under **Name and tags**, for **Name**, enter a descriptive name for your instance so that you can easily keep track of it.

   The instance name is a tag, where the key is **Name**, and the value is the name that you specify. 

1. Under **Application and OS Images (Amazon Machine Image)**, choose the operating system (OS) for your instance, and then choose an AMI.

   An AMI is a template that contains the operating system and software required to launch your instance.

1. Under **Instance type**, choose an instance type.

   The instance type determines the hardware configuration (CPU, memory, storage, and networking capacity) and size of the host computer used for your instance.

   If you're not sure which instance type to choose, you can do the following:
   + Choose **Get advice** to get guidance and suggestions for instance types from the EC2 instance type finder. For more information, see [Get recommendations from EC2 instance type finder](get-ec2-instance-type-recommendations.md).

1. Under **Key pair (login)**, for **Key pair name**, choose an existing key pair or create a new one. If you do not require a key pair to connect to your instance, you can choose **Proceed without a key pair (not recommended)**.

1. Under **Network settings**, you can keep the defaults if you're launching a test instance. If you're launching a production instance, it's best practice to control traffic into and out of your instance using network settings and security groups that you define.

1. Under **Configure storage**, you can keep the defaults or specify additional storage. The AMI you selected includes one or more volumes of storage, including the root volume. You can specify additional volumes to attach to the instance.

   You can use the **Simple** or **Advanced** view. With the **Simple** view, you specify the size and type of the volume. To specify all volume parameters, choose the **Advanced** view (at top right of the card).

1. For **Advanced details**, expand the section to view the fields and specify any additional parameters for your instance.

1. In the **Summary** panel, you can do the following:

   1. Specify the number of instances to launch.

   1. Review your instance configuration, and navigate directly to a section by choosing its link.

   1. When you're ready to launch your instance, choose **Launch instance**.

   If the instance fails to launch or the state immediately goes to `terminated` instead of `running`, see [Troubleshoot Amazon EC2 instance launch issues](troubleshooting-launch.md).

1. (Optional) You can create a billing alert for the instance. On the confirmation screen, under **Next Steps**, choose **Create billing alerts** and follow the directions. Billing alerts can also be created after you launch the instance. For more information, see [Creating a billing alarm to monitor your estimated Amazon charges](https://docs.amazonaws.cn/AmazonCloudWatch/latest/monitoring/monitor_estimated_charges_with_cloudwatch.html) in the *Amazon CloudWatch User Guide*.