# Advanced Identity

- [Advanced Identity](#advanced-identity)
  - [AWS STS (SecurityToken Service)](#aws-sts-securitytoken-service)
  - [Amazon Cognito (simplified)](#amazon-cognito-simplified)
  - [What is Microsoft Active Directory (AD)?](#what-is-microsoft-active-directory-ad)
    - [AWS Directory Services](#aws-directory-services)
  - [AWS IAM Identity Center (successor to AWS Single Sign-On)](#aws-iam-identity-center-successor-to-aws-single-sign-on)
  - [Summary](#summary)

## AWS STS (SecurityToken Service)

- Enables you to create **temporary, limited- privileges credentials** to access your AWS resources
- Short-term credentials: you configure expiration period
- Use cases
  - Identity federation: manage user identities in external systems, and provide them with STS tokens to access AWS resources
  - IAM Roles for cross/same account access
  - IAM Roles for Amazon EC2: provide temporary credentials for EC2 instances to access AWS resources

## Amazon Cognito (simplified)

- Identity for your Web and Mobile applications users (potentially millions)
- Instead of creating them an IAM user, you create a user in Cognito

## What is Microsoft Active Directory (AD)?

- Found on any Windows Server with AD Domain Services
- Database of objects: User Accounts, Computers, Printers, File Shares, Security Groups
- Centralized security management, create account, assign permissions

### AWS Directory Services

- **AWS Managed Microsoft AD**
  - Create your own AD in AWS, manage users locally, supports MFA
  - Establish “trust” connections with your on- premise AD
- **AD Connector**
  - Directory Gateway (proxy) to redirect to on- premise AD, supports MFA
  - Users are managed on the on-premise AD
- **Simple AD**
  - AD-compatible managed directory on AWS
  - Cannot be joined with on-premise AD

## AWS IAM Identity Center (successor to AWS Single Sign-On)

- One login (single sign-on) for all your
  - AWS accounts in AWS Organizations
  - Business cloud applications (e.g., Salesforce, Box, Microsoft 365, ...)
  - SAML2.0-enabled applications
  - EC2 Windows Instances
- Identity providers
  - Built-in identity store in IAM Identity Center

## Summary

- **IAM**
  - Identity and Access Management inside your AWS account
  - For users that you trust and belong to your company
- **Organizations**: manage multiple AWS accounts
- **Security Token Service (STS)**: temporary, limited-privileges credentials to access AWS resources
- **Cognito**: create a database of users for your mobile & web applications
- **Directory Services**: integrate Microsoft Active Directory in AWS
- **IAM Identity Center**: one login for multiple AWS accounts & applications

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