An Amazon Machine Image(AMI) is a server template that can be used to launch any number of EC2 instances. It can be created from an existing EC2 Instance, running or stopped.
In the AWS Management console, open EC2 service and choose Instances. Right click on the instance name that you’d like to create AMI from and Navigate to Image and choose Create Image.
Provide a value for Image name and Image description. You can choose whether you’d like to create AMI with instance reboot or without. If the No reboot option is enabled, the EC2 instance will not be shutdown for AMI creation. Amazon does not guarantee consistency if the AMI is captured from a running EC2 Instance. If the No reboot option is not enabled, the EC2 Instance will be shutdown for capturing the AMI and will be started immediately. The resulting Image will be a consistent copy. Choose Create Image to start the AMI creation process.
You can check the status of image creation by choosing View pending image ami or by choosing AMIs on the EC2 dashboard.
Once the AMI creation is completed, the status becomes available. An available AMI can be used to launch any number of EC2 instances by selecting the AMI and choosing Launch.
