AWS for Beginners: EC2 Launch Configuration vs Launch Template — Part 70

In this article we will discuss the difference between AWS EC2 Launch Configuration and Launch Template, and how they work. Also, we will look into the step-by-step instructions on how to create a launch template.

AWS launch configurations and templates could appear to be pretty similar at first glance. Both allow you to define the EC2 Instance specifics. Let’s have a look at their differences and see which one we should prefer.

What is Launch Configuration?

AWS Launch configuration is an instance configuration template that an Auto Scaling group uses to launch EC2 instances since 2010. Launch configuration requires information like Amazon Machine Image (AMI), the instance type, a key pair, one or more security groups, and a block device mapping.

AWS strongly recommends that you do not use launch configurations. They do not provide full functionality for Amazon EC2 Auto Scaling or Amazon EC2. Amazon requests customers to migrate Launch configuration templates to Launch templates.

What is Launch Templates?

Launch Templates is not a new capability. It’s available since 2017. Launch Templates enable a new way of templating your launch requests. Launch Templates reduce the number of steps required to create an instance by capturing all launch parameters within one resource. This makes the process easy to reproduce.

Also, with support for Auto Scaling, Spot Fleet, Spot and On-Demand instances, Launch Templates make it easier to implement standards and best practices, helping you to manage costs better, improve your security posture, and minimize the risk of deployment errors. This capability is available at no additional cost

Read this article to know more….