These steps worked for me. I concentrate on stuff that's relevant to EC2 or it being a new machine with an operating system I have never seen before. Google was a big help.
I chose a t2.medium instance. IMO smaller instances don't have enough memory and burst on demand concept works perfectly for a web site.
1. Create an instance (outside the scope of this guide)
a. I chose Windows Server 2012/64bit plus SqlExpress2012
b. This gives you a pretty virgin install of the Operating System
2. Start Server Manager
3. Configure this server
4. Add the web server role
5. Add ASP.Net4.5 (and 3.5 if you want it)
a. the .Net 4.5 feature is already installed but you need to open it up and add ASP.Net 4.5 which is not there at the start.
6. In Web Server Role – Role Services; add Basic Authentication
7. Installing that lot takes five minutes or so
8. Return to server manager (you may be able to do this at the start but I ended up taking a second bite at it) | configure this server
a. Drill down to Web Server and on to Application Development
b. Add .Net Extensibility 4.5 (and 3.5 if you want it)
c. Add ASP.Net 4.5 (and 3.5 if you want it)
9. Installing them takes another few minutes.
10. Download DNN to the machine – the enhanced security stuff in IE is a is a pain. Either tolerate it or turn it off like this
a. Server Manager | Local Server | Properties | IE Enhanced Security, click the On link and turn it off!
b. Close & Reopen IE to make it real.
11. Create a folder for your site and expand the DNN download into it
12. In IIS Manager create a Site/VirtualDirectory for your site and point it to the web site folder
13. Set the site to use the .Net 4.5 app pool.
14. Start SQL Server Management Studio
15. Add a Login for IIS APPPOOL\.NET v4.5 – you *have* to TYPE this. You will NOT find it in the Search box
16. While you are at it, give that account Full Control over the folder your site is going into.
17. Create a Database for the site to use (Standard DNN process - outside scope of this guide)
a. allow your new login access to it
b. give the new login datareader, datawriter, dbowner rights
18. Modify the site web config to point at your database (Standard DNN process – outside this guide)
19. Allow Port80 traffic to your instance – this is done by changing the AWS security rules for your instance. You CANT change the instance to use different rules so you have to change the rules it is using.
20. Launch IE and browse to your site to install DNN in the traditional way.
a. I cannot say with certainty that it does not work, but I have NEVER managed to make it work when installing from the browser on the instance. It only worked for me when I browsed to the site from my remote (to the instance) laptop
That's it. The site came up.