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Basic Information

Identifying Resources

Amazon Globally Unique Identifier in ARN (Amazon Resource Notation)

arn:partition:service:region:account-id:resource-id

examples:
arn:aws:ec2:us-east-1:427648302155:instance/i-04cc1c2c7ec1af1b5
arn:aws-us-gov:s3:::hl-it-admin (doesn't have a region or account-id - account-id must be unique)
arn:aws:iam::346814769439:user/contractor (doesn't have a region since it is global)

AWS IAM Identities

IdentityDescription
IAM UsersIdentities assigned to individuals or apps with long-term credentials for accessing resources
IAM RolesIdentities with short-lived credentials that provide specific access
Federated UsersUsers that access resources via federation such as AD or Okta
Service-Linked RolesAutomatically created roles that allow AWS services to perform actions on your behalf, linked directly to specific services

AWS Key Format

  • AKIA - Long-Term Credentials for IAM User or Root User
  • ASIA - Short-Lived Credentials Created by AWS STS (Security Token Service)

AWS API (service) endpoints

  • iam.amazonaws.com
  • iam.us-gov.amazonaws.com
  • ec2.us-east-2.amazonaws.com
  • s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com
  • cloudformation.eu-west-3.amazonaws.com
  • organization.us-east-1.amazonaws.com