Featured resource
Tech Upskilling Playbook 2025
Tech Upskilling Playbook

Build future-ready tech teams and hit key business milestones with seven proven plays from industry leaders.

Learn more
  • Labs icon Lab
  • Cloud
Google Cloud Platform icon
Labs

Performing a Backup and Restore Using AMI and EBS

Welcome to this live hands-on AWS lab for performing a backup and restore using AMIs and EBS. This lab will explore several common backup and restore methods for the Amazon EC2 service. By completing this lab, you will gain hands-on experience with: * EBS snapshots * Amazon Machine Images (AMIs) For administrators and operations personnel, it is extremely important to understand the need for backing up application resources. These actions are one step you can take to ensure quick recovery from disasters and/or to have the ability to roll back changes if necessary. Good luck, and enjoy the lab!

Google Cloud Platform icon
Labs

Path Info

Level
Clock icon Intermediate
Duration
Clock icon 30m
Last updated
Clock icon Sep 02, 2025

Contact sales

By filling out this form and clicking submit, you acknowledge our privacy policy.

Table of Contents

  1. Challenge

    Create an EBS Snapshot

    Create a snapshot from a web application server's EBS volume.

    1. Navigate to EC2 > Instances.
    2. Check the box beside one of the "webserver-instance" instances.
    3. Click the link to the Root device, and then the EBS volume link.
    4. On the Volumes page, click Actions, and then Create Snapshot.
    5. Enter a description.
    6. Click Create Snapshot.
  2. Challenge

    Create a New EBS Volume from a Snapshot

    Create a new EBS volume from the snapshot you just created in the previous step. This is how you restore an EBS volume from a snapshot.

    1. Navigate to the Snapshots page.
    2. Check the box beside the snapshot you just created.
    3. Click Actions, and then Create Volume.
    4. Change the volume size to 10 GiB.
    5. Click Create Volume.
    6. Click Close.
  3. Challenge

    Create Two EC2 AMIs

    Amazon Machine Images can be created via several different methods. Create two AMIs following the methods detailed in the video.

    Method 1

    1. Navigate to the Instances page.
    2. Check the box beside one of the webserver-instance instances.
    3. Click Actions, then Image, and then Create Image.
    4. Add a name and description.
    5. Click Create Image, and then Close.
    6. Choose AMIs from the left menu to see the image you created.
    7. Once the image is available, navigate to the instances page.
    8. Click Launch Instance.
    9. Choose My AMIs in the left column.
    10. Click Select, and then you can configure all the other options for a new instance.
    11. For now, click Cancel.

    Method 2

    1. Navigate to Snapshots.
    2. Check the box beside the snapshot you made earlier.
    3. Click Actions, and select Create Image.
    4. Enter a name and description.
    5. Change Virtualization type to Hardware-assisted virtualization.
    6. Click Create.
    7. Click Close.
    8. Choose AMIs from the left menu to see the image you created.

Pluralsight Skills gives leaders confidence they have the skills needed to execute technology strategy. Technology teams can benchmark expertise across roles, speed up release cycles and build reliable, secure products. By leveraging our expert content, skill assessments and one-of-a-kind analytics, keep up with the pace of change, put the right people on the right projects and boost productivity. It's the most effective path to developing tech skills at scale.

What's a lab?

Hands-on Labs are real environments created by industry experts to help you learn. These environments help you gain knowledge and experience, practice without compromising your system, test without risk, destroy without fear, and let you learn from your mistakes. Hands-on Labs: practice your skills before delivering in the real world.

Provided environment for hands-on practice

We will provide the credentials and environment necessary for you to practice right within your browser.

Guided walkthrough

Follow along with the author’s guided walkthrough and build something new in your provided environment!

Did you know?

On average, you retain 75% more of your learning if you get time for practice.