Getting Started with AWX on AWS

The CloudSOE AWX image runs AWX 24 on a single-node k3s Kubernetes cluster, deployed by the AWX Operator on a hardened Ubuntu base. All container images (AWX, execution environments, PostgreSQL 15, Redis 7) are pre-pulled into the image, so first boot rolls out the stack without downloading gigabytes. The image contains no baked-in passwords: the admin password is set uniquely per instance on first boot.

What you’ll need

• An AWS account subscribed to the CloudSOE AWX listing on AWS Marketplace
• An EC2 key pair in your target region (SSH is key-based only)
• About fifteen minutes — the first boot takes around eight of them

Step 1 — Launch the instance

1. Open the AWX listing on AWS Marketplace and click Continue to Subscribe, then Continue to Configuration.
2. Pick your region and click Continue to Launch → Launch through EC2.
3. Choose an instance type. t3.large (2 vCPU, 8 GB RAM) is the sensible starting point — AWX runs a control plane, PostgreSQL and Redis on one node and is memory-hungry.
4. Select your key pair, and give the root volume at least 30 GB.

Prefer the CLI? Once subscribed:

aws ec2 run-instances \
  --image-id <ami-id-from-the-listing> \
  --instance-type t3.large \
  --key-name my-key \
  --security-group-ids sg-xxxxxxxx \
  --subnet-id subnet-xxxxxxxx \
  --tag-specifications 'ResourceType=instance,Tags=[{Key=Name,Value=awx-01}]'

Step 2 — Open the firewall ports

Your security group needs exactly two inbound rules:

Restrict both to your own IP range where possible.

Step 3 — Watch first boot roll out AWX

On the very first boot the awx-firstboot service applies the AWX Operator manifests, waits for the PostgreSQL, task and web pods to come up, runs the database migrations and sets the admin password. The whole rollout takes about eight minutes.

You don’t have to wait blind — SSH in as ubuntu and a live progress bar appears automatically at login:

ssh ubuntu@<public-ip>

Press Ctrl+C to drop to your shell at any time; run awx-bootstrap-status to bring the meter back. The MOTD also shows a static percentage as a fallback.

Step 4 — Retrieve your credentials

Once the bar reaches 100%, your login details are in a root-protected file readable by the ubuntu user:

cat /opt/default-awx-login.txt

The username is admin and the password is your EC2 instance ID — unique to this instance, never baked into the image. Change it after your first login (see the configuration guide).

Step 5 — Log in to AWX

Browse to http://<public-ip>:30300 and sign in with the credentials above. You’ll land on the AWX dashboard, ready to add inventories, credentials and job templates. kubectl also works on-box out of the box if you want to poke at the underlying cluster:

kubectl get pods

Next steps

• Configure AWX — file locations, kubectl, storage and changing the admin password
• Tips & tricks — backups, troubleshooting first boot and sizing advice