Discuss Amazon SAA-C03 Exam Topic 4 Question 26

A company's developers want a secure way to gain SSH access on the company's Amazon EC2 instances that run the latest version of Amazon Linux. The developers work remotely and in the corporate office.

The company wants to use AWS services as a part of the solution. The EC2 instances are hosted in a VPC private subnet and access the internet through a NAT gateway that is deployed in a public subnet.

What should a solutions architect do to meet these requirements MOST cost-effectively?

ACreate a bastion host in the same subnet as the EC2 instances. Grant the ec2: CreateVpnConnection 1AM permission to the developers. Install EC2 Instance Connect so that the developers can connect to the EC2 instances.

BCreate an AWS Site-to-Site VPN connection between the corporate network and the VPC. Instruct the developers to use the Site-to-Site VPN connection to access the EC2 instances when the developers are on the corporate network. Instruct the developers to set up another VPN connection for access when they work remotely.

CCreate a bastion host in the public subnet of the VPC. Configure the security groups and SSH keys of the bastion host to only allow connections and SSH authentication from the developers' corporate and remote networks. Instruct the developers to connect through the bastion host by using SSH to reach the EC2 instances.

DAttach the AmazonSSMManagedlnstanceCore 1AM policy to an 1AM role that is associated with the EC2 instances. Instruct the developers to use AWS Systems Manager Session Manager to access the EC2 instances.

Suggested Answer: D

AWS Systems Manager Session Manager is a service that enables you to securely connect to your EC2 instances without using SSH keys or bastion hosts. You can use Session Manager to access your instances through the AWS Management Console, the AWS CLI, or the AWS SDKs. Session Manager uses IAM policies and roles to control who can access which instances. By attaching the AmazonSSMManagedlnstanceCore IAM policy to an IAM role that is associated with the EC2 instances, you grant the Session Manager service the necessary permissions to perform actions on your instances. You also need to attach another IAM policy to the developers' IAM users or roles that allows them to start sessions to the instances. Session Manager uses the AWS Systems Manager Agent (SSM Agent) that is installed by default on Amazon Linux 2 and other supported Linux distributions. Session Manager also encrypts all session data between your client and your instances, and streams session logs to Amazon S3, Amazon CloudWatch Logs, or both for auditing purposes. This solution is the most cost-effective, as it does not require any additional resources or services, such as bastion hosts, VPN connections, or NAT gateways. It also simplifies the security and management of SSH access, as it eliminates the need for SSH keys, port opening, or firewall rules.Reference:

What is AWS Systems Manager?

Setting up Session Manager

Getting started with Session Manager

Controlling access to Session Manager

Logging Session Manager activity

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27 comments · newest first

Lezlie 11 months ago

D is definitely cost-effective and secure!

Kenneth 11 months ago

C sounds risky with SSH keys; I'd avoid that.

Britt 11 months ago

Surprised that a bastion host is still a common solution!

Leonora 11 months ago

I think B is overkill for remote access.

Lorrie 12 months ago

Option D is the best choice for secure access without exposing SSH.

Renea 12 months ago

I believe creating a bastion host in the public subnet is a common practice, but I wonder if it’s the best choice considering security and cost.

Elmira 1 year ago

I practiced a similar question about VPN connections, but I feel like setting up a Site-to-Site VPN for remote access might be overkill for this scenario.

Cristen 1 year ago

I think using AWS Systems Manager Session Manager could be a good option since it doesn't require opening SSH ports, but I can't recall if it’s the most cost-effective solution.

Oretha 1 year ago

I remember studying about bastion hosts, but I'm not sure if they should be in the same subnet as the EC2 instances or in a public subnet.

Rashad 1 year ago

I'm not sure which option is the most cost-effective. I'll need to do some research on the pricing and operational costs of each AWS service mentioned to make an informed decision.

Danilo 1 year ago

I'm leaning towards Option D with the AWS Systems Manager approach. It seems like it could be a simpler and more managed solution, but I'll need to double-check the pricing and security implications.

Selma 1 year ago

Option C looks promising to me. Creating a bastion host in the public subnet and restricting access to the developers' networks seems like a secure and cost-effective solution.

Junita 1 year ago

I'm a bit confused by the different AWS services mentioned here. I'll need to review my notes on VPNs, bastion hosts, and Systems Manager to make sure I understand the pros and cons of each option.

Yoko 1 year ago

This seems like a tricky question, but I think I have a good strategy. I'll carefully read through the options and consider the cost-effectiveness and security aspects of each approach.

Anthony 1 year ago

Encrypting the passwords as environment variables could be an option, but I'm not sure if that's the most secure approach. I'd want to double-check the documentation to make sure that meets all the requirements.

Renato 1 year ago

I'm drawing a blank on this one. The TOGAF principles aren't something I've fully committed to memory. I'll have to make an educated guess and hope for the best.

Shawna 1 year ago

Dumpster diving is definitely the way to go here. That's the classic technique for finding sensitive documents that haven't been properly shredded or disposed of. Easy choice.

Rene 3 years ago

True, but with Option D, the developers would still need to be granted the AmazonSSMManagedlnstanceCore IAM policy, which could be a bit of a pain to manage. And what if the developers need to do some advanced troubleshooting that requires direct SSH access? The bastion host approach in Option C seems more flexible.

Carole 3 years ago

I'm not so sure about Option C. Doesn't that mean the developers will have to go through an extra hop to access the EC2 instances? That could slow things down and be a bit of a hassle for them. Option D with AWS Systems Manager Session Manager seems like it could be more user-friendly.

Buddy 2 years ago

↳ replying to Carole

Exactly, Option D seems like the most user-friendly and secure solution for SSH access to EC2 instances.

Dorothea 3 years ago

↳ replying to Carole

And they can do it without the extra hop through a bastion host like Option C.

Ashley 3 years ago

↳ replying to Carole

True, with Option D, developers can access EC2 instances without having to manage SSH keys.

Cordie 3 years ago

↳ replying to Carole

That's a good point. Option D with AWS Systems Manager Session Manager could be more secure.

Quentin 3 years ago

↳ replying to Carole

But won't granting ec2:CreateVpnConnection IAM permission to developers be a security risk?

Markus 3 years ago

↳ replying to Carole

I think Option A might be the best choice. It allows developers to connect to EC2 instances directly.

Fletcher 3 years ago

Haha, yeah, imagine if the developers tried to use Option A and accidentally created a VPN connection instead of using EC2 Instance Connect. That would be a real 'connect the dots' kind of moment.

Willow 3 years ago

Good one! Although, to be fair, Option A does seem a bit overly complex for this use case. I think the best solution is still Option C - it's secure, cost-effective, and gives the developers the access they need without too much extra hassle.

Amazon SAA-C03 Exam - Topic 4 Question 26 Discussion