Request-url-http-3a-2f-2f169.254.169.254-2flatest-2fmeta Data-2fiam-2fsecurity Credentials-2f |link| File

When an application running on an EC2 instance needs to know something about itself—such as its instance ID, public IP, or IAM role—it sends an HTTP request to this non-routable IP. Because it is link-local, the request never leaves the physical host; it is intercepted by the hypervisor and answered locally. Decoding the Request URL The specific path in your query breaks down as follows: