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Cloud Computing · Intermediate

Session Manager

AWS Systems Manager capability providing browser or CLI shell access to instances without open inbound ports, bastions or SSH keys.

Definition

Session Manager uses the SSM Agent's outbound connection to the Systems Manager service, with access controlled by IAM and sessions optionally logged to S3 or CloudWatch Logs and encrypted with KMS. It supports port forwarding and works with private instances through VPC endpoints.

Example

An administrator connects to a private instance in a subnet with no internet access through Session Manager and VPC endpoints.

Exam tip

Session Manager is the most secure answer for remote administration with auditing and no inbound ports.

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