---
title: "cloudSwXtch on AWS"
slug: "cloudswxtch-on-aws"
tags: ["AWS account"]
updated: 2025-12-19T20:00:44Z
published: 2025-12-19T20:00:44Z
canonical: "docs.swxtch.io/cloudswxtch-on-aws"
stale: true
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.swxtch.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# cloudSwXtch on AWS

> [!NOTE]
> **WHAT TO EXPECT**
> 
> In this section, users will learn how to create a cloudSwXtch EC2 instance.

### Pre-Creation Steps

Before creating an EC2 instance with cloudSwXtch installed, users must already have an AWS account ***and*** a VPC (Virtual Private Cloud) created.

#### Installation Method:

1. [Review system requirements](/v2/docs/cloudswxtch-prerequisites)
2. [Validate subnets on AWS](/v2/docs/aws-validate-subnets)
3. [Verify security groups](/v2/docs/aws-verify-security-groups). *Optional*
4. [Create an SSH key pair](/v2/docs/create-ssh-key-pair). *Optional: if the user does not currently have a key pair.*
5. [Install cloudSwXtch on AWS](/v2/docs/install-cloudswxtch-on-aws)

Once the cloudSwXtch is running:

- [Check the Health of the cloudSwXtch Instance on AWS](/v2/docs/check-health-of-cloudswxtch-instance-on-aws)
- [Delete cloudSwXtch on AWS](/v2/docs/delete-cloudswxtch-on-aws)

More info:

- [Deploy cloudSwXtch with Terraform on AWS](/v2/docs/deploy-cloudswxtch-terraform-aws)

> [!TIP]
> PLEASE NOTE
> 
> AWS has IDs for each existing object. They also have tags, useful for organization purposes, and AWS uses tags for names.
> 
> On some places, IDs are required to work, instead of names. So be sure to record the IDs of the objects you need for later use, like VPCs, subnets, etc.

Disclaimers

- swXtch.io does not handle any policy access rights for deployment, nor does it have any special IAM roles or policies that are needed. That being said, swXtch.io suggests using a policy of least privilege for all access granted as part of the deployment. Please refer to AWS for best practices for policy rights and IAM roles and policies: [AWS Identity](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/UserGuide/id.html)
- swXtch.io does not require any public resources for deployment, such as Amazon S3 buckets.
- swXtch.io’s cloudSwXtch installation does not use any AWS Secrets in Secret Manager, as swXtch.io does not natively store any sensitive data from the customer.
- Customers can encrypt their traffic, and the cloudSwXtch will still be able to handle the encrypted network traffic.
- swXtch.io does not encrypt data. It passes through any data sent in the multicast, which may or may not be encrypted.