Tutorial / Cram Notes
AWS Organizations allows you to consolidate multiple AWS accounts into an organization that you can manage centrally. With AWS Organizations, you can apply Service Control Policies (SCPs) across your accounts, which helps ensure that all environments adhere to the same set of security and compliance controls.
Cross-Account Access
IAM Roles allow you to delegate access to resources across accounts. By creating an IAM role with the necessary permissions, users or services in one account can assume the role and access resources in another account.
Example:
- In Account A (Production), create an IAM role with the necessary permissions to access a specific S3 bucket.
- In Account B (Development), create an IAM user or assign an existing user.
- Grant the IAM user in Account B permission to assume the role in Account A.
Resource Sharing through AWS Service Features
Many AWS services have built-in features to share resources across different accounts/environments. Below are a few examples:
Amazon S3
S3 bucket policies can grant cross-account access to S3 buckets and objects. For instance, you can create a policy that allows users from a development account to access logs stored in a production account’s S3 bucket.
AWS Resource Access Manager (RAM)
AWS RAM makes it easier to share resources across accounts within your organization. It supports sharing resources like Amazon VPC subnets, AWS Transit Gateways, and AWS License Manager configurations.
Amazon RDS and Amazon Aurora
Cross-account snapshot sharing allows you to share RDS or Aurora snapshots with other AWS accounts, making it possible to duplicate databases across environments for testing or analysis purposes.
AWS Key Management Service (KMS)
AWS KMS allows you to create and manage encryption keys that you can share across accounts, enabling you to maintain consistent encryption standards across your environments.
Cross-Account Networking
VPC Peering
VPC peering enables you to connect two VPCs across different accounts to allow direct network access between them. This facilitates resource sharing, such as accessing a database in a different account without going over the public internet.
AWS Transit Gateway
AWS Transit Gateway connects multiple VPCs and on-premises networks through a central hub. It simplifies network architecture and can work across multiple accounts using RAM.
Cost Management
To understand and manage the costs associated with shared resources, you can use AWS Cost Explorer and AWS Budgets. These tools provide visibility into your spending and can break down costs by account, service, and tags.
Security Considerations
When sharing resources across environments:
- Always adhere to the principle of least privilege by granting only the required permissions.
- Regularly audit permissions and resource policies to ensure they remain secure and comply with your organization’s policies.
- Use resource tagging to track and manage access controls and costs.
To further secure cross-account resource sharing, consider setting up automated compliance checks using AWS Config Rules, and monitor for any unauthorized access attempts with AWS CloudTrail.
Examples of Resource Sharing in Practice:
- Sharing an Amazon S3 bucket between development and production accounts for centralized logging.
- A Transit Gateway shared through RAM to connect multiple VPCs across different departments within an organization.
- Snapshot sharing between RDS instances across staging and production accounts for testing database changes against real data.
Conclusion
Sharing resources across AWS environments when preparing for the AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Professional (SAP-C02) exam requires understanding AWS best practices and using services designed for resource sharing. IAM roles, service-specific features, cross-account networking options, and centralized management tools like AWS Organizations and AWS RAM are key elements to securely and efficiently manage resources across different AWS environments.
Practice Test with Explanation
True or False: Resources in Amazon VPCs can be shared across AWS accounts using AWS Resource Access Manager.
Answer: True
Explanation: AWS Resource Access Manager (RAM) allows you to share your resources with any AWS account or within your AWS Organization.
True or False: IAM roles can be used to delegate access to resources across different AWS environments.
Answer: True
Explanation: IAM roles can be assumed by users, applications, or services to grant permissions to AWS resources across different accounts or environments.
Which AWS service enables central management of multiple AWS accounts?
- A) AWS Organizations
- B) AWS Config
- C) Amazon ECS
- D) AWS Direct Connect
Answer: A) AWS Organizations
Explanation: AWS Organizations allows you to manage and govern your environment as you grow and scale your AWS resources across multiple accounts.
True or False: Amazon S3 bucket policies can only be applied within the same AWS account and cannot be used to share S3 buckets across accounts.
Answer: False
Explanation: Amazon S3 bucket policies can be configured to grant access to users from other AWS accounts, enabling resource sharing across accounts.
Which of the following is not a recommended practice for sharing resources across AWS environments?
- A) Using AWS Service Catalog
- B) Hardcoding Access Keys in Lambda functions
- C) Utilizing cross-account roles
- D) Employing AWS Resource Access Manager
Answer: B) Hardcoding Access Keys in Lambda functions
Explanation: Hardcoding Access Keys is a security risk. It’s recommended to use IAM roles and temporary credentials instead of hardcoding sensitive information.
True or False: AWS KMS keys can be used to encrypt data that is shared across multiple AWS accounts.
Answer: True
Explanation: AWS KMS supports key policies that enable cross-account usage, allowing you to encrypt data and share it securely with other accounts.
Which AWS feature allows you to share Amazon EC2 instances across accounts to save costs?
- A) AWS Resource Access Manager
- B) Amazon EC2 Reserved Instances
- C) AWS Lambda
- D) Cross-account AMI sharing
Answer: B) Amazon EC2 Reserved Instances
Explanation: Amazon EC2 Reserved Instances allow you to reserve capacity and save on costs. Reserved Instances can be shared across accounts within an AWS Organization to maximize savings.
