Concepts
AWS RAM allows you to easily and securely share AWS resources with any AWS account or within your AWS Organization. It can be used to share resources like Subnets, Transit Gateways, Route 53 Resolver rules, and License configurations.
Example Use Case: If you have a central VPC with shared services in one account, you can use AWS RAM to share a subnet with multiple other accounts. This avoids the need to duplicate resources and simplifies network management.
To share a subnet with AWS RAM:
- Go to the AWS RAM console.
- Choose “Create a Resource Share.”
- Select the subnet(s) you want to share.
- Specify the accounts, organizational units, or your entire organization to share the resources with.
- The other accounts can now provision resources in the shared subnet.
AWS CloudFormation StackSets
AWS CloudFormation StackSets allows you to create, update, or delete stacks across multiple accounts and regions with a single operation. This is especially useful for consistent deployment of roles, settings, and resources across your landscape.
Example Use Case: If you want to deploy an IAM role to multiple accounts across different regions for logging purposes, you can do so with a StackSet.
To create a StackSet:
- Define your CloudFormation template (YAML or JSON) with the IAM role.
- Go to the CloudFormation console and select “Create StackSet.”
- Provide the template and set the necessary permissions.
- Specify the accounts and regions where you want to deploy the role.
- CloudFormation takes care of the deployment in the specified accounts and regions.
IAM Cross-Account Roles
IAM cross-account roles enable you to grant users or services in one AWS account permission to access resources in another account. It’s a secure method to share access without sharing credentials.
Example Use Case: A logging service in Account A needs to access S3 buckets in Account B for data consolidation.
To create a cross-account role:
- In Account B (the resource owner), create an IAM role and define a trust policy that permits Account A to assume this role.
- Attach permissions to the IAM role that grant the required access to the S3 buckets.
- In Account A (the service account), users or services assume the role and access Account B’s S3 buckets using the role’s credentials.
Trust Policy Example (Account B):
{
“Version”: “2012-10-17”,
“Statement”: {
“Effect”: “Allow”,
“Principal”: {
“AWS”: “arn:aws:iam::AccountA-ID:root”
},
“Action”: “sts:AssumeRole”
}
}
Role Assumption (Account A):
Using the AWS CLI, you can assume the role:
aws sts assume-role –role-arn “arn:aws:iam::AccountB-ID:role/CrossAccountRole” –role-session-name “AccountASession”
Comparison Table
Here is a simple comparison table highlighting the use cases of AWS RAM, CloudFormation StackSets, and IAM cross-account roles:
| Feature | AWS RAM | AWS CloudFormation StackSets | IAM Cross-Account Roles |
|---|---|---|---|
| Resource Sharing | Yes (specific resources) | No (deploys resources) | No (provides access) |
| Multi-Region | Yes | Yes | N/A |
| Multi-Account | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Central Management | Yes | Yes | No (access management) |
| Delegated Access | N/A | N/A | Yes |
Appropriate selection and combination of these tools can greatly streamline the process of managing multi-region and multi-account AWS environments. Whether it’s sharing VPC resources with AWS RAM, using CloudFormation StackSets for uniform stack deployment, or setting up cross-account roles to delegate access, AWS provides robust options to meet complex organizational needs.
Answer the Questions in Comment Section
True or False: AWS Resource Access Manager (AWS RAM) allows you to share your AWS resources with any AWS account or within your AWS Organization.
- A) True
- B) False
Answer: A) True
Explanation: AWS RAM enables you to share specified AWS resources with other AWS accounts or within your organization, making it easier to manage resources collectively.
CloudFormation StackSets can be used to:
- A) Deploy stacks regionally.
- B) Deploy stacks across multiple accounts.
- C) Monitor real-time resource utilization.
- D) Automatically adjust resource capacity.
- E) A and B.
Answer: E) A and B
Explanation: CloudFormation StackSets extends the functionality of CloudFormation to enable you to create, update, or delete stacks across multiple accounts and regions with a single operation.
