Automating system inventory, configuration, and patch management (for example, Systems Manager, AWS Config)

What are the key features of AWS Systems Manager that help in managing system inventory?

AWS Systems Manager offers the Inventory Manager feature which allows you to collect and query configuration and metadata from your EC2 instances and on-premises servers. It helps in tracking installed software, AWS resources, Windows and Linux OS patch levels, environment variables, and network configuration. This centralized view facilitates asset management, security, and compliance auditing.

How can AWS Config help in maintaining the desired configuration state of AWS resources?

AWS Config allows you to assess, audit, and evaluate the configurations of your AWS resources. You can define rules that represent your ideal configuration state, and AWS Config continuously monitors and records your AWS resource configurations to ensure they comply with those rules. It alerts you when resources drift from your desired configurations, enabling corrective action.

Can you elaborate on how AWS Systems Manager Patch Manager automates patch management processes?

AWS Systems Manager Patch Manager automates the process of patching managed instances with both security-related and other types of updates. You can define patch baselines, maintain patch groups, and schedule patching windows to ensure that instances are kept up-to-date with minimal manual intervention. It supports both EC2 instances and on-premises servers, providing a comprehensive patch management solution.

How does AWS Systems Manager help in achieving compliance with company security policies?

Systems Manager helps maintain compliance by automating application of OS patches, ensuring instances adhere to predefined configuration baselines, and providing detailed reports on system inventory and patch compliance. It integrates with AWS Config Rules to enforce compliance standards, and State Manager to ensure that instances remain in a compliant state over time.

Describe a scenario where you would use AWS Systems Manager State Manager.

AWS Systems Manager State Manager is used to maintain a consistent state for your EC2 instances and on-premises servers. An example scenario would be to ensure that certain services remain running, software remains installed, or specific configurations do not change over time across your servers. It automates the process of applying and enforcing system configurations for improved compliance and governance.

How can AWS Config be used in tandem with AWS CloudFormation to manage infrastructure as code?

AWS Config and AWS CloudFormation complement each other by ensuring that infrastructure changes are consistently applied. AWS CloudFormation templates define the desired state of infrastructure as code, while AWS Config monitors actual resource configurations for divergence from the CloudFormation templates. Together, they enable automated drift detection and remediation, thus maintaining the integrity of your infrastructure as code deployments.

What is the role of AWS Config rules in managing system configurations, and how do you apply them?

AWS Config rules are user-defined rules that allow you to automate the evaluation of recorded configurations against desired configurations. After defining the necessary rules, AWS Config continuously evaluates your resource configurations and reports whether resources comply or deviate from these rules. You can create custom Lambda functions to extend rule logic for complex compliance checks.

How do you use AWS Systems Manager to automate common operational tasks?

AWS Systems Manager Automation allows you to define and run automation workflows to perform common maintenance and deployment tasks. By creating automation documents, you can execute a sequence of steps from simplifying AMI creation and updates to restarting stopped instances or applying patches. This minimizes the need for manual intervention and reduces the scope for human error.

What security measures should you consider when implementing AWS Systems Manager?

Security measures include using IAM roles and policies to control access to Systems Manager and to the resources it manages, securing the Systems Manager Agent communications using IAM policies and session encryption, storing sensitive information using Systems Manager Parameter Store with encryption backed by KMS, and auditing actions through integration with CloudTrail.

When setting up AWS Systems Manager Patch Manager, how do you ensure minimal disruption to production systems?

You ensure minimal disruption by configuring the patch manager to operate within maintenance windows that you define, creating patch baselines tailored for production environments, and using the Scan and Rollback feature which applies patches in a phased approach allowing for monitoring and quick rollback if issues are detected. Additionally, you can leverage snapshots and AMI backups for recovery if needed.

How would you handle patch management for a hybrid cloud environment with AWS Systems Manager?

AWS Systems Manager Patch Manager can be extended to manage on-premises servers through the Hybrid Activations feature. It requires installing Systems Manager Agent on the on-premises servers and registering them with the central management console. You can then manage patches consistently across both your AWS and on-premises environments using the same tools and workflows.

Describe how you can use AWS Config to monitor for undesired changes to security groups?

You can create AWS Config rules that trigger evaluations when changes to security groups occur. For instance, you can write a rule to detect open SSH ports to the internet or unauthorized additions of ingress or egress rules. If a change is detected that violates the rule criteria, AWS Config flags the resource and can notify administrators using Amazon SNS or trigger automated remediation actions with AWS Lambda.