AWS EC2 instances are virtual machines that share hardware resources with many other instances on the host. Occasionally, because of issues with the underlying hardware, “noisy neighbor” problems of resource contention, or simple software or memory issues, an EC2 instance may become unresponsive. When this happens, a simple reboot of the instance will often fix the issue.
Feel free to reference the AWS EC2 User Guide for this and other EC2-related topics:
https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/UserGuide/ec2-instance-reboot.html
The process of rebooting an EC2 instance in a Northwestern AWS account:
- Log into the AWS account and access the EC2 console
- Find and reboot the instance
Log into the AWS account
Visit https://aws.northwestern.edu/, select either GENERAL USE LOGIN or NIH-FUNDED RESEARCH LOGIN button based on your account type, log in with your Northwestern NetID and password, and pass the Duo MFA challenge when prompted.
If you are prompted to select a role, select a role in the account where the instance is running.
Once you have logged in, navigate to EC2 console by using the search box found at the top of page or use the following link:
Note: If your instance is running in a region other than us-east-2 (Ohio), click the region select in the top right corner of the page.
Find and reboot the instance
Find the instance in the EC2 Instances console page by entering the name of the instance in the search bar located at the top of the list.
Reboot the instance by checking the box next to the instance, click on the “Instance State” dropdown in the top right, and select “Reboot instance”.
Click the “Reboot” button to confirm, then wait for your instance to come back up.
Your feedback on this article is welcome, and we review comments regularly. However, if you have an issue or question requiring immediate attention or want to discuss your feedback on this article, please get in touch with the Northwestern IT Service Desk at 847-49
1-4357 (1-HELP) or
consultant@northwestern.edu.