Introduction to AWS Systems Manager

AWS Systems Manager is a management service that automates the collection of software inventory, the creation of system images, and other tasks.

Customers can use AWS Systems Manager to centralize operational data from various AWS services and automate tasks across AWS resources. Thus, giving them full knowledge and transparency over their operations.

With Systems Manager, users can cluster resources, such as Amazon EC2 instances, Amazon S3 buckets, or Amazon RDS instances. System Manager also allows seeing operational data for monitoring and troubleshooting.

Systems Manager aims to simplify resource and application management. This service shortens the time required to detect and resolve operational issues. Thus, making it simple to manage and operate one’s infrastructure safely.

Other monitoring services are available on the AWS Systems Manager console, which you can use separately. AWS CloudTrail, for example, allows you to log and monitor all activities in your account.

In this article, we will briefly discuss AWS System Manager. But, before proceeding further, let’s go through the list of topics that we will be covering in this blog:

1. Features of AWS Systems Manager
2. Benefits of AWS Systems Manager
3. Pricing of AWS Systems Manager
4. What is SSM Agent?
5. How does AWS Systems Manager work?
6. How to launch AWS Systems Manager?

Features of AWS Systems Manager

AWS Systems Manager is divided into four major feature categories that consist of various tools and capabilities:

Operations Management:

1. Explorer: It is a customizable operations dashboard that reports information about your AWS resources. 
2. OpsCenter: It provides a central location where operations engineers and IT professionals can view, investigate, and resolve operational work items related to AWS resources.
3. Incident Manager: It helps you prepare for incidents with automated response plans that bring together the right people and information.

Application Management:

1. Application Manager: It helps you provision and manages resources for your applications by integrating with CloudFormation.
2. AppConfig: It helps you manage, store, and safely deploy application configurations to your hosts at runtime.
3. Parameter Store: It provides secure, hierarchical storage for configuration data management and secrets management.

Change Management:

1. Automation: It simplifies standard maintenance, deployment, and remediation tasks for AWS services like Amazon Elastic
2. Change Manager: It simplifies the way you can request, approve, implement, and report on operational changes to your application configuration
3. Maintenance Windows: It helps you define a schedule for when to perform potentially disruptive actions on your nodes

Node Management:

1. Fleet Manager: It helps you remotely manage your nodes running on AWS or on-premises.
2. Session Manager: It provides real-time monitoring and control of all privileged account sessions to prevent and detect malicious activity.
3. Patch Manager: It automates the process of patching managed nodes with both security-related and other types of updates.

Let’s summarize all the features of Systems Manager:

1. Make logical resource groups, such as applications or application layers.
2. You can view recent API activity, resource configuration changes, related notifications, operational alerts, etc.
3. Gathers data about your instances and the software running on them
4. Allows you to automate common and repetitive IT operations and management tasks across AWS resources securely
5. Assists in ensuring that your software is up to date and complies with your compliance policies
6. Allows you to schedule time slots for administrative and maintenance tasks across your instances.
7. It is possible to deploy it in automated IaaS or PaaS architectures.

Check Out the Best Online Courses

Benefits of AWS Systems Manager

Here are some of the benefits of AWS System Manager:

1. Role-based access control is integrated across all AWS services.
2. API audit logging and security that is comprehensive and cross-service.
3. Integration with other Amazon Web Services services 24×7.
4. Architectural patterns/guidance and training 
5. Get Operational Insights and Act on AWS Resources
6. Displays operational data in a single, simple-to-read dashboard.
7. Maintenance tasks on AWS EC2 and on-premises instances can be automated.
8. View detailed system configurations, patch levels for the operating system, and other information.
9. Examine your instances for compliance with your patch, configuration, and custom policies.

Pricing of AWS Systems Manager

Suppose you have access to an AWS free tier account. Then you can get access to the following AWS Systems Manager features for free. (Certain limits may apply):

1. Application Manager
2. Maintenance Windows
3. Compliance
4. Inventory
5. Session Manager
6. Run Command
7. State Manager
8. Fleet Manager

You will be billed as per your application workflow. Suppose your application workflow invokes an AWS Lambda function, then you will be billed for that AWS Lambda use based on your AWS Lambda pricing. Hence it’s the same for any other AWS resources used.

What is SSM Agent?

The SSM (Simple Systems Manager) Agent is the tool that handles Systems Manager requests and configures your machine according to the request. Each instance that you want to use must have an SSM Agent installed. SSM Agent is installed by default on newer AMIs and instance types. It must be manually installed on older versions.
Some of its capabilities include:

1. Automation
2. Resource Groups
3. Built-in Insights
4. Systems Manager Activation
5. Configuration Compliance

How does AWS Systems Manager work?

AWS Systems Manager goes through several processes. For example, when executing an action, such as sending a command to your fleet of servers. Or performing an inventory of the apps running on your on-premises servers. The diagram below depicts a general example of these processes.

How to launch AWS Systems Manager?

It is simple to launch AWS Systems Manager. Navigate to the AWS Systems Manager console using the AWS Management Console. You can create a resource group with a simple tag query. And then start exploring the set of operational tools provided by AWS Systems Manager.

If you want to learn more about AWS resources, you can refer to the following articles:

Conclusion:

Today’s article went over the AWS System Manager in great detail. By writing this article, I could assuage some of your concerns.

If you are looking for a complete and accurate course in Cloud Computing, these cloud courses may be of assistance. This program helps students who want to become full-fledged Cloud professionals.

Top Trending Tech Articles:
Career Opportunities after BTech | Online Python Compiler | What is Coding | Queue Data Structure | Top Programming Language | Trending DevOps Tools | Highest Paid IT Jobs | Most In Demand IT Skills | Networking Interview Questions | Features of Java | Basic Linux Commands | Amazon Interview Questions

Recently completed any professional course/certification from the market? Tell us what liked or disliked in the course for more curated content.

Click here to submit its review with Shiksha Online.