True or False: AWS Step Functions can only execute workflows within a single AWS account.
Answer: False
Explanation: AWS Step Functions can integrate with various AWS services, including those in different accounts, by using IAM roles with the proper trust and permission policies.
When sharing AWS Transit Gateways across accounts, which AWS service must be used?
- A) AWS Resource Access Manager
- B) AWS Direct Connect
- C) AWS Service Catalog
- D) AWS Shield Advanced
Answer: A) AWS Resource Access Manager
Explanation: AWS Transit Gateways can be shared across different AWS accounts within the same region using AWS Resource Access Manager.
Which AWS service includes cross-account functionality that does not require the setup of resource sharing with AWS RAM?
- A) AWS CloudFormation
- B) AWS Organizations
- C) Amazon SNS
- D) Amazon Route 53
Answer: C) Amazon SNS
Explanation: Amazon SNS allows you to publish messages to topics from any AWS account as long as the correct permissions are in place, independently from AWS RAM.
True or False: AWS Direct Connect can enable private connectivity between AWS environments and different accounts.
Answer: True
Explanation: AWS Direct Connect provides private connectivity to AWS services across different accounts, enhancing bandwidth throughput and enabling a more consistent network experience.
Which of the following is not a feature of AWS Shared VPC?
- A) Sharing subnets across AWS accounts
- B) Centrally managing VPCs and network resources
- C) Automatically joining shared subnets with on-premises network
- D) Using Network Access Control Lists (NACLs) and security groups to manage access to shared resources
Answer: C) Automatically joining shared subnets with on-premises network
Explanation: AWS Shared VPC does not automatically join shared subnets with on-premises networks. It allows for subnet sharing and centralized management, but the connection to on-premises networks would need to be set up separately, typically using a service like AWS VPN or AWS Direct Connect.
Interview Questions
What AWS service would you use to share Amazon EC2 Reserved Instances across multiple AWS accounts?
AWS Organizations would be used to share Amazon EC2 Reserved Instances across multiple AWS accounts. With AWS Organizations, you can set up a consolidated billing feature that allows you to share benefits such as Reserved Instances discounts across all accounts in the organization.
Explain the role of AWS Resource Access Manager (RAM) in sharing resources.
AWS Resource Access Manager (RAM) enables you to share AWS resources with any AWS account or within your AWS Organization. It allows you to share resources such as Subnets, Transit Gateways, and License configurations while maintaining security and compliance.
How can you share an Amazon S3 bucket with another account without making it public?
You can share an Amazon S3 bucket with another account by using bucket policies or Access Control Lists (ACLs) to grant specific permissions to the other account. This method ensures that the bucket itself remains private, and only designated accounts can access it.
Can AWS Directory Service be shared across multiple AWS accounts? If so, how?
Yes, AWS Directory Service can be shared across multiple AWS accounts by using AWS Resource Access Manager (RAM). Once shared, resources within the different AWS accounts can leverage the directory for various AWS services that need directory services.
How can you provide cross-account access to your Amazon RDS database instance?
Cross-account access to an Amazon RDS database instance can be provided by creating IAM roles with the necessary permissions and establishing trust relationships between the accounts, or alternatively, by creating database users and using database-level permissions.
In a multi-account environment, how would you securely share an AMI with specific AWS accounts?
To securely share an AMI with specific AWS accounts, modify the permissions of the AMI to include the AWS account IDs of those accounts you wish to share with. You can do this through the Amazon EC2 console, AWS CLI, or EC2 API.
Describe how AWS Transit Gateway can facilitate resource sharing across multiple VPCs and accounts.
AWS Transit Gateway acts as a network transit hub, enabling you to connect multiple VPCs and on-premises networks through a central point of management and control. It simplifies networking and allows resources in different accounts and VPCs to communicate with each other securely and efficiently.
What considerations should be taken into account when sharing AWS resources like KMS keys across accounts?
When sharing resources like AWS KMS keys across accounts, consider the key policies and IAM policies to ensure the principles of least privilege and the necessary permissions are granted. Additionally, audit who has access to the keys and monitor usage through CloudTrail logs to maintain security and compliance.
When would you use a VPC peering connection, and how does this facilitate resource sharing?
A VPC peering connection is used to facilitate private routing between two VPCs that belong to either the same or different AWS accounts. It allows resources like EC2 instances in the peered VPCs to communicate with each other as if they are in the same network, thus facilitating resource sharing without the need for public IP addresses.
How can AWS SAM be used to manage cross-account Lambda function deployments?
AWS Serverless Application Model (SAM) is an open-source framework for building serverless applications. You can define the resources needed in a SAM template and deploy it using AWS CloudFormation. With the proper permissions setup via IAM roles and resource-based policies, AWS SAM enables you to deploy Lambda functions across different AWS accounts.
This blog on AWS resource sharing across environments is very insightful. Thanks!
Great blog post on sharing AWS resources across environments! I learned a lot.
Quick question: Is it possible to share S3 buckets across multiple AWS accounts?
I’m struggling with cross-region resource sharing. Any tips?
Thanks for the detailed breakdown of IAM roles and policies!
The section on AWS RAM was very informative. It cleared up a lot of confusion I had!
Is it advisable to share RDS instances between environments?
Can someone explain how Transit Gateway can help in resource sharing?