Concepts
Amazon CloudFront is a content delivery network (CDN) service that securely delivers data, videos, applications, and APIs to customers globally with low latency and high transfer speeds. Amazon S3 (Simple Storage Service) is an object storage service offering scalable storage for data backup, archival, and analytics. Combining these two services provides a robust solution for delivering content securely and efficiently. Configuring CloudFront with an S3 origin involves setting up origin access control (OAC) to restrict access to the S3 content, ensuring that users can only access content through CloudFront.
Step 1: Create an S3 Bucket
First, you need to create an Amazon S3 bucket where your content will be stored.
- Log in to the AWS Management Console.
- Navigate to the Amazon S3 console.
- Click on “Create bucket.”
- Provide a name for your bucket and select the AWS Region.
- Leave the default settings or configure as required for your use case.
- Click on “Create bucket.”
Step 2: Block Public Access to the S3 Bucket
For security reasons, it’s important to ensure that the S3 bucket is not publicly accessible and can only be accessed through CloudFront.
- Choose the bucket you created from the list.
- Click on the “Permissions” tab.
- Click on “Block all public access” and make sure all options are selected to block public access to the S3 bucket.
- Save the changes.
Step 3: Create a CloudFront Distribution
Now you will create a CloudFront distribution that will use the S3 bucket as its origin.
- Go to the Amazon CloudFront console.
- Click on “Create Distribution.”
- Choose “Web” distribution and click on “Get Started.”
- In the “Origin Domain Name,” select your S3 bucket from the dropdown list.
- Leave “Origin Path” blank if you want CloudFront to access the root of your bucket, or specify a path to a directory within your bucket.
Step 4: Configure Origin Access Control (OAC)
Origin Access Control is a method to restrict access to the S3 content, ensuring it is served only via the CloudFront distribution.
- Scroll down to the “S3 bucket access” section.
- Select “Yes” for “Restrict bucket access.”
- Choose “Create a new identity” for “Origin Access Identity” which will be used by CloudFront to access your S3 bucket.
- Set “Comment” to something descriptive.
- Choose “Yes” to update the bucket policy to restrict access to CloudFront’s Origin Access Identity.
Step 5: Set Object Permissions
Next, adjust the permissions to allow the Origin Access Identity to Get Objects from your S3 bucket.
- Still in the Amazon S3 console, select your bucket and go to the “Permissions” tab.
- Under “Bucket policy,” you should see the policy updated by CloudFront. Ensure it grants the “GetObject” permission to the Origin Access Identity.
Step 6: Configure Cache Behavior Settings
Configure how CloudFront caches your content and interacts with viewers’ requests.
- For “Cache Based on Selected Request Headers,” choose the option appropriate for your application.
- For “Viewer Protocol Policy,” choose whether you want to enforce HTTPS.
- In “Allowed HTTP Methods,” select the appropriate methods for your content.
Step 7: Set Distribution Settings
Configure additional settings such as your distribution’s price class, SSL certificate, and logging.
- Choose the appropriate price class.
- If you have a custom domain name, configure the CNAME and SSL certificate.
- Enable logging if you want to monitor requests for your distribution.
Step 8: Review and Create Distribution
Review all configurations and create the distribution. It will take some time for AWS to deploy your new distribution.
Comparison Table: CloudFront with vs. without OAC
| Feature | CloudFront with OAC | CloudFront without OAC |
|---|---|---|
| Access via CloudFront | Allowed | Allowed |
| Direct S3 Bucket Access | Restricted by bucket policy & OAC | Possible (if policies permit) |
| Origin Access Identity | Required and used for access | Not required |
| S3 Bucket Policy | Updated to grant access to OAC | No specific requirement |
| Security | Enhanced security | Less secure |
By setting up Amazon CloudFront with an S3 origin access control, you enhance the security of your content delivery and ensure that users are only able to access your content through the CloudFront distribution, thereby taking advantage of CloudFront’s cache features and reducing the load on your S3 bucket.
This setup is crucial for environments requiring strict access control and is beneficial from both a security and performance standpoint, making it an important topic for the AWS Certified SysOps Administrator – Associate (SOA-C02) exam. Understanding the integration and configuration of these AWS services is vital for managing and operating systems on the AWS platform.
Answer the Questions in Comment Section
True/False: Amazon CloudFront can be used to deliver content with low latency from Amazon S3 buckets to users around the world.
- Answer: True
Explanation: Amazon CloudFront is a content delivery network (CDN) service that securely delivers data, videos, applications, and APIs to customers globally with low latency and high transfer speeds.
