Amazon EC2 AMI Icon

An Amazon Machine Image (AMI) is a pre-configured template that contains the software needed to launch an instance on Amazon EC2. Think of it like a blueprint for a virtual server; it includes the operating system, applications, and other necessary components. You choose an AMI based on your needs (e.g., a specific operating system or pre-installed software), and then launch instances from that AMI, creating your virtual servers in the cloud.