Managing multiple AWS accounts efficiently and securely is a challenge for any organization, whether small or large. AWS Organizations provides a centralized way to manage these accounts, offering streamlined administration and enhanced security through fine-tuned permissions. In this guide, we’ll walk through everything you need to know about AWS Organizations, from setting it up to applying custom policies.
Managing AWS Accounts and Permissions: A Comprehensive Guide to Setting Up AWS Organizations
AWS Organizations is a service designed to help you manage multiple AWS accounts from a single location. It allows you to create a hierarchical structure for your accounts, apply policies at different levels, and control the services and resources your teams can access. This service mainly benefits organizations looking to enforce governance, streamline billing, and improve security.
Introduction to AWS Organizations: Streamlining Management of Multiple AWS Accounts
At its core, AWS Organizations simplifies the management of multiple AWS accounts. Instead of managing each account separately, you can group accounts into an organization and apply policies across the group. This centralized management model is ideal for enforcing compliance and security across all accounts while reducing administrative overhead.
Creating and Adding Accounts to AWS Organizations: A Step-by-Step Tutorial
- Sign in to the AWS Management Console Using the credentials for the master account you want to designate.
- Navigate to AWS Organizations: In the AWS Management Console, find and select AWS Organizations.
- Create an Organization: Click “Create organization” to begin setting up your new organizational structure.
- Add Accounts: You can add existing AWS accounts to your organization or create new ones directly within AWS Organizations. To add an account, click “Add account” and follow the prompts to either invite an existing account or create a new one.
- Verify Account Addition: Once added, the accounts will appear in your organization under the “Accounts” tab.
Organizing AWS Accounts with Organizational Units: Structuring Your AWS Environment
Organizational Units (OUs) are critical in structuring your AWS environment. They allow you to group accounts based on functional, departmental, or project needs. For example, you could have separate OUs for development, testing, and production environments. Each OU can have its own policies, making it easier to manage permissions and security settings for groups of accounts.
To create an OU:
- Navigate to AWS Organizations in the Management Console.
- Click on the ‘Organizational units’ tab and select “Create organizational unit.”
- Name your OU and place it under the desired parent OU or root.
- Drag and drop accounts into the OU to apply its policies.
Enabling and Configuring Service Control Policies: Securing Access to AWS Services
Service Control Policies (SCPs) are at the heart of security in AWS Organizations. SCPs allow you to specify what services and actions are allowed or denied within an organization or OU. All permissions are allowed by default, but you can create SCPs to restrict access based on your security requirements.
To enable and configure SCPs:
- Enable SCPs in AWS Organizations’s “Settings” section if they aren’t already active.
- Create a new SCP by navigating to the “Policies” tab and selecting “Create policy.”
- Define the policy statement to allow or deny specific actions, such as s3:ListBucket or ec2:RunInstances.
- Save and apply the SCP to the relevant OU or accounts.
Implementing Custom Service Control Policies: Fine-Tuning Access Controls for Your AWS Organization
Custom SCPs offer granular control over the actions allowed within your AWS Organization. These policies can be as broad or specific as needed, allowing you to tailor access controls to each OU or account.
When creating a custom SCP:
- Define the Policy’s Scope: Consider what actions should be allowed or restricted.
- Write the JSON Policy Document: Use the AWS JSON policy language to specify the permissions.
- Test the Policy: Before applying it broadly, test the policy on a single account to ensure it behaves as expected.
- Apply the Policy: Once verified, attach the policy to the appropriate OU or account.
Attaching Service Control Policies to Organizational Units: Applying Access Controls Effectively
Once your SCPs are ready, attach them to your OUs or accounts. This step ensures that the permissions you’ve defined are enforced across your organization.
To attach an SCP:
- Navigate to the “Organizational units” tab in AWS Organizations.
- Select the OU or account to which you want to apply the policy.
- Click “Attach policy” and choose the SCP from the list.
- Review and confirm that the policy is correctly applied.
Attaching SCPs to OUs allows you to enforce policies across multiple accounts simultaneously, providing a powerful mechanism for maintaining security and compliance.
Conclusion: Maximizing Efficiency and Security with AWS Organizations
AWS Organizations is a powerful tool for managing multiple AWS accounts efficiently and securely. By leveraging organizational units, service control policies, and custom SCPs, you can enforce consistent security policies, streamline account management, and optimize your AWS environment.
By setting up AWS Organizations and applying the best practices outlined in this guide, your organization can achieve enhanced security, better governance, and improved operational efficiency.