It is importnt to understand the different states of an EC2
server instance which can initially be a little confusing. The server can be in 3
main states or a number of transition states:
- Pending (transition): The server has been instantiated and is
about to run for the first time or a stopped server has been started
and is about to move into the running state
- Running (main): The server is active and is being billed at the usual rate depending on the actual offering
- Rebooting (transition): The server is cycling i.e. restarting to return to the running state
- Stopping (transition): The server is moving from the running state to the stopped state
- Stopped (main): The server is not running and can be
restarted to resume the running state.. In this state the server does
not attract any charge. However, other attached resources may attract
charges e.g. any volumes will continue to be charged according to the
space allocated per GB/month, static IPs actually attract a higher
charge when the server they are assigned to is shutdown or terminated.
If you are shutting down a server for a long time and do not need the IP
to remain the same, it is good practice to release any static IPs.
- Shutting down (transition): The server is moving from the running state to the terminated state
- Terminated
(main): The server is gone to be seen no more. It cannot be recovered
or restarted. To start up a server you must instantiate another server.
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| EC2 server instance lifecycle |
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