EC2Rescue for Windows Server is a tool we can run to diagnose and troubleshoot possible problems.

With it, we can collect log files and troubleshoot issues, and also proactively search for areas of concern.

Here, at Bobcares, we assist our customers with several AWS queries as part of our AWS Support Services.

Today, let us see how to use EC2Rescue for Windows Server.

EC2Rescue for Windows Server GUI

This tool only runs on Amazon EC2 instances running Windows Server 2008 R2 and later.

• Analyze an offline instance

The Offline Instance option is useful for debugging boot issues with Windows instances.

1. Initially, from a working Windows Server instance, we download the EC2Rescue for Windows Server tool and extract the files.

To do so without changing the Internet Explorer ESC, we run:

PS C:\> Invoke-WebRequest https://s3.amazonaws.com/ec2rescue/windows/EC2Rescue_latest.zip -OutFile $env:USERPROFILE\Desktop\EC2Rescue_latest.zip

It will download the EC2Rescue .zip file to the desktop of the currently logged-in user.

2. In case the faulty instances are not stopped already, we stop them.

3. Then we detach the EBS root volume from the faulty instance and attach the volume to a working Windows instance that has EC2Rescue installed.

4. After that, we run the EC2Rescue tool on the working instance and select Offline Instance.

5. We need to select the disk of the newly mounted volume and then Next.

6. Eventually we confirm the disk selection and select Yes.

7. Then we select the offline instance option to perform and then Next.

• Collect data from an active instance

We can collect logs and other data from an active instance. Moving ahead, let us see how our Support Techs do that.

1. Initially, we connect to the Windows instance.

2. Then we download the EC2Rescue tool to the Windows instance and extract the files.

To download EC2Rescue without changing the Internet Explorer ESC, we run:

PS C:\> Invoke-WebRequest https://s3.amazonaws.com/ec2rescue/windows/EC2Rescue_latest.zip -OutFile $env:USERPROFILE\Desktop\EC2Rescue_latest.zip

3. Once done, we open the EC2Rescue application and accept the license agreement.

4. Then we select Next > Current instance > Capture logs.

5. Here, we select the data items and click the option, Collect…. Then we select Yes to continue.

6. In addition, we can select a file name and location for the ZIP file and save it.

7. Once done, we select Open Containing Folder to view the ZIP file.

8. Finally, we select, Finish.

[Looking for similar queries? Have a read here!]

Conclusion

In short, we saw how our Support Techs go about, EC2Rescue for Windows Server.