AWS Cloud Operations & Migrations Blog

Tag: AWS Systems Manager

How DocuTAP automates cloud operations using AWS Management Tools

Now that large organizations have the flexibility to quickly launch infrastructure and leverage new services, they must find the means to maintain consistent controls without restricting development velocity. In this guest post, Brian Olson, Cloud Architect at health care company DocuTAP, discusses how a combination of AWS Management and Governance services and AWS developer tools […]

Packaging to Distribution – Using AWS Systems Manager Distributor to deploy Datadog

AWS Systems Manager Distributor automates the process of packaging and publishing software to managed Windows and Linux instances across the cloud landscape, as well as to on-premises servers, through a single simplified interface. Customers can now leverage AWS Systems Manager Distributor to package custom software like monitoring agents and security agents, and then distribute them […]

How Moody’s uses AWS Systems Manager to patch servers across multiple cloud providers

Introduction Enterprises today continue to face challenges maintaining an inventory of all of their infrastructure. They need to ensure timely patching of their servers spread across their on-premises and cloud environments using the same set of tools. In this guest blog post, Divya Elaty, VP, Cloud Engineering at Moody’s, and Sarat Guttikonda, Global Solutions Architect […]

Managing AWS resources across multiple accounts and Regions using AWS Systems Manager Automation

AWS Systems Manager Automation simplifies common administrative and maintenance tasks of AWS resources. Using Systems Manager Automation, you can execute predefined tasks/workflows in the form of AWS Systems Manager documents (SSM documents) that you can write yourself or use community published documents. A SSM document defines the actions that Systems Manager performs on your AWS […]

How to patch Windows EC2 instances in private subnets Using AWS Systems Manager

Patching Windows instances in private subnets could be challenging since those Amazon EC2 instances have no internet connectivity. In this blog post we explain how to use AWS Systems Manager and Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) to keep those instances updated. We’ll create a new VPC with the proper endpoints, security groups, and network access […]

AWS-ApplyDSCMofs Document Diagram

Run compliance enforcement and view compliant and non-compliant instances using AWS Systems Manager and PowerShell DSC

Point-and-click management randomizes servers with every single change made. It’s great to configure your servers with code. In addition, having automation to manage server configuration and compliance helps companies save time, improve availability, and lower the risks associated with up-time and security. However, the learning experience and administrative effort required to maintain such an environment […]

Centralized multi-account and multi-Region patching with AWS Systems Manager Automation

Update 01/2023: AWS Systems Manager announces Patch Policies, enabling cross account and cross Region patching. Patch Policies provide a user experience in a single console to easily define and enforce patch compliance across accounts and Regions with a few clicks. For more information, see Centrally deploy patching operations across your AWS Organization using Systems Manager […]

Applying customizations automatically in AWS OpsWorks for Chef Automate

During mandatory maintenance, AWS OpsWorks for Chef Automate performs Chef Server and Chef Automate version, security, and operating system patching. Version updates for Chef go through extensive testing to verify they are production ready and don’t disrupt existing environments. When an instance is replaced, customers often ask how they can restore their custom settings in […]

How to setup and use AWS OpsWorks for Chef Automate or Puppet Enterprise in an isolated subnet

Introduction For enhanced security, it’s often preferable to place resources in AWS within a subnet with no internet access. Recently, AWS expanded the number of services supported by interface VPC endpoints within the AWS ecosystem, so it’s now easier than ever to run AWS OpsWorks for Chef Automate or AWS OpsWorks for Puppet Enterprise within […]

Using AWS Systems Manager Parameter Store Secure String parameters in AWS CloudFormation templates

When using AWS CloudFormation templates to code your infrastructure, you should consider applying best practices to improve the maintainability of your code. Further, these best practices should be augmented by guidelines like those outlined for twelve-factor apps, which are targeted at optimizing applications for continuous deployment. Of these factors, you should note that you should […]