AWS Directory Service

With AWS Directory Service, organizations can centralize user identities and access management, simplifying authentication and authorization across AWS resources and applications. AWS Directory Service enables seamless integration with existing infrastructure and applications by leveraging industry-standard directory protocols and compatibility with Microsoft AD.

Types of directories

Let’s take a look at the different types of directories AWS Directory service provides:

• Managed Microsoft AD: This option provides a fully managed Active Directory service compatible with Microsoft AD. It allows us to extend our on-premises AD to the AWS Cloud without complex networking configurations. AWS Managed Microsoft AD is useful when we want to support AWS applications or Windows workloads, including Amazon Relational Database Service for Microsoft SQL Server. It is also an ideal solution to support Office 365 or implement a Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) directory for Linux applications.

• AD Connector: AD Connector enables seamless integration between our on-premises AD and AWS resources, such as Amazon WorkSpaces, Amazon QuickSight, and Amazon EC2 for Windows Server instances. It acts as a proxy to route directory requests to our existing AD infrastructure without replicating any directory data to the cloud.

• Simple AD: Simple AD is a standalone directory service designed for small businesses or organizations that don’t require the full features of Microsoft AD. It provides basic AD functionality with support for common directory-based operations.

How AWS Directory works

The AWS Directory Service operates by leveraging the underlying infrastructure of AWS to manage directory-related tasks efficiently. When organizations create a directory using AWS Directory Service, AWS provisions and manages the necessary infrastructure resources behind the scenes. These resources typically include domain controllers, replication services, DNS services, and other components required for directory operations.

• For AWS Managed Microsoft AD, AWS sets up and maintains the domain controllers, ensuring they are highly available and fault-tolerant. This involves deploying multiple domain controllers across different Availability Zones to achieve redundancy and resilience. AWS also handles tasks such as software updates, patch management, and backups to ensure the directory remains secure and up-to-date.

• Similarly, with AD Connector, AWS establishes a secure connection between the on-premises Active Directory and the AWS Cloud. It deploys lightweight agents on-premises that establish a secure communication channel with AWS services, allowing users to authenticate using their existing AD credentials.

Behind the scenes, AWS Directory Service integrates with other AWS services, such as IAM (Identity and Access Management), Amazon VPC (Virtual Private Cloud), and AWS CloudTrail for logging and monitoring. This integration ensures seamless authentication and authorization processes for users accessing AWS resources while maintaining security and compliance standards.

Best practices

Here are some best practices for AWS Directory Service:

• Choice of directory: Choose the type of directory according to your needs. For more than 5000 users, Microsoft Active Directory is the best option, and for fewer than 5000 users, Simple AD is a low-cost directory.

• Enforce security controls: Implement stringent security measures such as IAM policies, security groups, and network ACLs to control access to directory resources, safeguarding sensitive data from unauthorized access and cyber threats.

• Enable monitoring and logging: Utilize AWS CloudWatch to monitor directory health, performance metrics, and security logs, enabling proactive detection and response to security incidents and performance issues.

• Regular backup and restore procedures: Implement automated backup procedures to ensure data resilience and facilitate swift recovery in case of data loss or corruption, minimizing the impact of disruptions on business operations.