True or False: IAM cross-account roles need to trust the account that is assuming them.
- A) True
- B) False
Answer: A) True
Explanation: IAM cross-account roles require a trust relationship that specifies which accounts are allowed to assume the role.
Which of the following are use cases for AWS RAM? (Select two)
- A) Sharing a subnet with another AWS account.
- B) Sharing EC2 instances with the public.
- C) Sharing license configurations.
- D) Sharing an EC2 key pair.
Answer: A) Sharing a subnet with another AWS account, C) Sharing license configurations.
Explanation: AWS RAM allows the sharing of resources like subnets and license configurations among AWS accounts but not the sharing of instances or EC2 key pairs with the public.
True or False: CloudFormation StackSets automatically manages state synchronization across stacks in different accounts and regions.
- A) True
- B) False
Answer: A) True
Explanation: CloudFormation StackSets takes care of synchronizing the stack state across different accounts and regions, ensuring consistency of your infrastructure.
When using CloudFormation StackSets, the role that deploys stacks on your behalf is known as the:
- A) Service role
- B) Execution role
- C) Trust role
Answer: B) Execution role
Explanation: When using CloudFormation StackSets, the execution role is the one that is assumed by CloudFormation on your behalf to deploy stacks in the target accounts.
What do you need to establish before using IAM cross-account roles?
- A) A trust relationship
- B) AWS RAM
- C) An Amazon S3 bucket policy
- D) Direct Connect
Answer: A) A trust relationship
Explanation: Before using IAM cross-account roles, you must establish a trust relationship that specifies who can assume the role across accounts.
True or False: StackSets can be used to perform sequential updates across regions and accounts.
- A) True
- B) False
Answer: A) True
Explanation: StackSets can perform updates in a sequential manner across accounts and regions, either in a single operation or region by region.
Which AWS service primarily handles sharing of AWS resources across accounts to avoid creating duplicate resources?
- A) AWS Resource Access Manager (AWS RAM)
- B) AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM)
- C) Amazon EC2
- D) Amazon Simple Notification Service (SNS)
Answer: A) AWS Resource Access Manager (AWS RAM)
Explanation: AWS RAM is designed for sharing AWS resources across accounts, allowing you to manage and share resources centrally without duplication.
True or False: You can share Amazon Elastic IP addresses using AWS RAM.
- A) True
- B) False
Answer: B) False
Explanation: AWS RAM does not support sharing of Amazon Elastic IP addresses. It supports the sharing of other resources such as subnets, Route 53 Resolver rules, and license configurations.
When performing cross-region actions with CloudFormation StackSets, which settings are important for successful deployment? (Select two)
- A) StackSet description
- B) Region Concurrency Type
- C) IAM Execution role
- D) Required IAM permissions for stack set operations
Answer: B) Region Concurrency Type, C) IAM Execution role
Explanation: Region Concurrency Type decides how operations are performed across regions (concurrently or sequentially), and the IAM Execution role is essential for CloudFormation to deploy resources on your behalf in the specified accounts.
Which resource sharing method would you use to delegate permissions for resources in one account to users in a different account?
- A) AWS RAM
- B) IAM cross-account roles
- C) Amazon VPC Peering
- D) AWS Service Catalog
Answer: B) IAM cross-account roles
Explanation: IAM cross-account roles are used to delegate permissions across AWS accounts, allowing users from one account to access resources in another.
Great post on managing resources across multiple AWS Regions!
Can anyone explain how AWS RAM simplifies resource sharing between accounts?
Thanks for the in-depth article!
I’m having difficulty setting up CloudFormation StackSets with cross-account permissions. Any tips?
How do you handle IAM cross-account roles when managing multiple AWS accounts?
Fantastic resource, appreciate the guide!
Why would I use AWS RAM instead of just setting up cross-account roles directly?
Appreciate the detailed information, very helpful!