True/False: When configuring OAC for CloudFront to access an S3 bucket, you always need to make the S3 bucket public.
- Answer: False
Explanation: When using Origin Access Control (OAC), you do not need to make the S3 bucket public. OAC allows CloudFront to access a private S3 bucket securely.
In the context of Amazon CloudFront and S3 OAC, what does OAI stand for?
- A) Origin Access Identity
- B) Operational Application Integration
- C) Object Access Inspection
- D) Origin Application Interface
Answer: A) Origin Access Identity
Explanation: Origin Access Identity (OAI) is used with Amazon CloudFront to create a special CloudFront user which is then granted access to an S3 bucket, achieving tighter security without making the bucket public.
Select all that apply: Which HTTP methods are by default allowed when you create a new CloudFront distribution that is configured to use an S3 origin?
- A) GET
- B) PUT
- C) POST
- D) DELETE
- E) HEAD
Answer: A) GET, E) HEAD
Explanation: By default, when creating a new CloudFront distribution for an S3 origin, only GET and HEAD methods are allowed. Other methods need to be configured explicitly if needed.
True/False: You can restrict access to your Amazon S3 content by only allowing requests that are signed with a CloudFront URL signing key.
- Answer: True
Explanation: You can restrict access to your S3 content by only allowing requests that are signed with a CloudFront signed URL or signed Cookie, which ensures that users can only access your content through CloudFront and not directly through S3 URLs.
Which feature allows you to serve private content through CloudFront?
- A) AWS Shield
- B) AWS WAF
- C) Signed URLs and Signed Cookies
- D) Amazon S3 Transfer Acceleration
Answer: C) Signed URLs and Signed Cookies
Explanation: Signed URLs and Signed Cookies provide a way to serve private content through CloudFront by requiring users to use a special token to access the content.
True/False: CloudFront distributions do not support HTTPS connections to origins.
- Answer: False
Explanation: CloudFront distributions do support HTTPS connections to origins. You can configure CloudFront to communicate with your origin over HTTPS to maintain the security of the data in transit.
What is the purpose of an S3 Bucket Policy in the context of CloudFront OAC?
- A) To provide public access to all objects in the bucket
- B) To enable versioning on the bucket
- C) To restrict access to the bucket to only the CloudFront OAI
- D) To encrypt all objects stored in the bucket
Answer: C) To restrict access to the bucket to only the CloudFront OAI
Explanation: An S3 Bucket Policy in the context of CloudFront OAC is used to restrict access to the S3 bucket such that only the CloudFront distribution with the correct Origin Access Identity can access the contents of the bucket.
True/False: Once an Origin Access Control is configured for a CloudFront distribution, it cannot be modified or deleted.
- Answer: False
Explanation: You can modify or delete an Origin Access Control (OAC) configuration for a CloudFront distribution. Changes can be made to the OAC or to the association between the OAC and the distribution.
Which of the following is NOT a valid CloudFront cache behavior setting?
- A) Minimum TTL (Time to Live)
- B) Blacklist viewer country
- C) Query String Forwarding and Caching
- D) Header Whitelisting
Answer: B) Blacklist viewer country
Explanation: Blacklist viewer country is not a cache behavior setting in CloudFront. Instead, CloudFront provides the ability to whitelist or blacklist viewer requests based on geographic location using Geo restriction feature.
What is the effect of enabling default root object for a CloudFront distribution?
- A) Forces the distribution to only serve requests coming from the AWS Management Console.
- B) Specifies a default page when a user requests the root of your distribution.
- C) Overrides the default cache behavior for all objects in your distribution.
- D) It is used to define rules for routing requests to different origins based on content types.
Answer: B) Specifies a default page when a user requests the root of your distribution.
Explanation: Enabling a default root object for a CloudFront distribution specifies a default page that CloudFront returns when a user requests the root URL of your distribution instead of providing an object key.
Great blog post on configuring Amazon CloudFront and S3 OAC. It really helped me understand the basics!
I have been struggling with setting up the OAC. Any tips on bypassing common pitfalls?
Can someone explain the importance of Amazon CloudFront in the configuration process?
Appreciate the detailed steps. Well written!
I tried following the tutorial but got stuck at setting up the CloudFront behavior. Any advice?
I’m not sure if I missed it, but how do you configure the S3 bucket as an origin for CloudFront?
Thanks for the explanation on OAC, it was very helpful!
I find the tutorial a bit lacking in troubleshooting tips. For example, what should one do if access is still denied after following all steps?