Step 6 : Launch time !
Using the EC2 Console we have this big blue "Launch Instance" button+arrow waiting for us :
on the "Dashboard"
on the "Instances" console :
Let's use our Launch Template by using the down-pointing arrow on the right of the button here :
This gives you a form where you can select your Launch Template and its version :
You will then see all the choices that were recorded in the template, that you can override at launch time if you whish to :
Just check that your IAM instance profile and User data are populated by expanding the Advanced details section, and click Launch instance from template at the bottom !
Your "instance" = virtual server has just been created and is starting !
Your first "Instance"
After closing the following "success" window, go back to the "Instances" console and select your "Instance" = your OpenVPN virtual server (by the way, don't bother trying to connect to the one below, it has long been terminated...) :
There's a lot of infos on this screen :
Instance ID (blue highlight) is the unique identifier of this virtual machine (= "Instance")
Instance State (orange highlight) should change if you refresh after a few seconds, going from pending to running
Status Checks (green highlight) should stay at Initializing until the very last test after several minutes, when it will become✅ 2/2 checks passed, (the server will actually be ready sooner than that)
Private IPs (cyan highlight) should only show 1 private IP, dynamically assigned from your VPC
IPv4 Public IP and its automatically assigned Public DNS (IPv4) (red highlight) is also dynamically assigned by AWS for your server (because we want one !)
Source/dest. check (pink highlight) should change during auto-configuration from True to False
The IPv4 Public IP
This is actually the graal you were seeking 🙌 : a perfectly routable public IP where, during the lifetime of this "Instance" running your OpenVPN server :
you will connect with OpenVPN (as a client)
your players will connect with Fantasy Grounds when you're ready to host a game for them
So : Just take 1 second to hover your mouse over the IPv4 Public IP and use the small button appearing to the right, to "copy to clipboard" !
Your own firewall rules = Security Groups
In the left column of the Description tab, you find the Security groups assigned to this Instance (you can have multiple SGs assigned), and you can easily check the Incoming and Outgoing authorizations, and from what Security Group they come from :
Ready GM 1 !
When you see the Status Checks field at the top showing✅ 2/2 checks passed, it will mean that...
Your server is ready and patiently waiting for you to connect !
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