#Bastion host aws meaning code

This script updates AuthorizedKeysCommand to read SSH public keys from instance metadata during the SSH authentication process, and connects you to the instance. When the EC2 Instance Connect feature is enabled on an instance, the SSH daemon (sshd) on that instance is configured with a custom AuthorizedKeysCommand script. You can also connect to your instances from a new browser-based SSH client in the EC2 console, providing a consistent experience without having to change your workflows or tools.

Ubiquitous access – EC2 Instance Connect works seamlessly with your existing SSH client.

Auditability – User connections via EC2 Instance Connect are logged to AWS CloudTrail, providing the visibility needed to easily audit connection requests and maintain compliance.

Instead, you generate one-time SSH keys each time that an authorized user connects, eliminating the need to track and maintain keys. This also allows you to move away from long-lived keys. They are only accessible by an instance at the time that an authorized user connects, making it easier to grant or revoke access in real time.

Short-lived keys – SSH keys are not persisted on the instance, but are ephemeral in nature.

IAM policies and principals remove the need to share and manage SSH keys.

Centralized access control – You get centralized access control to your EC2 instances on a per-user and per-instance level.

You maintain the installed user keys, handle rotation, and make sure that the bastion host is always available and, more importantly, secured.Īmazon EC2 Instance Connect simplifies many of these issues and provides the following benefits to help improve your security posture: However, running bastion hosts comes with challenges. They provide logging and prevent rogue SSH access by adding an additional layer of network obfuscation. Some organizations also maintain bastion hosts, which help limit network access into hosts by the use of a single jump point.

As a result, organizations have to store, share, manage access for, and maintain these SSH keys. When connecting to hosts via SSH, SSH key pairs are often used to individually authorize users. It was created in 1995 and is now installed by default on almost every Linux distribution. The most common tool to connect to Linux servers is Secure Shell (SSH).

#Bastion host aws meaning code

While infrastructure as code (IaC) tools such as Chef and Puppet have become customary in the industry for configuring servers, you occasionally must access your instances to fine-tune, consult system logs, or debug application issues. Today, AWS is introducing Amazon EC2 Instance Connect, a new way to control SSH access to your EC2 instances using AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM). This post is courtesy of Saloni Sonpal – Senior Product Manager – Amazon EC2