AWS Systems Manager

What differentiates AWS Systems Manager from other similar products?

Systems Manager offers powerful automation capabilities through features like Run Command, Automation Documents, Maintenance Windows, and State Manager.

What is your favorite aspect of this product?

Provides tools to enforce security policies, manage access controls, and ensure compliance with industry standards

What do you dislike most about this product?

The depth and complexity of Systems Manager's features can overwhelm new users. With multiple capabilities (like Automation, State Manager, Run Command, and Patch Manager), it can be challenging to understand which feature suits a particular need, especially for teams just getting started

What recommendations would you give to someone considering this product?

Systems Manager offers a library of pre-built Automation Documents for common tasks. Use these documents as templates or starting points to avoid writing complex JSON/YAML configurations from scratch and to reduce the chance of errors.

What differentiates AWS Systems Manager from other similar products?

Parameter Store - It acts as a secure repository for configuration data and secrets management. It allows users to manage parameters hierarchically, enabling better organization and retrieval of sensitive information like passwords and database strings. This feature helps segregate code from configuration data, enhancing security practices. Incident Management - With features like OpsCenter and Incident Manager, AWS Systems Manager helps organizations manage operational incidents more effectively by providing a centralized location for tracking, investigating, and remediating issues. This is crucial for maintaining high service availability.

What is your favorite aspect of this product?

Automation Capabilities: The automation features are highly regarded for enabling users to automate routine tasks such as patch management, configuration changes, and operational workflows. This reduces manual effort and minimizes the risk of human error, enhancing overall operational efficiency Compliance and Patch Management: The ability to automate compliance checks and patch management is crucial for many organizations. Users find it beneficial to maintain compliance with security policies and ensure that systems are up-to-date with minimal manual intervention

What do you dislike most about this product?

AWS Systems Manager does not support third-party extensions, which can limit its flexibility and integration capabilities with other too People complaint about the lack of clarity in error messages. For instance, when the system fails to connect to a machine, it does not adequately explain the reason for the error, complicating troubleshooting efforts

What recommendations would you give to someone considering this product?

Before deploying in production, test your configurations in a staging environment. This helps identify potential issues without impacting live operations. Set up fine-grained access controls using AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM). Ensure only authorized users can access sensitive operations, and regularly review permissions Utilize AWS CloudTrail to monitor all API calls made through Systems Manager. This provides an audit trail that can help in troubleshooting and compliance verification

What is your favorite aspect of this product?

It's scalability while in it is amazingly smooth and easy to get by with exceptional customer support from both the vendor and the third party we acquired through.

What do you dislike most about this product?

Yet to find out. Do you know any secrets?

What recommendations would you give to someone considering this product?

Go for it. Thank me later ☺️