How can I get a list of software that is installed in my Windows and Linux EC2 instances?

To get a list of software installed on your Windows and Linux EC2 instances, you have several options:

1. AWS Systems Manager Inventory: This is the recommended method for both Windows and Linux instances. Systems Manager Inventory collects and aggregates data about your instance software, including names and versions. To use this:

• Ensure your EC2 instances have the SSM Agent installed (it's pre-installed on many AMIs).
• Configure an inventory collection policy in Systems Manager.
• View the collected data in the Systems Manager console or export it to an S3 bucket.
• You can also query the inventory data using AWS CLI or SDKs for programmatic access.

2. Command-line tools: For Linux instances:

• Use package managers like 'yum list installed' for CentOS/RedHat or 'dpkg -l' for Debian/Ubuntu.

For Windows instances:

• Use PowerShell commands. For example: Get-ItemProperty HKLM:\Software\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall* | Select-Object DisplayName, DisplayVersion

3. EC2 Instance Connect: If you need to directly access the instance to run commands, you can use EC2 Instance Connect for secure SSH access without requiring a public IP or open inbound security group rules.

4. Amazon EC2 console: While not providing a direct software list, you can view some basic information about the instance's platform and AMI in the EC2 console under "Platform details" or "AMI ID".

These methods allow you to gather comprehensive information about installed software across your Windows and Linux EC2 instances, helping you maintain an accurate inventory of your cloud resources.
Sources
Get a list of software installed on server | AWS re:Post
Install EC2 Instance Connect on your EC2 instances - Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud
Find the OS platform or version for EC2 Linux instances | AWS re:Post