AWS Systems Manager Session Manager is a fully managed service that allows you to manage your Amazon EC2 instances, on-premises instances, and virtual machines through an interactive one-click browser-based shell or an API. It provides a secure and easy-to-use way to access your instances without the need to open inbound ports, maintain SSH keys, or use bastion hosts. Key features and benefits of Session Manager include:
Secure Access: No need to open inbound ports (e.g., port 22 for SSH).
No SSH Keys Needed: Eliminates the need to manage and store SSH keys.
Auditable: Provides detailed logging of session commands and output, which can be stored in Amazon S3 or CloudWatch Logs.
Centralized Access Control: Allows you to manage user access to instances using IAM policies.
Encrypted Sessions: Sessions are encrypted in transit to help meet security requirements.
Multiple Access Methods: Access instances via a web browser, AWS CLI, or an API.
Easy Setup: Simply attach the necessary IAM permissions and ensure the SSM agent is installed.
Session Manager is a recommended method for connecting to EC2 instances in production environments because it improves security by eliminating the risks associated with open inbound ports and SSH keys. If you’d like, I can: Provide steps to set up Session Manager. Explain how to configure auditing for session logs. Compare Session Manager with traditional SSH access. Let me know if any of those options would be helpful! Session Manager | Best way to connect to EC2