windows iis/sql server on amazon ec2 small instance possible?

Question

In their pricing they list iis/sql server only possible under large instances: http://aws.amazon.com/windows/ which costs upwards of $800 per month.

However several how-to blog posts show using AMIs with IIS/SQL server with small instances (which presumably costs about 80 dollars a month).

http://articles.sitepoint.com/article/wordpress-in-the-cloud-with-ec2-and-wpi

http://blogs.iis.net/bills/archive/2009/01/13/how-to-run-windows-amp-iis-in-the-cloud-on-amazon-ec2-in-15-mins.aspx

I wonder if this has licensing issues. Does any one know if this is legit (ie doesn't break TOS) and if so, is the pricing the same for IIS/SQL vs. normal windows small instances? (I ask because they have seperate pricing for larger instances.)

Answer 1

According to your link, windows/sql/iis will work on any instance:

On-Demand Instances

SQL Server Express Edition, Microsoft IIS and ASP.NET can be used on any Amazon EC2 instance running Windows Server for no additional cost.

Reserved instances are always large and are like buying a dedicated server but you don't necessarily need one of those.

Answer 2

It is possible and relatively easy to set up. The one tricky part is that small instances are all 32 bit and the first machine image (AMI) that pops up with IIS and SQL Server Express is a 64 bit image. When first create the instance you get a page of popular AMIs and the only one with SQL Server Express is the 64 bit image. You have to search for a 32 bit version. I am using this 32 bit AMI with a small instance and it works fine: Windows-Server2008-i386-SqlExpress-v103 (ami-c5e40dac).

Also by default all the SQL services are disabled so you have to go into services and enable them (SQL Server, SQL Server Browser, SQL Server Agent...).